Donteako E. Wilson

As a student at Capital High School, Donteako Wilson played cornerback on the football team standing 5 foot, 6 inches tall. While having to guard players up to a foot taller than him was daunting, it taught him early on that he loved a good challenge.

Wilson has been facing and overcoming challenges throughout his entire professional career, including breaking into the insurance industry as a minority.

“I have always been able to identify who is in my corner and who is not, and I have always enjoyed proving people wrong,” says Wilson, chairman, managing member and founder of Capital Insurance Group (CIG). “Being a minority in an industry without many allowed me to stand out. It was not a negative but a positive and a way for me to climb my way to the top.”

Today, Wilson oversees CIG’s Charleston, WV, and Columbus, Ohio, offices and specializes in home, automotive, business and life insurance. Under his leadership, he has helped CIG grow to include 15 offices in 12 states and become a regional powerhouse in the insurance industry. In the future, he hopes to expand CIG to 25 states and diversify into other sectors.

“I love building our brand,” he says. “I still get excited when our phone rings. I love seeing my staff grow in their careers. None of our current employees had an insurance license when I hired them. I like a blank canvas to work with, and it’s exciting to see them learn.”

Growing up on Charleston’s West Side, Wilson enjoyed a childhood surrounded by both sides of his family.

“My neighborhood showed me all of the skill sets necessary to build my businesses,” he says. “I would not change one thing about where I grew up and the people I grew up with. The West Side made me mentally tough and taught me many valuable life lessons.”

While he didn’t have a specific career goal growing up, he knew without a doubt he wanted to be one thing: successful. It was watching his grandfather, Don, change careers later in life that inspired him to consider insurance.

“My grandfather was a retired teacher who became a successful real estate agent,” he recalls. “I saw the freedom he had and admired that. I thought he was so cool, wearing suits, making his own schedule, networking and meeting so many people, and I wanted to be just like him. I wear his name proudly, and one day I hope to live up to the legacy he created here in Kanawha County.”

Part of that legacy includes service to others. When he is not traveling between offices, Wilson takes the time to serve as a board member for African American Philanthropy in Action, Keep Your Faith Corporation, Charleston Montessori School, Goodwill Industries of Kanawha Valley, Kanawha Hospice Care, Kanawha County Public Library and Charleston Main Streets.

“The Earl Wilson Community Thanks­giving Dinner is named after my late father, and it is my number one community service effort,” he says. “The Keep Your Faith Corporation hosts this event, and it’s important to me because it’s all about giving back what we have been blessed with. You never know who is watching you and who you might inspire to give back. Creating a legacy for my children, Gabrielle and Jonathan, is my life’s mission.”

Wilson is dedicated to the Mountain State and its people, and he hopes his successes inspire others to realize anything is possible here.

“I want to show the country that West Virginia has a lot to offer,” he says. “It is an amazing place that has provided me with a unique opportunity to start on the West Side of Charleston and develop into an industry leader on a national scale. The best and brightest can thrive in West Virginia at a high level.”