Management & Professional Personnel

At every level of Hays Companies our employees are engaged in client-valued work. Each of our senior management staff has specific client responsibilities. This structure ensures that the leaders of our organization remain focused on satisfying our clients’ needs.

“Our greatest source of professional pride rests on the idea that we can create value for our clients by helping them to cost-effectively protect their corporate assets and earnings streams while being efficient and easy to work with.” –James Hays, President and CEO

James ("Jim") Hays has successfully opened two brokerage operations since he began his career in 1981. The first, the Minneapolis office of Rollins Burdick Hunter (a predecessor to Aon Minneapolis) was opened in 1987. Jim opened The Hays Group, Inc. in 1994 (operating as Hays Companies). He received his Masters in Business Administration in finance from the Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota in 1981.

Jim has actively participated in a number of community organizations: the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, Carlson Board of Overseers, Young Presidents Organization, Dunkers, Babson College, and the Board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Minneapolis.