Gary Harms has been engaged in the financial services industry in strategic and operational leadership for 30+ years. Having grown up in rural Iowa, Gary earned his Bachelor’s degree from Drake University and served as a Customer Service Executive in the retail sector prior to initiating his career in the financial services industry at FBL Financial Group, where he led service and operational areas as Agency Administration Vice President. He was responsible for leading large scale corporate change--inclusive of compensation and contractual systems design and implementation, as well as change management processes for key financial services programs. Harms was responsible for building, training, and mentoring multiple teams and represented the companies on Risk Management, Business Interruption, and other high-level internal and external committees. He has been a frequent speaker at advisor and corporate industry meetings—including the Life Insurance Marketing Research Association. He holds several industry designations and is licensed in LHA and P/C insurance in 40+ states.
While serving as Board Chair at Special Olympics Iowa, Gary was selected as its President/CEO, where he drove significant increases in athlete participation, volunteer recruitment and fund-raising efforts, and where he created an athlete-driven program (INCLUSION) spotlighting individuals with intellectual disabilities. In addition, Gary led initiatives to feature Special Olympics athletes on local television programs and on the All-Iowa Athlete program.
Gary was recruited by Country Financial and named Director--Multi-Channel Solutions in 2017, with leadership responsibility for four divisions--Brokerage Operations, a Property/Casualty sales team, Independent Channel life/annuity producers and a Financial Specialist team he built from concept to launch.
In 2022, Harms joined Gremler Wealth Management as Vice President—Operations and Client Experience where he is responsible for designing and building internal programs and client-interaction processes to create, promote and solidify long-term relationships. Gary was also named to the Board of Directors of FinWorld–a cyber security company designed to provide the highest level of security to the wealth management industry.
Gary has always enjoyed “giving back” and has served on Boards of Directors at the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, Children’s Home and Aid, Susan G. Komen, and Special Olympics in addition to volunteering for many other organizations. In his leisure time, he enjoys spending time with family, travel, running, music, and is an avid fan of the Kansas City Chiefs.