Anthony Ambush, C'73

A former track star, Anthony Ambush has never tired of “winning the race” as he puts it. As president and founder of Ambush Associates Inc., Ambush has spent the last 27 years building a successful business in the insurance industry. “There’s nothing like the challenge of getting a new client,” he says from his D.C. office.  “Every day when I get up, I think to myself, ‘This is a new day and a new opportunity to go forward.’ I’m determined to be successful.”

Ambush, who received his bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting from the Mount in 1973, came to the Mount by way of his talent on the track and that same determination to succeed. As a high school senior, Ambush, a sprinter, was approached by Mount track coach Jim Deegan. “I had set lots of records, but hadn’t been highly recruited,” he remembers.

That changed when during a meet he finished with his best time ever, 9.5 in the 100 yard dash. He began to hear from schools such as the University of Maryland. “But the Mount had wanted me when no one else did,” he says. And at the Mount, “I learned everything I needed to prepare me for life outside of college.” Ambush has remained involved with his alma mater and currently serves on the Bicentennial Commission.

“I’m an independent person who thinks outside the box,” he remarks. After just six years in the industry, the 27-year-old Ambush decided to go out on his own, forming Ambush Associates. The company would thrive, becoming a full-service independent insurance agency and offering commercial insurance products, surety bonding service and employee group benefits services.

These days Ambush is “preparing for the next phase” of his life. He wants to commit his time and talents to helping others and has become an executive committee member of United World Missions. The organization is dedicated to offering assistance to children in Africa whose parents have died of AIDS. Currently, the organization is constructing three schools in Kenya for kindergarten through eighth grade and has plans to build a high school. Ambush is advising United World Missions on the insurance requirements for the schools, among other duties such as fundraising and promoting the organization and its activities.

He was deeply moved by a recent visit to Kenya, seeing the look of poverty and anxiety on the faces of the villagers. “I’m happy to work behind the scenes and help from a business standpoint, offering economic and professional expertise,” he says. “That’s my contribution and my mission.”