Johnny Pitts – Memphis Flyer

The Society of Entrepreneurs has chosen four new members: Mat Lipscomb and Johnny Pitts of Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, Andy Malmo of Flint Hydraulics, and Patti Phelps of Phelps Security.

The organization was founded in 1991 to honor the contributions of area entrepreneurs. The membership includes Mid-South business owners, presidents, and other key executives.

New members will be inducted at the 31st Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet on Saturday, April 15th, 2023 at the FedEx Event Center at Shelby Farms.

In 1989, Lipscomb and Pitts became partners at Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance. Lipscomb focused on sales management and insurance carrier relationships. Pitts focused on the financial and administrative divisions of the company, while still producing and retaining business insurance. In 1992, they purchased Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance from their fathers.

Donald A. Malmo Jr. purchased Flint Hydraulics, Inc. in the summer of 1981. He saw a need for a distribution business that would warehouse hydraulic pumps and motors from many different manufacturers and for many different types of equipment. This now represents 40 percent of his volume and has the same worldwide presence as the custom pump business.

Phelps is the owner and CEO of the oldest security guard firm in Memphis, with 69 years of operation. It is also the largest certified woman-owned entity in Memphis. Phelps Security provides security guard and patrol services to businesses and residential areas in Memphis and the Mid-South.

The selection of the new members was done by the membership committee, including chair Bill Courtney, David Andrews, Mike Bruns, Ron Coleman, Carolyn Hardy, Edith Kelly-Green, Mary McDonald, Art Seessel, Susan Stephenson, and Duncan Williams. The society’s board of directors finalized the choices.

Lipscomb & Pitts

Co-CEO’s Mat Lipscomb III and Johnny Pitts

For Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, the largest independent insurance firm in Tennessee, the New Year is looking bright.

Earlier today, the local firm announced that it had merged operations with Fort Worth, Texas-based Higginbotham, one of the largest independent insurance firms in the U.S. It was an easy match on paper, with both firms providing full-scale commercial and personal insurance, employee benefits, human resources, retirement plans, life insurance, and executive compensation services.

Higginbotham, the 21st-largest independent insurance brokerage firm by revenue in the United States, has been pursuing strategic growth by partnering with independent insurance firms that can both complement its service model and increase scale for its operations. The partnership with Lipscomb & Pitts marks the larger firm’s first foray into the Tennessee and Southeast markets, and now gives it a presence in seven states.

Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance co-CEOs Mat Lipscomb III and Johnny Pitts are second-generation majority owners of the firm, with their fathers having started the business when becoming partners in 1954. Lipscomb III and Pitts took over in 1990, and will continue to serve as managing partners. The pair currently presides over 134 employees in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, Jonesboro, AR, and Hattiesburg, MS, and will pursue further growth opportunities in the Southeast region.

“We were looking to expand our business even more when the opportunity to join Higginbotham presented itself,” said Lipscomb III and Pitts in a joint statement. “When we considered the additional resources we’d have through Higginbotham to serve our clients, support our employees and local communities, and add long-term stability to our firm, it was clear that this was the right match.”

“We started growing through establishing partnerships with highly compatible firms in 2008,” said Higginbotham chairman and CEO Rusty Reid, “and Lipscomb & Pitts is the largest of our 60 partners. We’re excited about the opportunity to accelerate our presence in the Southeast with such a strong firm, and one that has similar values with family, community, and customer service at its core.”

All existing Lipscomb & Pitts offices will retain and continue to operate under the Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance name.