Leaving Behind a Culture Committed to Community Involvement

The Partners Group honored three of its first generation co-founders between May and June of 2016, including Bruce Kerr in Oregon, as well as Bill Meacham and Bill Baldwin in Washington, as all three headed into retirement.

Rod Cruickshank, CEO and President at The Partners Group, said “They are leaving behind a legacy of generous community benevolence, stability, and success. Through the diligent stewardship of these three co-founders, and the resulting double digit growth that continues today, The Partners Group has been able to send them off into retirement in style.” Cruickshank added “The surrogate leadership of these co-founders helped The Partners Group weather and grow through two economic downturns, including the high tech bubble burst, and the home mortgage crisis.” According to Jake Shafer, CFO of The Partners Group “Their accumulated vision carefully perpetuated our locally owned and independent status, a vision The Partners Group plans to continue far into the future.”

Kerr, Baldwin and Meacham are leaving behind a culture committed to community involvement. During their time of stewardship, The Partners Group started a company-wide holiday volunteering program, plus became one of the top corporate givers in the Northwest, and one of the largest financial and insurance companies in the region. Over the last 16 years alone, The Partners Group was awarded multiple times for the Corporate Philanthropy Award, made the lists for the Top 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies, and the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies, among a multitude of other awards.

Bruce Kerr was the original founder starting out with Kerr Insurance in 1981. He formed a partnership with Cruickshank in 1995, which eventually transformed into what is known today as The Partners Group in 2000. The Partners Group joined forces with The Baldwin Resource Group in 2011 which had been founded by Bill Baldwin in 1998. Bill Meacham was previously co-founder of The Meacham Group which merged with The Baldwin Resource Group in 2006.

Founded in 1981, The Partners Group has been serving the financial and insurance needs of employers and successful individuals for 35 years. They are an independent consulting firm with services including employee benefits and business consulting, retirement planning, investment services, commercial and individual insurance. While they have developed a national network and reputation, you can count on their local commitment and service, delivered through the hard work of over 140 teammates. The Partners Group has offices in Portland, OR; Lake Oswego, OR; Bellevue, WA; Bend, OR; and Bozeman, MT. For more information, please visit https://www.thepartnersgroup.com. 800-722-6339.