Our Team
John Neel, Jr., President & CEO
John Neel is the founder and partner of Sanford Insurance which was created in October 2002. John was the previous Vice President of Insurance and Risk Management for Central Georgia Health System (CGHS), now Atrium Health. John was responsible for the formation, management and administration of three Cayman Captive Insurance Companies owned by CGHS. He served as Chief Executive Officer for all three of the captive companies as well as a member of the Board of Directors of each company.
John is a graduate of the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia, is a licensed insurance broker in Georgia, and received his Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation in 1990. John is a regular speaker at worldwide captive and insurance conferences and consults on insurance and risk management issues throughout the United States, Caribbean, and United Kingdom.
Mike Kaplan, President of Insurance Services
Mike joined Sanford in November 2021 as President and co-owner/partner. Mike is the former Senior Vice President of McGriff Insurance. Prior to McGriff, he was President and Owner of Kaplan Insurance Services. Mike is responsible for the day-to-day operations of Sanford Insurance. A graduate of the University of Georgia Terry Business School with a degree in Risk Management and Insurance, Mike has been in the insurance industry since 1975. He has twice won Professional Insurance Agents of Georgia “Agent of the Year.” Considered one of Macon’s favorite sons, Mike is very active in his hometown community.
James M. “Jimbo” Walker, Senior Vice President
Jimbo Walker, SVP, co-owner/partner of Sanford Insurance attended the University of Mississippi and then transferred to the University of Georgia, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics. Jimbo has been in the insurance industry since 1982, and has excelled as a personal lines and commercial lines producer. Jimbo is very active in the community and has served on several Board of Directors.
Chris Wilson, Vice President/Partner
Chris Wilson is the newest partner of Sanford Insurance joining in November 2022. Chris was Vice President of McGriff Insurance, formally BB&T Insurance, for previous 18 years. Prior to 2004, Chris was teacher and coach at First Presbyterian Day School where he coached football, wrestling and track. Graduate of Georgia Southern University in 1998 and was a 4 year letterman for the football team. Chris will focus primarily on commercial clients and providing mentorship training to young producers at Sanford.
Beverly Michael, CFO
Beverly Michael is a native of Macon, Georgia. She graduated from Mercer University with a degree in Management and began working in the accounting field. Beverly has held positions in accounting and finance in several other industries prior to entering the insurance field. She joined the Sanford team in April 2015 as Business Manager and was promoted in July 2016 to Chief Financial Officer.
Jim Lambert, CIC, Vice President
Jim Lambert is a native of Macon, Georgia. He graduated from Middle Georgia College with an Associate Degree in Engineering, Georgia Southern College with a degree in Business Administration and Georgia State University with a Master’s degree in Insurance.
A veteran, Jim served in the United States Army from 1969-1976, attaining the rank of Chief Warrant Officer. He accumulated over 500 hours piloting the OH-58 Scout while serving with the 1st Aviation Brigade at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
Jim has over 40 years of experience in the insurance industry. He started his career with Georgia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co. as a claims adjuster in 1970. He was also the sales trainer and a district sales manager with Georgia Farm Bureau. He is a past president of the PIA, Professional Insurance Agents of Georgia. In 1980, he founded Allen & Lambert, Inc., a property and casualty insurance agency in Macon, Georgia. He sold the agency in 2010 to the Sanford Insurance Agency and remains active with them in the sales of property and casualty insurance.
He is a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and is licensed in 10 states.
Rob Wilkin, Vice President
Rob Wilkin received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University of Georgia in 1999 and 2001 respectively. Post college, he worked with the Federal Crop Insurance Agency as Risk Management Education Director for the Southeastern United States and as a Risk Management Specialist, gaining experience in underwriting, actuarial analysis, and claims management. Rob joined the Sanford team in 2005 where his area of expertise has been developing and managing all aspects of alternative risk financing programs, such as captive insurance companies.
He also acts as claims manager for several workers compensation and professional/general liability programs for the Sanford Insurance Agency. He holds Georgia Property & Casualty and Life & Health agent licenses and is a licensed adjuster. Rob maintains the Certified Workers Compensation Professional designation.
