Born in 1957, John Addison became a Business Systems Analyst for the direct selling company he made his name with, and worked his way up through the management until becoming President of this company in 1995.

In 2000, he became co-CEO of that same company during a turbulent and spiralling economy and spearheaded the separation of the business from their parent company, Citigroup, shepherding them away from that institution at the height of the financial crisis to protect the customers, distributors and employees of the company.

He then took the company onto the New York Stock Exchange in 2010 with one of the most successful initial public offerings of all times, where they were twenty-two times oversubscribed which was truly astonishing for a direct sales or indeed any business, in the aftermath of the worldwide financial crisis.

It is widely regarded that he and his co-CEO didn’t just change the direction, but they protected and safeguarded the incomes and livelihoods of their distributors and employees at a time when it may have not been able to continue.

He’s helped increase cash-flow to the network by 70%, ensuring that the distributor network are properly rewarded for their efforts with over $700m being paid out to the field last year. One of his legacies is the true partnership they have with their representatives. Indeed directly outside the corporate head quarters there’s a huge statue with a mission statement, stating they are ‘dedicated to giving people from all walks of life a chance to live their dreams’ for everybody to see.

They brought affordable insurance to families in the US and changed the way these financial products were sold. This company has been a significant success story in the direct selling space, and for him to take the role of co-CEO, which had been held previously for many years by the the founder, the iconic Art Williams, and drive it forwards, shows true leadership. That company, is Primerica from whom he retired in 2015.

In June 2019 at the Primerica annual convention, he appeared as a surprise guest for the first time since his retirement four years earlier. The reception he got from that unsuspecting audience told us everything we need to know about the impact he has had upon their lives, and the respect that he is held in. 45,000 distributors at the Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta showed him what an icon he is to them, and he should be to all in our profession with his leadership principles.