Curtis Barton built ALKEME into one of the most active consolidators in the US insurance market by treating administrative friction, what he calls "sludge," as the central problem leadership must solve. Founded in late 2020 through the merger of seven entities including Venture Pacific, and backed by GCP Capital in New York, ALKEME now employs more than 1,500 people across 35 states, operates through over 80 partner agencies, and generates more than $2 billion in revenue. Insurance Journal ranks ALKEME among the 25 largest agencies in the US, while Insurance Business and Business Insurance rank it the third-fastest-growing broker in the country. In this Insurance Business America leader profile, Barton and head of AI Ryan Deeds explain how a sludge-free operating philosophy, a disciplined technology build strategy, and a long-term ownership stance are shaping the firm's next phase of growth.
Curtis Barton, CEO of ALKEME, defines "sludge" as the low-value, high-friction tasks that consume account managers and producers without delivering anything to clients: administrative work, inbox overload, and manual data entry. For Barton, clearing sludge is not a side project; it is the primary job of leadership. Every technology investment, organizational decision, and culture standard at ALKEME is measured by whether it reduces that friction and returns time to producers and account managers for direct client work.
Coming out of college, Curtis Barton was tempted to follow friends into the mortgage refinancing boom. His father, a seasoned agency owner, told him to ignore the noise and stay in insurance, predicting the mortgage rush would leave those people jobless. Barton followed that advice, founded a regional brokerage in southern California, and co-founded a digital lead-generation platform. He says he has done "everything in my insurance agency," from taking out the trash to managing a team, which gave him a practical feel for every part of the business and grounded his long-term focus on operations over opportunism.
ALKEME was formed in late 2020 through the merger of seven founding entities, including Venture Pacific, during the pandemic. Curtis Barton led that transaction and secured backing from GCP Capital in New York. The firm has since grown to more than 1,500 employees, operations in 35 states, over 80 partner agencies, and more than $2 billion in revenue. Insurance Journal ranks ALKEME among the 25 largest agencies in the US, and Insurance Business and Business Insurance rank it the third-fastest-growing broker in the country.
Curtis Barton acknowledges he could have sold ALKEME early and retired, but chose not to because an exit would make his own effort feel misplaced. "Why would I put my blood, sweat, and tears into the business," he asks, "if I wasn't going to set it up to continue to build ALKEME to be best of breed?" He describes the pattern of platforms that grow to a certain size and sell as one he deliberately avoids, preferring to earn independence through sustained performance rather than timing a transaction for a quick payout.
ALKEME has moved roughly 85 percent of its operations onto a single system. Under head of AI Ryan Deeds, the firm focuses on building tools internally rather than purchasing and integrating outside software. Deeds argues that agencies can now "build software faster than we can buy, integrate, transform, and get adoption into it." One result of that approach is Producer Portal, which has quickly become the primary tool producers use for metrics, client acquisition, and carrier information, cutting inbox clutter and freeing time for client interaction.
Curtis Barton is direct that no individual, including himself, is bigger than ALKEME. He has little patience for leaders who make "financial engineering decisions" instead of unifying people and building shared profitability. On compensation, he warns that aggressive producer resets are "culture killers" that "will kill your business" if treated purely as a spreadsheet exercise. When he sees someone promoting their own brand at the expense of ALKEME, he says leadership has to "move on that person quick" before it spreads through the organization.
Curtis Barton uses his own children as reference points: his 21-year-old son is currently interning at ALKEME, and his 19-year-old daughter gives him a direct read on how that generation buys, communicates, and evaluates employers. He and his team actively build workflows and career structures around those expectations. His goal is an environment where people stop jumping from agency to agency. "People stay," he says. "And that's what we want."
Curtis Barton — CEO, ALKEME. Founded a regional brokerage in southern California; co-founded a digital lead-generation platform; led the merger of seven founding entities, including Venture Pacific, to form ALKEME in late 2020; secured backing from GCP Capital in New York; has grown the firm to more than 1,500 employees across 35 states and over 80 partner agencies, generating more than $2 billion in revenue.
Ryan Deeds — Head of AI, ALKEME. Leads the firm's internal technology build strategy; oversaw development of Producer Portal; advocates building proprietary software rather than purchasing and integrating third-party systems.