New board officers were inducted during IIAT’s annual awards ceremony & business meeting during INSURCON at the JW Marriot Hill Country San Antonio on June 25, 2025.
Travis McDavid, vice president at GSM Insurors in Rockport, was elected IIAT Chair for 2025-2026. Tyler Spears, managing partner at BKCW in Austin, will serve as chair-elect, and Kyle Dean, president and CEO at Dean & Draper in Houston, will serve as vice-chair.
Elected to serve on the board of directors were Michael Tatum with Heritage Risk Management in Lubbock, Stephanie Dew with Winstar Insurance Group in Cedar Park, and Steven Stover with Stover & Crouch Insurance Agency in Madisonville.
Travis McDavid
CHAIR
GSM Insurors, Rockport
Travis McDavid is the Vice President of GSM Insurors in Rockport. He joined his family’s agency after graduating from the University of Texas in 2000.
Travis served on IIAT’s Board of Directors from 2014 to 2018 and has been the Vice Chair of IIAT’s Services Board from 2018 to 2023 and again this past year. Travis returned to the IIAT Board of Directors in 2023.
He has chaired IIAT’s Windstorm Task Force since 2013. Additionally, he has been a member of TWIA’s Advisory Board since 2016 and currently serves as its chair. Travis is also an IMPACT Region Vice President. He has served previously on the CIC Board of Directors and currently serves on The Academy Board of Directors for the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance (formerly the National Alliance). He serves on the board of the Insurors Group LLC and chaired that board for numerous years. Over the years, Travis has served on numerous company advisory boards.
Travis is active in his community, having served previously as Chair of the Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the Airport Advisory Board, director of the Appraisal District. He is a commercially licensed pilot who enjoys sharing his passion for flying as a flight instructor. Travis lives in Rockport with his wife, Peggy, and their four children: Haleigh, Bridy, Brooks (also known asCinco), and Beckett.
Tyler Spears
Chair-Elect
BKCW, Austin
Tyler Spears graduated with a BBA in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business and joined BKCW Insurance in 2009, serving as the Managing Partner. In his fifteen years, the agency has grown and expanded its footprint throughout central Texas with locations in Austin, Killeen, Temple, and Brownwood.
Tyler lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Meredith, and two kids. He serves on various regional and national agent councils for Nationwide, Texas Mutual, and Liberty Mutual/Safeco. He was named the 2017 IIAT Young Agent of the Year and sits on the boards of the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas and the Independent Insurance Agents of Austin. Outside of work, Tyler enjoys playing golf and going outdoors, especially to the mountains in the winter and summer.
Kyle Dean
Vice-Chair
Dean & Draper, Houston
Kyle Dean is the President & CEO of Dean & Draper, a full-service independent insurance brokerage founded by his father more than 45 years ago. Since joining the firm in 2005, Kyle has helped grow it from a local operation into a trusted national brokerage, guided by a commitment to integrity, accountability, and innovation.
After his father’s sudden passing in 2013, Kyle stepped into leadership with a clear vision: to expand the firm while staying true to its founding philosophy—work hard, play hard, and treat each other like family. Today, that same spirit drives a culture built on teamwork and the flexibility to meet clients' evolving needs.
Kyle serves on IIAT’s Board of Directors and is the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. He also served as President of the Independent Insurance Agents of Houston (IIAH). In addition, he has served as Chair of the Risk Management & Insurance Council at the University of Houston – Downtown, supporting the university’s risk management degree program—a program his father helped found—and carrying forward that legacy by helping to strengthen the pipeline of talent entering the insurance industry. Kyle also previously served as a board member for the Texas Insurance Education Foundation, a nonprofit supporting undergraduate university programs in Risk Management & Insurance, and currently serves on the board of the Houston chapter of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation (IICF), which mobilizes the industry to serve local communities through grants and volunteerism.
A graduate of Texas Christian University with a BA in Entrepreneurial Management, Kyle later earned his MBA from Texas Wesleyan University.
Born and raised in Houston, Kyle continues to live in the Bayou City with his wife, Kristen, and their two children. The family can usually be found on the go navigating a busy sports schedule that includes baseball, basketball, soccer, and football. When time allows, Kyle enjoys fishing and passionately cheering on his TCU Horned Frogs.
