Headquarters:
2850 Golf Road, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
Year founded:
1997
Number of employees:
3,000
Phone:
ContactRPS@rpsins.com
Email:
ContactRPS@rpsins.com
Website:
rpsins.com
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/risk-placement-services-inc
“We are where our clients need us to be, when they need us”
Joel Cavaness,
Risk Placement Services
Joel Cavaness
President
Katie Rossbach
Chief Financial Officer
Lauren Melzer
Vice President, Market Relations
Leadership
After cofounding Risk Placement Services in 1997 as a scratch operation with just four employees, Joel Cavaness has been instrumental in driving its rapid growth to become one of the largest US wholesale brokers, MGAs, and program managers. Cavaness is active in the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA), having served on its board of directors from 2010 to 2022. In addition, he is an active champion of corporate social responsibility and fosters a culture of community involvement and giving at RPS. Under his leadership, the RPS team annually raises funds and gives thousands of hours of service in the communities where RPS employees live and work. Cavaness holds both the CPCU and ARM designations.
President
Joel Cavaness
Since 2018, Katie Rossbach has served as divisional chief financial officer at Risk Placement Services, where she partners with executive and field leadership to drive and influence strategy and results. For over 12 years, she has been an active supporter and wish grantor for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a non-profit organization that creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. She holds an MBA with a Finance concentration from DePaul University, a BS in Finance and Insurance from Illinois State University, a private pilot’s license, and her CPCU designation.
Chief Financial Officer
Katie Rossbach
Lauren Melzer serves as the vice president of market relations for RPS, where she is the primary liaison to all market partners domestically and internationally. In this role, she works with carriers to strategically grow relationships and ensure RPS has access to top markets to come through for its clients. Melzer earned her BS in Insurance from Illinois State University.
Vice President, Market Relations
Lauren Melzer
“We are where our clients need us to be, when they need us”
Joel Cavaness,
Risk Placement Services
“When clients engage with the RPS team, they can expect the level of expertise and responsiveness that they need from us to help them come through for their clients”
Joel Cavaness,
Risk Placement Services
Leadership
“When clients engage with the RPS team, they can expect the level of expertise and responsiveness that they need from us to help them come through for their clients”
Joel Cavaness, Risk Placement Services
“We are where our clients need us to be, when they need us”
Joel Cavaness,
Risk Placement Services
Leadership
Emily Hathcoat
Chief Marketing Officer
Emily Hathcoat serves as vice president, marketing, at Risk Placement Services where she is responsible for advancing business priorities through strategic and creative marketing programs that position the brand in the marketplace, drive client engagement, and generate demand for RPS products and services. Hathcoat is an active member of the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association (IMCA), having served on its board of directors from 2009 to 2019. She holds her BA in History from Creighton University and MBA from Saint Louis University.
Chief Marketing Officer
Emily Hathcoat
Noreen McMullan
Chief People Officer
Noreen McMullan joined AXIS Capital as chief human resources officer in September 2014 and is responsible for HR strategy and the delivery of HR services worldwide. McMullan has over 26 years of leadership experience in corporate HR for the financial services industry. Before joining AXIS, she served as executive vice president and CHRO for FirstKey Holdings, a diversified specialty finance company.
Prior to FirstKey, she led HR at Bank of America’s Legacy Asset Services Group. Additionally, McMullan spent 13 years at Morgan Stanley in several different capacities, including HR lead for C-level executives and their organisations, chief operations officer for global HR and head of HR and chief administrative officer for a Morgan Stanley subsidiary. Previously, she was with Citigroup from 1988 to 1998.
Chief People Officer
Noreen McMullan
Risk Placement Services (RPS) is fueled by a culture of creativity, collaboration and innovation. Its teams are enabled to do what it takes to find the right home for unique or complex risks. Their promise to retailers is to help you come through for your clients.
RPS’s culture of teamwork and collaboration across divisions is what makes it stand out in the industry. The company approaches risk placement challenges head on and takes a “say ‘no’ to no” approach, leveraging the coverage line expertise that resides across its divisions, whether brokerage, binding/MGA, programs or standard lines.
“Our clients tell us that we stand out today because of our service and responsiveness,” says Joel Cavaness, president of RPS. “Clients can count on their RPS partner to answer their phones and respond, keeping our client informed of the status of the submission or renewal. We are where our clients need us to be, when they need us.”
“When clients engage with the RPS team, they can expect the level of expertise and responsiveness that they need from us to help them come through for their clients”
Joel Cavaness,
Risk Placement Services
David Phillips
Chief Investment Officer
Keith Schlosser
Global Chief Information Officer
Dan Draper
Group Chief Underwriting Officer
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
David Phillips joined AXIS Capital as chief investment officer in April 2014. With more than 25 years of experience in investments, he previously served as head of investments for PartnerRe, where he had management and asset allocation responsibilities for public fixed income, public equities, private equities, and alternative fixed income. Prior to PartnerRe, he was the director of research and a portfolio manager at Oppenheimer Capital, an institutional money manager based in New York City. Phillips is a CFA charterholder and received an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and an AB from Princeton University.
Chief Investment Officer
David Phillips
Keith Schlosser is global chief information officer at AXIS Capital, where he leads the company’s global information technology and data strategy. He is also responsible for driving change throughout the organisation by delivering high-quality, future-oriented IT services in line with AXIS Capital’s business strategy. Schlosser has more than 30 years of insurance industry experience, spanning roles in information technology, business solutions, marketing and sales. Prior to AXIS, he served as chief information officer for Chubb’s Overseas General Insurance division, where he spearheaded a number of growth, innovation, digital and change initiatives. Before that, he served as CIO at The Travelers Companies international division. Schlosser was also a vice president for marketing technology and web communications at AIG.
Global Chief Information Officer
Keith Schlosser
Dan Draper was appointed group chief underwriting officer in September 2022. He had previously served for more than two years as group head of underwriting at AXIS. Prior to that, he had been group chief risk and actuarial officer at VIBE. Before joining VIBE, Draper spent eight years with AXIS, holding a number of leadership roles that included group chief actuary, chief risk analytics officer, and insurance segment chief risk officer. Before that, he held managerial positions at the Financial Services Authority, XL Capital, and EY.
Group Chief Underwriting Officer
Dan Draper
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
Sarah M Stewart
Associate Vice President,
Leasing and Call Centre Operations
Karen Bannister, CM
Vice President, Marketing
Dave Longbottom
Chief Technology Officer
Alex Ventura
Head of Marketing
Damian Palovick
Senior Vice President of Underwriting
AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America
Dr. Mary Lavoie
Head of Risk Management and Senior Vice President
AXA XL – Delegated Authority Programs, North America
Mark Bernacki
Chief Underwriting Officer
Ryan Armijo
Chief Operating Officer, Underwriting Division
Bob Petrilli
President, Underwriting Division
The second most important strategy is RPS’s focus on talent. In an industry where relationships and expertise are of the utmost importance to their clients, recruiting, retaining and developing the best talent who fits within their culture of creativity and collaboration is a priority. As a result, RPS has experienced immense growth in the diversity and experience of its talented teams over the past few years.
“When clients engage with the RPS team, they can expect the level of expertise and responsiveness that they need from us to help them come through for their clients,” says Cavaness. “Our teams bring a level of enthusiasm and knowledge and take the time to explain quotes to retailers, which enables them to be the expert, trusted advisor to their clients.”
Read on
IB Top Brokerages
Award Winner
Award Winner
RISK PLACEMENT SERVICES
SPECIAL REPORT
Home
Bio
Read on
Award Winner
SPECIAL REPORT
Home
Bio
Read on
Award Winner
SPECIAL REPORT
Home
Bio
Cavaness co-founded RPS as a scratch operation in 1997. With a focus on talent development and client relations, he has led RPS to be one of the largest wholesalers and MGAs in the US. In addition, he is an active champion of corporate social responsibility and fosters a culture of community involvement and giving at RPS. Under his leadership, the RPS team annually raises funds and gives thousands of hours of service in the communities where employees live and work. Today, RPS places over $6 billion in the US specialty marketplace, serves 25,000 retail clients and is a top insurance employer for nearly 3,000 associates.
During the past few years, RPS has undertaken two important strategies to continue to come through for its clients. The first is its digital strategy that involves deploying significant digital enhancements to the online quoting and account management features that enable RPS clients to quote, bind, issue and pay for numerous lines of coverage completely online in minutes. Use of RPS’s online platforms increased by 40% last year and is expected to continue to grow as retailers want a “need-it-now” channel to secure specialty insurance coverage for their clients.
Medal
Overall service level
Broker communication, training and development
BDM support
Turnaround time – claims
Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance
General liability
Commercial auto/transportation/trucking
Medal
Overall service level
Broker communication, training and development
BDM support
Turnaround time – claims
Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance
General liability
Commercial auto/transportation/trucking
Medal
Commercial auto/transportation/trucking
General liability
Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance
Turnaround time – claims
BDM support
Broker communication, training and development
Overall service level
BDM support
BDM support