Michael VanAcker is the Chief Operating Officer for Ryan Specialty. Previously, Michael served as Chief Operating Officer and Controller of RT Specialty. Michael joined Ryan Specialty in 2011 and helped develop the Corporate Finance and FP&A functions. Since then, he has been instrumental in establishing and leading numerous departments for the company across the financial, operational and commercial functions, including the integration of Ryan Specialty’s multitude of acquisitions.

Michael began his career in PwC’s Assurance practice specializing in insurance clients. He is an actively licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the State of Illinois after earning the Illinois CPA Society Excel Award for performance on the CPA exam.

Michael earned degrees in Finance and Accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At Illinois, he was a member of the inaugural College of Business Honors Program and earned the Lloyd Morey Award for the highest GPA in the College of Business.