If you ever have the chance to spend some time with Ron Brown, do it. Having spent more than half a century in the credit and collection industry, the man has no shortage of great stories. One of the most respected and recognized experts in the industry, Brown has literally written the book on skip tracing. Read on to learn more about Ron and what he wants on his tombstone.
Name: Ron L. Brown
Company: CSI Group (Collection Services International, Combined Services for Insurance, Confidential Security Investigations)
Length of time at current company: 47 years
Length of time in industry: 54 years
How did you get your start in the industry?
Close friends in the industry told me I could make a lot more money than working for the government in law enforcement.
What is your career highlight so far?
Starting and facilitating Eagle Group XX and Eagle Group USA, a network of the most innovative and progressive men and women in the asset recovery industry.
When or how are you most productive?
I think I am most productive when I am working with industry leaders to solve issues where others have faltered and failed.
Which industry professional do you admire most?
I admire an industry icon, Millard Land, retired owner of Adjusters, Inc . out of Houston Texas who has given of his life and fortune to better the asset recovery industry, never asking nor accepting accolades for his tireless efforts.
What is one thing you do better than everyone else?
I do not think there is any one thing that I do any better than my peers other than hanging on when others have given up and let go.
What do you like most about this industry?
The thing I like most about this industry is the opportunity it affords to anyone and everyone, regardless of race, sex, nationality, education, who you know … these things pale to the one great thing — EFFORT. In this industry, if you put out the effort, and continue to put out the effort, you will be successful.
What is one thing you wish you could change about this industry?
The one thing that I wish I could change in our industry is to get our clients to realize our worth and value and see that each man and woman in this thankless industry is paid according to their true worth.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
If I was not in the asset recovery industry I would probably be … you know, I cannot even imagine doing anything else. This industry is my love, my mistress, and my passion.
Describe a typical work day.
A typical work day starts at 6:00 AM with a cup of good coffee, and ends when I lay my head on the pillow. That is the greatness. Everyday between 6:00 AM and the pillow there is nothing typical, each day, each hour, and each minute brings new challenges and that is what makes it so unique.
What is your guilty pleasure?
My guilty pleasure is riding my horses and my iron horse. On the back of either, at full speed or full gallop, there is no greater pleasure.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I have ever received was a simple statement, “RIGHT IS RIGHT, WRONG IS WRONG, and there ain’t no IN BETWEEN” … CHOOSE.
What are you currently reading?
I am currently reading the redacted version of The Mueller Report.
What is one fact you’d like everyone in the industry to know about you?
The one thing I would like for everyone to know about me is what I want as an epitaph on my tombstone: “There was work to be done and he did it, there was a life to be lived and he lived it, and when death had to be met, he met it head on, with his chin held high for he had lived by “THE CODE”.
Who else would you like to see answer these questions?
I would like to see my old friend Harry Strausser
