I wanted to control my own destiny, and the agency business provided that opportunity. By the time he bought into the Rule Companies Clemo was no stranger to the world of competition. He had played basketball and volleyball on a scholarship at the University of Southern California, and during the four years that he was a Trojan, their crosstown rivals, the UCLA Bruins, were winning three national championships. Besides honing his competitive instincts on the basketball court Clemo used his collegiate experience to develop relationship skills which have proven valuable in the agency business. He was president of the Beta Theta Pi house at USC, and today at The Rule Group he presides over an office atmosphere that in some respects has a lot in common with a college fraternity.
Nicknames abound, and fun is a priority.
John McCarty, a producer who was with the agency for 57 years, had a distinguished Navy background. Office parties, some of which are held at Bob's house, are memorable events. The agency maintains a box at the finish line of the Santa Anita race track which combines business and pleasure for agency-client outings. These niches came about as a result of relationships established over time by various producers. An affiliated company, Solid Waste Insurance Managers, for example, handles a range of environmental exposures, including hazardous waste.