Hi, I’m David C. Smith
This isn't just a consultancy. It is the culmination of 30 years on the front lines of the benefits industry. I provide the technical firepower independent agencies need to win, led by a personal commitment to protecting your agency's reputation and your clients' bottom line.
My Approach
Technical Firepower, Agency-Side.
I don't believe in coaching from the sidelines. If you're facing a complex 500-life self-funded renewal or a terrifying compliance audit, you don't need a pep talk. You need a specialist who can do the work.
Practitioner Over Preacher: Most consultants read the manual. I helped write it. My approach is built on 30 years of actually selling and retaining business, not just theorizing about it.
The Embedded Philosophy: I don't want to be an outside vendor. I want to be your in-house expert. I use your agency email, I'm listed on your website, and I sit on your side of the table. Your clients see national-firm depth. You get all the credit.
Contractual Certainty: In an industry full of gray areas, I provide the Answer Man advantage. My compliance work is backed by contractual indemnification, giving your agency a level of security that standard consulting simply doesn't offer.
The Teacher's Mentality: My goal is to elevate your team's technical IQ. Whether through monthly webinars or direct prospect modeling, I don't just solve the problem. I show your producers how to win the next one.
How I Got Here
Most consultants talk about the industry. I helped build it.
I grew up in Banner Elk, North Carolina, attended the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, earned my political science degree from UNC Chapel Hill, and completed my law degree at night from North Carolina Central University School of Law while working full time. That last part matters. I have never been someone who waits for the right conditions to do the work.
My career in employee benefits started in the early 1990s, not as an agent, but as the policy and research advisor to Lieutenant Governor Dennis Wicker, where I was responsible for drafting North Carolina's Small Group Health Insurance Reform laws. I then served as Policy Director for the State Health Plan Purchasing Alliance Board, coordinating the launch of the Caroliance program, North Carolina's landmark experiment in small employer health insurance purchasing cooperatives.
From there I spent five years with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, developing agency performance tools and managing producer relationships across the state. I then practiced law full time from 2002 to 2009, focusing on employee benefits, insurance matters, and employment law defense, with clients that included some of North Carolina's largest health insurance agencies and employers.
In 2009 I moved to the retail side of benefits as Vice President of EbenConcepts, eventually becoming Senior Vice President of eBen Benefits. Over the next decade and a half, I helped grow the agency from roughly $10 million to over $20 million by expanding into larger, more complex groups and building services that employers actually value and will pay for — compliance and self-funded expertise.
That experience, growing an agency through acquisitions, navigating private equity transitions, managing self-funded clients through turbulent markets, and directing compliance for an entire book of business, is what I now bring to your agency through AmplifyX.
I have been where you are. I know what it costs when something goes wrong. And I know exactly how to help you make sure it doesn't.
You Don't Have to Have All the Answers.
You Just Have to Know the Right Person.
For 30 years I have been the person other people call when the situation is complicated, the stakes are high, and the answer actually matters.
Let me be that person for your agency.
Recognition + Credentials
The credentials speak for themselves. The experience behind them is what matters.
Awards & Honors:
Harold R. Gordon Memorial Award (2018)
National Association of Benefit & Insurance Professionals
NABIP's highest honor, recognizing the National Health Insurance Person of the Year.
Health Plan Advisor of the Year (2013)
Employee Benefit Advisor
Top 100 Insurance Professionals (2014 & 2015)
Insurance Business America
Frederick W. Joyner Distinguished Service Award (2014)
North Carolina NABIP chapter's highest lifetime honor.
William G. Wetzel Excellence in Public Speaking Award (2011)
National Association of Benefit & Insurance Professionals
2025 Finalist, Benefit Pro Benefit Advisor of the Year
2025, 2026 Healthcare Innovator
Validation Institute
Education, Certifications & Designations:
JD, North Carolina Central University School of Law (1999)
BA, Political Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Registered Employee Benefits Consultant (REBC)
Certified Health Value Advisor (CHVA), Validation Institute
NABIP Certified Specialist in the Affordable Care Act, Worksite Wellness, HIPAA Privacy & Security, Benefits Technology, Self-Funded Health Plans, Advanced Self-Funded, and Pharmacy Benefits
Author and co-author of five of NABIP's top-ranked certification programs for agents, brokers, and consultants
Licensed continuing education provider in all 50 states and the District of Columbia
