LOS ANGELES—Four months after taking the reigns as Lee& Associates interim president and chairman of theboard, Jeff Rinkov is officially named the firm'spermanent CEO and chairman of the board. Rinkov stepped into theposition in November after the former CEO, EdIndvik, stepped down. In this new position, Rinkov will leadLee's ongoing and noteworthy national expansion. To find outexactly what this expansion entails, we sat down with him for aone-on-one interview.

GlobeSt.com: What are your major goals as the newCEO and chairman of the board for Lee &Associates?

Jeff Rinkov: The number of goals isnumerous, but I think they all fall under a handful of categories.We're looking to do things that help empower our agents and createbetter resources for clients, and that is really the thrust of ourfocus. So, we're looking to develop better marketing materials andbetter marketing methods and processes, both on the national leveland to assist local offices. Expansion continues to be alarge-scale goal for Lee & Associates, and we are reallyfocused on strategic market expansion. The brand identity is goingto come from promoting the number of specialties that we offer. Wehave and are continuing to develop a number of specialty practicegroups and disciplines that will do a very good job going forwardof messaging to the market and to our clients, and we think thatties in to our national presence and helps us create targetedexpansion.