Our People
Meet Jason Meador
Getting a taste of leadership at a young age can sometimes help forge a future career path. That seems to have been the case for Jason Meador who became Head of Direct Markets for Zurich North America this past February.
Growing up in the small, rural farming community of Lanark, Illinois, Meador spent many of his summer days working for his father, who owned a small concrete construction company. At just 14 and 15 years old, he was pouring concrete and taking on other needed duties.
“Before I had even turned 16, I was on a small job site and it was me and one other employee who was right around 30 years old,” Meador recalled. “And my father decided to leave me in charge instead of him. So, I’m like a foreman at 15 years old, making decisions, which gives you a pretty good experience and slightly different perspective at that age. And obviously working in that type of environment, the value of hard work really matters. So that was a formative experience for me.”
Still, Meador realized early that he did not see his future in the family business. He served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, working as an engineer at the Headquarters for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (a.k.a. Naval Reactors), before transitioning to The Boston Consulting Group. He joined Zurich in 2013 as a Strategic Business Partner, becoming Head of Strategic Execution less than three years later. Other key leadership positions followed, including Chief Operating Officer for Alternative Markets, Head of Group Captives and, most recently, Head of RCIS, Zurich North America’s crop insurance business.
Meador said adapting to different roles in his decade-plus with Zurich has been a big asset.
“It’s provided me with the agility to come into a new business unit and quickly understand the needs of that business and then make appropriate decisions,” he said.
Fortunately, his agility came paired with experience. Meador said his tenure as COO for Alternative Markets, “gave me specific knowledge of how this business works, so I wasn’t coming into this position at ground zero. I worked very closely with Direct Markets then, reviewing our business plan and being involved with the major initiatives that the organization worked on to help make our customers more successful.”
While that background allowed Meador to move into Direct Markets leadership without too many surprises, he admits he was a little stunned by one early experience on the job: attending NADA Show 2024.
“There’s nothing like being given a new role and, literally the day you start in that role, flying to Las Vegas for the biggest industry conference of the year,” he said with a smile. “I was struck by the sheer size of it, both in terms of the number of people and the breadth of types of businesses. I knew it was big, but I didn’t fully appreciate how big it was until I got there. It’s unbelievable.”
Despite the overwhelming magnitude of the NADA Show, Meador found real value in attending and getting to meet many customers and hear what’s on their minds. “Conversations with our customers help me better understand their business, where they see F&I fitting into their business today and going forward, and how Zurich can help achieve those goals.”
What has impressed and energized Meador most in his early days on the job is seeing the strength of his new team in action on a day-to-day basis.
“I’m invigorated by the passion and dedication the Direct Markets team has in terms of always thinking about our customers and how to deliver for them — staying on top of the challenges for dealers and how to address those challenges as quickly as we can,” he explained. “And that dedication is really felt by our customers. In conversations I’ve had, dealers typically highlight the Zurich people in their local region and how great they are to work with. That reinforces what I am seeing so far with the team.”
With that confidence in his people, Meador is also optimistic about where Direct Markets is headed.
“It’s a really great business where Zurich has a very strong position in the market and a strong brand, and I see a whole lot of opportunity to continue to grow the business,” he noted. “We see a continued focus on F&I growth, so we look for ways to help our customers maximize revenue opportunities. We also want to help dealerships when they acquire additional stores. And of course, we’re looking to find new dealerships that can benefit from Zurich’s products and services.”
While he’s not an “all work and no play” kind of guy, Meador says his method for a good work/life balance is simply to not be rigid about it.
“I don’t really set hard boundaries between my personal life and my professional life. They blend. Now, if I need to do something in my personal life, I go do it. I don’t neglect the importance of that. But if it happens to be Sunday afternoon and I’m doing something for my job…well, then it’s Sunday afternoon and I’m doing something for my job. I don’t stress over separating aspects of my life, which probably makes it easier to manage than if I did try to have a hard boundary. It works for me.”
Meador, who is married with two kids, noted the balance is even more manageable now that his children are college-aged and very busy with their own lives. He joked that time with his kids these days often requires an incentive.
“My son spent time with us the other night at the Capital Grille because he got a free steak,” he said with a laugh.
For Meador, unwinding outside work often means being on the golf course, though he doesn’t grade his own performance on the links highly.
“It’s not good. The ball will fly a long way, but it takes a long time to get into the hole. The first 500 yards isn’t too bad; it’s the last 25 that’s brutal.”
The Zurich Classic was approaching at the time of our interview, and Meador proudly confessed to being a “homer” in rooting for Zurich’s Golf Ambassadors (Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala).
Both on the job and in the community, Meador is a strong advocate for veterans in the workplace. He is the Executive Sponsor of VETZ, Zurich North America’s employee resource group for military veterans, and he takes pride in the company being an employer of choice for those who served.
“Zurich is open and welcoming to veterans, just like we are open and welcoming to all kinds of different people who come in and become part of the Zurich family,” Meador said.
Getting a taste of leadership at a young age can sometimes help forge a future career path. That seems to have been the case for Jason Meador who became Head of Direct Markets for Zurich North America this past February.
Growing up in the small, rural farming community of Lanark, Illinois, Meador spent many of his summer days working for his father, who owned a small concrete construction company. At just 14 and 15 years old, he was pouring concrete and taking on other needed duties.
“Before I had even turned 16, I was on a small job site and it was me and one other employee who was right around 30 years old,” Meador recalled. “And my father decided to leave me in charge instead of him. So, I’m like a foreman at 15 years old, making decisions, which gives you a pretty good experience and slightly different perspective at that age. And obviously working in that type of environment, the value of hard work really matters. So that was a formative experience for me.”
Still, Meador realized early that he did not see his future in the family business. He served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, working as an engineer at the Headquarters for the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (a.k.a. Naval Reactors), before transitioning to The Boston Consulting Group. He joined Zurich in 2013 as a Strategic Business Partner, becoming Head of Strategic Execution less than three years later. Other key leadership positions followed, including Chief Operating Officer for Alternative Markets, Head of Group Captives and, most recently, Head of RCIS, Zurich North America’s crop insurance business.
Meador said adapting to different roles in his decade-plus with Zurich has been a big asset.
“It’s provided me with the agility to come into a new business unit and quickly understand the needs of that business and then make appropriate decisions,” he said.
Fortunately, his agility came paired with experience. Meador said his tenure as COO for Alternative Markets, “gave me specific knowledge of how this business works, so I wasn’t coming into this position at ground zero. I worked very closely with Direct Markets then, reviewing our business plan and being involved with the major initiatives that the organization worked on to help make our customers more successful.”
While that background allowed Meador to move into Direct Markets leadership without too many surprises, he admits he was a little stunned by one early experience on the job: attending NADA Show 2024.
“There’s nothing like being given a new role and, literally the day you start in that role, flying to Las Vegas for the biggest industry conference of the year,” he said with a smile. “I was struck by the sheer size of it, both in terms of the number of people and the breadth of types of businesses. I knew it was big, but I didn’t fully appreciate how big it was until I got there. It’s unbelievable.”
Despite the overwhelming magnitude of the NADA Show, Meador found real value in attending and getting to meet many customers and hear what’s on their minds. “Conversations with our customers help me better understand their business, where they see F&I fitting into their business today and going forward, and how Zurich can help achieve those goals.”
What has impressed and energized Meador most in his early days on the job is seeing the strength of his new team in action on a day-to-day basis.
“I’m invigorated by the passion and dedication the Direct Markets team has in terms of always thinking about our customers and how to deliver for them — staying on top of the challenges for dealers and how to address those challenges as quickly as we can,” he explained. “And that dedication is really felt by our customers. In conversations I’ve had, dealers typically highlight the Zurich people in their local region and how great they are to work with. That reinforces what I am seeing so far with the team.”
With that confidence in his people, Meador is also optimistic about where Direct Markets is headed.
“It’s a really great business where Zurich has a very strong position in the market and a strong brand, and I see a whole lot of opportunity to continue to grow the business,” he noted. “We see a continued focus on F&I growth, so we look for ways to help our customers maximize revenue opportunities. We also want to help dealerships when they acquire additional stores. And of course, we’re looking to find new dealerships that can benefit from Zurich’s products and services.”
While he’s not an “all work and no play” kind of guy, Meador says his method for a good work/life balance is simply to not be rigid about it.
“I don’t really set hard boundaries between my personal life and my professional life. They blend. Now, if I need to do something in my personal life, I go do it. I don’t neglect the importance of that. But if it happens to be Sunday afternoon and I’m doing something for my job…well, then it’s Sunday afternoon and I’m doing something for my job. I don’t stress over separating aspects of my life, which probably makes it easier to manage than if I did try to have a hard boundary. It works for me.”
Meador, who is married with two kids, noted the balance is even more manageable now that his children are college-aged and very busy with their own lives. He joked that time with his kids these days often requires an incentive.
“My son spent time with us the other night at the Capital Grille because he got a free steak,” he said with a laugh.
For Meador, unwinding outside work often means being on the golf course, though he doesn’t grade his own performance on the links highly.
“It’s not good. The ball will fly a long way, but it takes a long time to get into the hole. The first 500 yards isn’t too bad; it’s the last 25 that’s brutal.”
The Zurich Classic was approaching at the time of our interview, and Meador proudly confessed to being a “homer” in rooting for Zurich’s Golf Ambassadors (Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala).
Both on the job and in the community, Meador is a strong advocate for veterans in the workplace. He is the Executive Sponsor of VETZ, Zurich North America’s employee resource group for military veterans, and he takes pride in the company being an employer of choice for those who served.
“Zurich is open and welcoming to veterans, just like we are open and welcoming to all kinds of different people who come in and become part of the Zurich family,” Meador said.