2010 Entrepreneurial Insurance Symposium Speakers
The Entrepreneurial Insurance Symposium provides excellent speaker lineups, profiling the most prolific and innovative executives in the insurance industry. In previous years, leading insurance innovators, entrepreneurs and risk managers, from some of the most important companies in North America, presented and discussed topics on the promise of the future of insurance and the failures witnessed in the past.
The 2010 Entrepreneurial Insurance Symposium will continue this legacy with presentations from CEOs, presidents and innovation leaders from the insurance industry.
Lou Caltavuturo
Managing Partner
Hales & Company Inc.
Bio Coming Soon
Robert Courtemanche
Chief Executive Officer
ACE Private Risk Services
Robert Courtemanche was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of ACE Private Risk Services in April 2008. Based in Madison, N.J., Mr. Courtemanche is responsible for directing the overall growth and profitability of ACE's personal insurance lines, including ACE Private Risk Services, the North America-based high-net-worth personal lines business of ACE and ACE Recreational Marine. Mr. Courtemanche has more than 20 years of personal lines insurance industry experience, with a special focus on leading businesses that insure the assets of affluent clients.
He joins ACE from Fireman's Fund, where he served as President of its Personal Insurance business. He previously served as Senior Vice President of American International Group's (AIG) Private Client group, where he was instrumental in establishing this business segment. He also has held several key management positions at a nationwide brokerage firm and at Chubb & Son, Inc.
Mr. Courtemanche is a graduate of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in upstate New York, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree. In addition, he attended the Executive Education program at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Rod Fox
Chief Executive Officer
TigerRisk Partners
BIO Coming Soon
Bill Hartnett
General Manager of Financial Strategy and Solutions
Microsoft
Bill Hartnett is Microsoft's General Manager of Financial Service Strategy and Solutions, responsible for developing the company's worldwide strategic direction and its implementation across financial services industries.
Kevin H. Kelley
Chief Executive Officer
Ironshore
Prior to Ironshore, Mr. Kelley had been with Lexington Insurance Company, a Division of AIG (AIG - NYSE), since he started there in 1975 as a Senior Underwriter. In 1987, he was elected President and Chief Executive Officer of Lexington Insurance Company and since 1997, he had served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Kelley has served a variety of other roles including Executive Vice President of AIG Property Casualty Group and President of AIG Domestic Personal Lines; Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Landmark Insurance Company; Chairman of the Board of Directors of AIG Cat Excess Liability Insurance Company Ltd. and a member of the Boards of Directors of Risk Specialists Companies, Inc. and Medical Excess LLC.
Mr. Kelley graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in Business Administration from Boston University School of Management in 1972. He earned his CPCU designation in 1980. Mr. Kelley, a lifelong New England resident, has a long history of community service, and is currently on the Board of Trustees of Caritas - Saint Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts; Big Brothers of Massachusetts Bay in Boston, Massachusetts; Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton, Massachusetts; Advisory Board to the Dean of Boston University School of Management in Boston, Massachusetts; and Board of Overseers of WBUR in Boston, Massachusetts.
Richard Kerr
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
MarketScout
Richard Kerr is Chairman and CEO of MarketScout Corporation. MarketScout.com is a Dallas, Texas-based electronic insurance exchange, which underwrites and distributes hundreds of product lines to its 35,000-member agency network across the United States. Mr. Kerr's previous experience includes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lambert Fenchurch US Holdings, Chairman of Sedgwick Energy and President of Sedgwick James of Texas.
Richard has an extensive background in launching new ventures and entrepreneurial concepts in all facets of insurance distribution. He is a sought-after keynote speaker and lecturer on innovative distribution and underwriting concepts. Richard participates in various forums during the year. As an author, he has written two technical insurance publications, as well as articles for over 20 different insurance publications. His monthly Market Barometer is published by over fifteen insurance trade journals and various other business publications including The Wall Street Journal.
Richard holds a business degree in Insurance and Risk Management from the University of Texas in Austin and serves as a board member for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He founded the Kerr Educational Trust, which helps under privileged students by providing college tuition and related expenses. He also founded HEROES, a support organization that honors American soldiers returning from active duty.
John Kraska
Managing Partner
Hales & Company
John is a partner of Hales & Company and led a management buyout of the firm from Arch Capital Group, Ltd. in 2004. Throughout his career, he has led over 100 corporate finance transactions, including mergers & acquisitions and equity investments with a focus on insurance brokerage, insurance company and financial services clients. Some recent transactions led by John include advising Summit Global Partners in its 2005 sale to USI Holdings, TravelGuard in its 2006 sale to AIG and Marsh & McClennan in its sale of certain non-core assets in 2005 and 2006.
Prior to joining Hales, John was Managing Director of Firemark Investments, a $200 million investment firm focused on insurance and healthcare. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton School.
Alex Lozecki Sr.
Chief Executive Officer
AMCAT Global Inc.
BIO Coming Soon
Clyde Owen
LexisNexis Insurance Solutions
BIO Coming Soon
Robert Purdy
Senior Vice President, Workers' Compensation
ACE USA
Robert G. Purdy was recently named Senior Vice President, Workers' Compensation, as part of the ACE Casualty Risk Company in February 2009. Based in Philadelphia, he is responsible for leading the underwriting, marketing and operations strategies for ACE USA's middle market workers' compensation businesses, including ACE Complete ™, a web-based underwriting facility that enables contracted brokers to conduct underwriting transactions-from entry to policy issuance - via the Internet.
With more than 26 years of experience in the insurance arena, Mr. Purdy joined ACE USA from American International Group (AIG) where he held the position of Division President for AIG's Specialty Workers' Compensation Division. During his twelve years with AIG, he held various senior management positions, including overall responsibility for the e-WC, Middle Market, USL&H and Direct Assignment Segments. He also had an assignment as the Market Segment Leader for all business fifty (50) million in sales and below at AIG. Mr. Purdy previously spent time with CIGNA Property & Casualty, an ACE predecessor organization, holding a succession of senior-level positions.
Mr. Purdy serves on the board of directors of the American Society of Workers' Compensation Professionals, Inc. (AMCOMP), the Governing Board of the California Workers' Compensation Rating Bureau, the Governing Board of the California Workers' Compensation Institute (CWCI), previously on the Governing Board of the North Carolina Rating Bureau, Governing Board of the Pennsylvania and the Delaware Rating Bureau(s). He is also the CEO and President of New Markets Insurance Agency, a subsidiary of ACE USA. Additionally he serves on the American Staffing Association Advisory Board. He is a past member of the selection committee for Florida CHOICE Awards® for Workers' Compensation, presented by Choice Medical Management Services, LLC and services on the board of trustees for Caldwell College in New Jersey. He is a frequent speaker at insurance industry conferences and has published numerous articles in industry trades.
Frank Sentner
Director of Strategic Technology
CIAB
Frank Sentner has been providing technology solutions to the insurance industry for over thirty years. He began in 1976 with Insurnet where he managed the development of the first ACORD forms-based agency policy and claims management system. In 1984, he founded Creative Information Systems Co. where he designed and directed development of the first ACORD AL3-based agency management system – known today as Sagitta and used by the majority of large insurance agencies and brokerage firms. In 1992, CISCo merged with the Gemini division of Aetna to form CISGEM, which was acquired by AMS Services in 1995.
He served as Senior Vice President of Technology for AMS until September 1996 when he founded Soulware Ltd. to provide consulting services to improve business process integration between insurers and agents/brokers. Among many long-term engagements, Frank has been the acting Director of Strategic Technology for The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers since 1997. Frank is regularly consulted by insurance carriers and intermediaries, industry groups, and insurance software vendors, and is frequently interviewed by national trade publications on technology issues affecting the insurance industry.
John Wepler
President
MarshBerry & Company
John M. Wepler joined MarshBerry in 1991 and is President and a senior shareholder. He is a vital resource in the areas of organic growth management, valuation enhancement solutions, mergers and acquisitions, business planning, ownership perpetuation and financial management. John is nationally recognized as one of the industry's leaders in merger & acquisition advisory having personally closed over 160 M&A transactions since joining the firm.
John is a frequent key note speaker at national conferences, agent association meetings, insurance carrier elite meetings and executive leadership forums, including Chubb Wharton Executive Leadership Training, Selective Executive Symposiums, Bank Director Magazine investment banking conferences, SNL Financial investment banking training workshops and CIAB Greenbrier conferences. He is a prolific author for leading insurance publications, including SNL Securities, Best's Review, American Agent and Broker, National Underwriter and M&A Scoreboard Magazine. He currently serves on the Board of the American Bankers Insurance Association.
John holds a Bachelor's Degree in Finance from Ohio University and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Kent State University.
