Inside Bobby Pulley’s Vision as CEO of Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee

©Journal Communications/Jeff Adkins

At day’s end, Bobby Pulley’s father really did know best.

In 2001, the younger Pulley was a newly minted university graduate who knew he wanted to go into banking. The native of Stewart County, Tennessee – population 12,370, per the 2000 U.S. census – went to Nashville and took a shot at what was then Union Planters Bank but came up short.

In the meantime, his dad was insisting that he try Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee (FBITN).

“I didn’t want to,” he says. “Insurance was never on my radar, but he was adamant that I didn’t understand the opportunity.”

Nor is it likely that the elder Pulley could have foreseen just how big that opportunity would turn out to be. Twenty-five years after starting as an agent in Stewart County, his son is CEO of FBITN.

“At the end of the day, Farm Bureau Insurance is about people, community and showing up,” Pulley says. “We’ve built a strong company focused on serving our members and supporting our agents, and I’m committed to carrying that work forward.”

Deeply Rooted in Tennessee

©Journal Communications/Jeff Adkins

Pulley has day-to-day responsibility for a business that literally touches every county in Tennessee – there’s at least one FBITN agency in each of the state’s 95 counties, 210 in all, nearly 1,000 employees and an additional 520 agents.

More to the point, he says, FBITN strives to be of, not just in, the communities it serves. The company’s main philanthropic beneficiary is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. He also says FBITN has “a strong commitment” to 4-H and FFA in Tennessee schools.

In Maury County, where FBITN is headquartered, the company helps support the Boys & Girls Club and United Way, to name just two nonprofits, and brings together farmers and businesses at events including the Maury County Farm Bureau Mule Day breakfast. FBITN also partners with the University of Tennessee and Nashville’s two professional sports teams – the NHL’s Nashville Predators and the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.

“Community is at the heart of Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee,” Pulley says. “We have always believed in being local and staying involved in the places where we live and work. Supporting our communities is not just what we do – it is a part of who we are. I’m very proud of the impact we continue to make together.”

A New Lens on Leadership

©Journal Communications/Jeff Adkins

First contracted by FBITN as an agent in Stewart County in late 2001, Pulley left Stewart County in 2006 to become an agency manager in Gibson County. He returned home the next year, with a new wife and baby in tow, to run FBITN’s Stewart County agency, then took over as the company’s regional manager for South Central Tennessee in 2019.

Pulley was named FBITN’s chief marketing officer in 2021, then was named the company’s incoming CEO in mid-2025 – a quarter century after getting that first job. He assumed that role in January 2026.

“In an entry-level position, all you see is what’s in front of you,” he says. “You’re building your book [of business]. As you progress, your focus is more farreaching. Then, as chief marketing officer, I looked at everything through the lens of sales.”

“Now, as CEO, I see things from a corporate standpoint,” he says. “You’ve got shareholders, agents, employees, policyholders and your board. What you learn here is that you’re hovering at 50,000 feet, with a macro perspective. I had no idea we had to be worried about fires in California, earthquakes in Japan or flooding in Australia,” he says.

Ultimately, Pulley’s perspective has shifted to a global scale, where disasters all over the world can directly impact insurance operations back home.

The Power of the Human Touch

Pulley says AI and social media present challenges to his industry in general terms but is quick to point out that FBITN is more than well-enough equipped to meet those challenges.

“When you think about when we were growing up, we all went to our parents for advice and counsel,” he says. “Now, we have Siri, Alexa and Google, and whatever they say is what most of us do – until you get backed into a corner and need deeper resources.

“Everybody wants convenience and fast,” Pulley continues, “but when your house burns, you need someone, a person who lives where you do, to believe in and help you navigate the next steps. What makes our company special is that we have that human touch, and that empathy has served us – and our policyholders – well.”