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About Us > Management > 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., an international conglomerate.
Less . . .
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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