Ben White—Your Project Is Cleared for Takeoff

Pearl’s in-house marketing team (Pearl Marketing Group—or “PMG” for short) churns through hundreds of projects every single year. With so many jobs to keep track of, project management is critical.

That’s where Ben White comes in. As a marketing production supervisor, Ben—along with his team—helps facilitate and oversee the litany of work requests PMG is responsible for.

But who’s the person behind the production?

Read on to find out.

From Sunny LA to Picturesque… Pekin??

Growing up, Ben never had a clear idea of the career path he wanted to travel. But going where the wind takes you can bring some interesting surprises along the way.

After struggling to pick a major in college, he landed on a radio/TV communications degree with a minor in multimedia… which ultimately led him to LA where he worked in casting for the NBC show Fear Factor. While on the West Coast, he first discovered his love for project management (and for the Pacific Ocean, which he still misses every day). It also led him through some interesting life experiences—like when he had dinner with a famous actor after the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards.

“One time, after working the SAG Awards, I ate pizza with actor Don Cheadle,” Ben said. “I don’t regret it. He was a really nice guy.”

But the glitz and glamour of the Hollywood scene wasn’t enough to keep Ben around, and he and his wife eventually moved to Central Illinois to be closer to extended family. He set up shop in Pekin… which might not sound like an obvious choice for someone coming from California, but with a beautiful lakeview from his backyard, it’s a surprisingly scenic place to live.

People Make All the Difference

In keeping with his unpredictable career journey, Ben ended up at Pearl by happenstance.

“I was at the right place at the right time talking to the right person to land my position within PMG. It was just one of those things.”

But his new job at an unassuming Midwestern insurance company turned out to be what he’d been wanting all along. As Ben (and so many other employees!) says, he loves working here because of the people.

“The people in Pearl Marketing Group are some of the most dedicated, kind, respectful, and talented people I’ve ever worked with. We treat each other like family and look out for one another all the time,” Ben told me.

And it’s not just Pearl’s employees—it’s also the company’s leaders.

He continued, “I believe Pearl’s leadership genuinely has the best interests of the employees in mind. 2020 separated the good companies from the bad, and I think Pearl did an excellent job allowing employees to do what they needed to for their own safety and the well-being of their families. Pearl obviously cares, and that’s especially important and relevant these days.”

Refueling His Tanks

Outside of PMG, Ben has his hands full helping his wife raise their three young daughters (and a cat). But as exhausting as parenting can be, his kids are one of Ben’s primary sources of motivation.

When he has some free time, you might find Ben golfing, fishing… or engaging in one of his nerdier hobbies.

“I’m a huge aviation and military hardware geek, and anyone that works with me probably knows that because I never stop blabbing on and on about airplanes.”

It’s fitting then that the motto Ben lives by—Who Dares Wins—was popularized by a military air service.

And if you ask him, the dares he’s taken throughout his life—which led him to a family he loves and a job he’s passionate about—have resulted in certain victory.