About the Author

Stephen Freeman

A 40-year career in the surety bond industry gave Steve the opportunity to work with, and learn from, a wide variety of successful business people – company presidents, financial officers, CPA’s, bankers, financial advisors, business consultants, attorneys, and surety industry colleagues. This experience has provided continuous continuing education in business and financial management gained through activities such as analyzing and evaluating the business plans, financial statements, budget projections, management practices, and performance track records of all sorts of successful businesses.

Experience in varied work and volunteer positions enabled him to learn about business and financial management from different perspectives:

  • Military: officer in the United States Army.
  • Non-profit organization paid employee: District Executive of the Boy Scouts of America.
  • Non-profit organization volunteer: officer and director positions in a number of trade associations; church board of trustees; officer of homeowners’ associations; coach of recreation league and youth sports teams.
  • Business: surety bond underwriter; surety company branch manager; partner in an insurance agency; officer of M&T Insurance Agency, a subsidiary of M&T Bank.

Experience as a parent helped him learn and re-learn valuable money management lessons, and how to talk about business and financial matters in terms young people understand.

Experience as a teacher of Junior Achievement classes and career related classes on business management and business finance gave him the opportunity to learn from preparing lesson plans and class presentations, students’ comments, information shared by students in class, and trying to answer students’ insightful questions.

Formal Education

  • Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, University of New Hampshire
  • Master of Science, University of Baltimore
  • United States Army: Infantry Officers Basic Class and Psychological Operations School
  • Boy Scouts of America: District Executive Training School
  • Aetna Casualty and Surety Company: Bond Trainee Program
  • Numerous continuing education classes and seminars