Brenda (Ballard) Austenfeld is Co-President of RT Specialty and CEO of RT National Property. She provides leadership to brokerage teams for sales and strategy initiatives while managing relationships with key market and retail broker partners. Brenda’s executive leadership and talent development skills, along with culture she has built throughout the RT Property national platform, has led to exponential growth that has made RT Property a leader in its insurance arena. Her team has become well-known for its ability to creatively and effectively handle specialized and catastrophic exposures throughout all areas of the country.

Brenda joined RT Specialty through RT’s acquisition of Westrope in 2013, where she was Partner and Executive Vice President. Before joining Westrope, Brenda served as a global property broker and held several leadership roles at retail brokers Aon Risk Services and Alexander & Alexander.

Brenda serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for The Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA). She also recently served 6 years on the Board of Directors for The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), plus she was a founding board member of WSIA Diversity Foundation where she spent 4 years, and had served 15 years on the Board of Trustees for the KS 4-H Foundation. Brenda has been recognized by many industry and community publications for her leadership throughout her career.

Brenda serves as a founding member of WOW! (Women. Opportunity. Winning.)—a program created for all women of Ryan Specialty. Brenda is a strong advocate and mentor to many professionals finding gratification and fulfillment as they grow and expand within their careers.

RT Specialty is a leading wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services for Ryan Specialty.