Midwest Agency Team

Michael Holden, NTP, CLTP, is Vice President and Regional Agency Manager – Midwest for AmTrust Title Insurance Company, an AmTrust Financial Company. With more than 30 years in the title industry, he began his career owning and operating a large Missouri title agency before advancing into national leadership roles with major underwriters. A respected voice in the industry, Michael has earned both the National Title Professional™ (NTP) and Certified Land Title Professional™ (CLTP) designations and was named among the Top 100 People in Real Estate®. He frequently speaks at industry conferences and authors The Ramblings of a Title Man series, reflecting his deep knowledge of the land title field.

Brian brings a unique dual-industry perspective to the title insurance underwriter space, shaped by his early career in the mortgage industry and his experience of founding and managing a retail title company. This blend of operational insight and customer experience allows him to understand the challenges title agencies face and offer practical, results-driven solutions.  As a strategic partner to title companies, Brian helps agencies optimize their operations, improve profitability, strengthen referral relationships, and explore growth opportunities.  His consultative approach and deep industry knowledge make him a trusted resource for agencies looking to elevate their performance.  Residing in Minnesota, Brian enjoys spending time outdoors—whether fishing, hiking, or riding motorcycle down a wide-open country road.

With more than a decade of experience in the title insurance and financial services industry, Marissa Westwood serves as Agency Development Manager at AmTrust Title, where she leads the agent-facing onboarding process from start to success. She works closely with new agents to ensure seamless integration, operational readiness, and long-term partnership growth. Drawing on her expertise in TitlePro 247, MMI, and compliance, Marissa streamlines workflows and enhances the onboarding experience through innovation and collaboration. Based in Dallas, Texas, she is passionate about mentorship, continuous improvement, and strengthening connections across the title community.

As a National Senior Underwriter for AmTrust Title, Chris is responsible for providing underwriting support to our many customers while attracting new title agents as a business development executive. He brings an extensive knowledge of the products and services the Company offers, with 30 years of industry experience in relationship-based consulting, sales, marketing and underwriting, Chris has held county, state and national leadership positions for many of the world’s largest title insurers and several prominent title agencies as well. He has been a frequent guest speaker, presenter and sponsor at numerous industry related events and is a member of several real estate associations.

Jim is National Underwriting Counsel, where he brings more than two decades of experience to support the closing experience. He oversees underwriting strategy, title-exam review and risk-mitigation in complex transaction environments, leveraging deep expertise in real estate practices, title insurance considerations and multi-state closings. 
Jim is recognized for his advocacy of best-practice underwriting and his collaborative approach to risk-management—ensuring that every closing is handled with precision, integrity and the highest standards of service. He is a Board Certified Real Estate Attorney by the Florida Bar, and he is active in ALTA and various state land title associations.