Y. Judd Shoval Vice Chairman of the Board

Judd is a founder and current Vice Chairman of GUARD Insurance Group, the parent organization of a number of affiliates engaged in insurance activities. In this capacity, he is involved in strategic planning issues, the development of corporate policy related to investments and distribution, and the selection of the executive management team that administers daily operations.

Early in his career, Judd and his wife – Susan – formed, managed, and later sold a commercial property and casualty insurance agency called Shoval Associates. The creation of an independent insurance company to underwrite Workers’ Compensation coverage followed shortly thereafter. GUARD’s first policy was written in 1983. Now, the organization comprises four subsidiaries (AmGUARD, EastGUARD, NorGUARD, and WestGUARD), provides insurance to tens of thousands of businesses, and is licensed in 43 states plus the District of Columbia. In May of 2007, GUARD was acquired by Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings, Ltd., of Tel Aviv, Israel.

Judd also serves as Senior Managing Director for Ambit Funding, a non-related entrepreneurial venture that provides short-term, real estate-backed financing to businesses to "bridge" gaps in funding. Founded in 2005, the company has quickly filled an underserved niche within the marketplace.

Concurrent with their insurance endeavors, Judd acquired controlling interest in a community-based national bank in northeastern Pennsylvania in the mid-1980s. During Judd’s tenure, First Peoples was fully modernized to permit growth and successfully merged with a larger institution that has become part of the Wachovia family. Judd resumed his involvement in banking in 1999 via the formation of GUARD Security Bank, a federally chartered thrift acquired by a non-affiliated company in 2007. He has also served as a director of and an investor in Florida Savings Bancorp and has had ongoing commercial real estate holdings in Pennsylvania and Florida.

Judd’s civic commitments include his current appointment to the board and Investment Committee of King’s College as well as past tenures in similar capacities with other non-profit organizations. He is Chairman of CityVest, a community development corporation, and has served on the boards of several private, unrelated corporations (retaining one affiliation of this kind today). In 2000, Judd and Susan were named co-recipients of a Community Service Award presented by Seligman J. Strauss Lodge No. 139 of B’nai B’rith. In 2001, they were named Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year for Central Pennsylvania. In 2005, they were joint recipients of a Distinguished Leadership Award from Leadership Wilkes-Barre.

Born in Austria, Judd was raised in Israel and received a law degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He relocated to the United States in the early 1970s and worked in New York City and Philadelphia before moving to northeastern Pennsylvania.

 

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