Sigmar worked as a mechanical engineer in the munitions industry and was later active as a risk manager and loss control expert for munitions manufacturing companies before he founded The Walnut Advisory Corporation in 1974. Sigmar has extensive experience in the placement of insurance coverage for large accounts.

Ariel Hessing received a Bachelor’s Degree from the Insurance College of St. John’s University and later attended New York University’s MBA Program, majoring in Marketing, Finance and Economics. Ariel has extensive experience in underwriting the following lines of coverage: Public, Private, and Non-Profit D&O; Lawyers’ Malpractice and EPLI; Commercial Property and Casualty for Manufacturing and Premises Based Risks including Apartments, Condos, Restaurants, Hotels, Motels, Movie Theaters, Bowling Alleys, Churches, Shopping Malls and Office Buildings. Ariel has developed and administered numerous national and regional insurance programs in a career that has spanned over twenty years. These programs have ranged from Lawyers’ Malpractice to Apartments, Condos, Restaurants, Hotels, Motels, Movie Theaters, and Churches, with operations stretching from Maine to Hawaii.