Mary Russell

As Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Higginbotham’s personal lines department and private client accounts, Mary leads a team who is dedicated to serving approximately 15,000 individual customers.

Before joining Higginbotham in 1990, Mary was a claims representative for five years at American General Insurance, where she adjusted property and casualty claims. She was recruited by Higginbotham Chairman & CEO Rusty Reid to become Higginbotham’s claims manager. Since that time, Mary has progressively taken on more leadership responsibility, a board seat, and helped guide Higginbotham’s current dual growth strategy leading to their current standing as one of the nation’s 20 largest independent insurance firms. Under her leadership, Higginbotham’s personal lines department has grown tenfold. She still focuses on the close, personal relationships she has built with her customers, employees and underwriters, and many of the personal lines clients she served in 1992 remain with her.

Mary is a member of the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors (CIC) and Certified Insurance Service Representatives (CISR). She serves on the board for the National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research, the BBVA Compass Advisory Board, the PURE National Agents Advisory Council and the Private Risk Management Association (PRMA) Board. She formerly served on Safeco’s Central Advisory Council, State Auto’s Advisory Council and Travelers National Advisory Council.

Mary’s philanthropic involvement includes Arlington Baptist College, Boys & Girls Club, Catholic Charities, Christ Church, Communities in Schools, Cook Children’s Hospital, Girls, Inc., Habitat for Humanity, Scottish Rite Hospital, and Stage West Theatre.

She received Safeco’s Personal Achievement Award and was named Travelers’ “Personal Insurance Agent of the Year” in 2013. Then in 2016, the Private Risk Management Association (PRMA) gave her the JoAnn Heltibridle Award. Mary has also been honored in the YMCA’s Tribute to Women.

Mary earned a Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) designation in 1995, Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) in 2001 and Certified Private Risk and Insurance Advisor (CPRIA) in 2018.