Brenda (Ballard) Austenfeld is a member of the Executive Team for RT Specialty as CEO & President of National Property. She provides leadership to brokerage teams for sales and strategy initiatives while overseeing relationships with key market and retail broker partners. Brenda’s executive leadership, development of talent, along with building team culture throughout the national platform has escalated RT Property with exponential growth to be a key leader within the insurance property arena. Her team has become well-known for its ability to creatively and effectively handle specialized and catastrophic property exposures.

Brenda joined RT Specialty through RT’s acquisition of Westrope in 2013, where she was a Partner and Executive Vice President. Before joining Westrope, Brenda served as a global property broker and held several leadership roles at retail brokers Aon Risk Services and Alexander & Alexander.

Brenda serves on the Executive Board of Directors for The Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA), the Board of Directors for The WSIA Diversity Foundation, the Board of Directors for The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), and the Board of Trustees for the Kansas 4-H Foundation. Brenda has been recognized by many industry and community publications for her leadership throughout her career. Brenda serves as a Founding Member of WOW! (Women. Opportunity. Winning.) – a program created for all women of Ryan Specialty. Brenda is a strong advocate and mentor to many professionals finding gratification and fulfillment as professionals grow and expand within their careers.

RT Specialty is a leading wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services for Ryan Specialty. Ryan Specialty is a public company listed on the NYSE as RYAN.

‍