Headquarters:

Chicago, IL

Year founded:

2010

Number of employees:

3,800+ (Ryan Specialty as of December 31, 2022)

Phone:

312 784 6001

Email:

info@rtspecialty.com

Website:

rtspecialty.com

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/rt-specialty

“Everything we do as an organization is to serve our agents in a meaningful way, which is to provide industry-leading insurance solutions when they need them the most”

Mark Maher, Jencap

RT Specialty

Timothy W. Turner

Chairman and CEO of RT Specialty Director and President of Ryan Specialty

Ed McCormack

President & General Counsel, RT Specialty

Paul Laufer

Chief Operating Officer

Leadership

Timothy W. Turner, president and director of Ryan Specialty and chairman and CEO of Ryan Turner Specialty (RT Specialty), joined the firm in 2010 to create and develop Ryan Turner Specialty. Under his leadership, RT Specialty is now one of the top wholesale distributors of specialty insurance in the country. Prior to joining Ryan Specialty in 2010, Turner was the president of CRC Insurance Services. He started his career at AJ Renner & Associates and was a casualty broker at the Crump Group. He has received numerous awards, including the Spirit of Life 2021 by the National Insurance Industry Council and City of Hope. In 2019, he received the prestigious Insurance Industry “Good Scout” Award from the Boy Scouts of America, Greater New York Councils.

Chairman and CEO of RT Specialty Director and President of Ryan Specialty

Timothy W. Turner

Ed McCormack is president and general counsel of RT Specialty. He joined Ryan Specialty in 2010 after two decades as a courtroom lawyer, first as a federal prosecutor and then as a commercial litigator. Most recently, he was with the international law firm Nixon Peabody. McCormack received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia.

President & General Counsel, RT Specialty

Ed McCormack

Paul Laufer joined Gorst & Compass in 2007. He became executive vice president in 2017 and was named chief operating officer in 2022. He is a board member and past president of the California Insurance Wholesalers Association and Surplus Lines Association of California Legislative Committee Member. He earned a BA degree in Speech Communication from California State University Northridge and a Professional Designation in Personal Financial Planning from the University of California Los Angeles. Laufer enjoys surfing, wake surfing, snowboarding, golfing, playing all sports, watching combat sports, and most of all spending time with family and friends.

Chief Operating Officer

Paul Laufer

“Everything we do as an organization is to serve our agents in a meaningful way, which is to provide industry-leading insurance solutions when they need them the most”

Mark Maher, Jencap

“Our team has successfully executed on an aggressive acquisition and integration plan over the last few years, which has contributed greatly to our strong market position”

John Jennings, Jencap

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“Our team has successfully executed on an aggressive acquisition and integration plan over the last few years, which has contributed greatly to our strong market position”

John Jennings, Jencap

“Everything we do as an organization is to serve our agents in a meaningful way, which is to provide industry-leading insurance solutions when they need them the most”

Mark Maher, Jencap

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Leadership

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Chip Polhill

Chief Underwriting Officer

Chip Polhill began his insurance career in 1986 as an underwriter for Marine Office of America Corp./Continental Insurance. He joined Gorst & Compass in 1993 and became chief underwriting officer in 2018. He earned a BA degree from The University of Alabama and a master’s degree in International Business Administration from the American Graduate School, Arizona State University. Polhill enjoys scuba diving, paddle boarding in the Pacific, and spending time with family.

Chief Underwriting Officer

Chip Polhill

Brandon Wiener

Partner, Member of the Management Committee

Brandon Wiener’s practice focuses on personal, corporate and trust planning for high-net-worth individuals, professionals, executives, owner-managers and their businesses, both domestic and international, including corporate reorganizations, structuring of investments and businesses including professional incorporations, purchases and sales of businesses and real estate, estate planning, immigration and emigration, and non-profit organizations and charities including private foundations. He also advises investment funds and their managers and advisors in connection with structuring and other fund-related tax issues. Prior to joining Thorsteinssons LLP in 2010, Wiener worked in the litigation and tax departments of the Montreal office of a large national law firm. He also worked as a law clerk for the Honourable Mr. Justice Michel Bastarache at the Supreme Court of Canada. Having a strong background in tax litigation, Wiener also assists and represents clients in their dealings with the taxation authorities in the context of an audit or assessment or voluntary disclosure.

Partner, Member of the Management Committee

Brandon Wiener

RT Specialty is a leading wholesale distributor of specialty insurance products and services and the wholesale broking specialty of Ryan Specialty. The firm’s specialist brokers handle an expansive mix of property, casualty, professional lines, transportation, personal lines, and workers’ compensation insurance products, on both an open market and delegated authority basis. RT Specialty’s entrepreneurial spirit is combined with advanced risk modeling, market access, and claims advocacy to provide excellent solutions to its clients. The firm is built on a foundation of talent, innovation and execution, and believes that clients are best served by a team of professionals who maintain meaningful teamwork among brokers, agents and carriers. RT Specialty thrives on a challenge, and its wholesale specialty and binding authority risk professionals have deep experience and the drive to find superior placement for even the toughest risks. Regardless of account size – big or small – RT Specialty is dedicated to providing lightning-fast expert advice, advocacy, and execution on behalf of its retail broker clients. For more information, please visit rtspecialty.com.

“Our team has successfully executed on an aggressive acquisition and integration plan over the last few years, which has contributed greatly to our strong market position”

John Jennings, Jencap

Kin Lee-Yow

Chief Information Officer

Catherine Sieniewicz

AVP of Travel and Retail

Rhonda English

Chief Marketing Officer

Evelyn Peng

Chief Risk Officer

Kin Lee-Yow’s combination of banking, payment, retail, e-commerce, and insurance technology experience has enabled him to contribute to the success and leadership positions in three large organizations in Canada, culminating in his current role as the CIO of CM Club Group. Kin is a graduate of Computer Science and Information Systems from the University of Waterloo. He also holds a Kellogg-Schulich master’s degree in Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional.

Chief Information Officer

Kin Lee-Yow

With decades of experience, Catherine Sieniewicz has always been devoted to growing within the travel and retail industry. Catherine became director of retail and travel at CCG in May 2019. In February 2020, she was promoted to AVP of travel and retail where she continues to guide all her decisions by what she has learned in member, associate, and business experience.

AVP of Travel and Retail

Catherine Sieniewicz

Rhonda English is a CPA, CMA and obtained her Honors Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and her MBA from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario. Rhonda joined CM Club Group as vice president of insurance, then took the role of vice president corporate marketing, overseeing business insights & analytics and the acquisition and retention of the CM lines of business. In 2016, she was named chief marketing officer, taking on additional responsibility for travel and membership product, digital, and the government & community relations advocacy team.

Chief Marketing Officer

Rhonda English

Evelyn Peng started at CCG in 2017 as director of risk management and now serves as the chief risk officer for the organization. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology and a Master’s in Accounting from the University of Waterloo. She has extensive experience with enterprise risk management, specializing in operational risk management, and financial risk management. Evelyn is a Chartered Accountant and a Financial Risk Manager.

Chief Risk Officer

Evelyn Peng

Chief Risk Officer

Evelyn Peng

Chief Risk Officer

Evelyn Peng

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

“Despite the challenging claims environment, QBE’s coverage and risk appetite have remained consistent. Brokers and customers know and understand our risk appetite and the cover we offer, providing them with certainty for the future,” says Erica Kofie, head of cyber proposition. “We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions.” Kofie adds, “Through 2022, QBE successfully delivered significant growth in the cyber sector, reflecting the depth and strength of our team. We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations.”

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Earlene Huntley

Group Chief Financial Officer

Melissa Abramowitz

General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Privacy Officer

Melissa Abramowitz has been practicing corporate and commercial law for over 20 years, with an emphasis on the financial services industry. She joined CAA Club Group in 2014, and currently serves as the General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Privacy Officer of CCG and its affiliated companies. At CCG, Melissa provides strategic legal advice on a broad range of matters including corporate governance, licensing, distribution, marketing and advertising, commercial contracts and regulatory compliance. She holds a Bachelor of Civil Law (B.CL) and Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from McGill University and a Certificate in Regulatory Compliance for Financial Institutions from Osgoode.

General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Privacy Officer

Melissa Abramowitz

Earlene Huntley joined CAA in 2014 as director, tax and was promoted to AVP, tax in 2016, and to her current role as group chief financial officer of CAA Club Group in February 2017. In her role, she is responsible for all aspects of finance. She is a graduate of the University of the West Indies where she earned her BSc. Accounting (Hons) and is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the United Kingdom.

Group Chief Financial Officer

Earlene Huntley

Simon Williams

Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955

Simon Williams

Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955

Group Chief Financial Officer

Earlene Huntley

General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Privacy Officer

Melissa Abramowitz

General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Privacy Officer

Earlene Huntley

Group Chief Financial Officer

Earlene Huntley

General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Privacy Officer

Melissa Abramowitz

Management liability Arch Insurance’s management liability team is dedicated to addressing the needs of our partners. Our underwriting approach is to recognize and address exposures particular to each insured and offer creative solutions for our customers including complex risk and hard-to-place industries. Know more here: insurance.archgroup.com/north-america/canada/offering/management-liability Cyber Arch Insurance’s experienced underwriting team takes a forward-looking approach to writing network security, privacy and media liability for mid-to-large accounts. Professional liability Arch Insurance’s professional liability team is positioned to offer professional liability programs for financial service firms.

“Our thriving agency partnerships, long-tenured carrier relationships and strong leadership team are proof of Jencap’s values-centric work environment,” says Mark Maher, president of Jencap. “Everything we do as an organization is to serve our agents in a meaningful way, which is to provide industry-leading insurance solutions when they need them the most. Our brokers internally work very collaboratively. We check our egos at the door and work together to set our agency partners and their clients up for success by leveraging each other’s geographic expertise, carrier relationships and contracts, and technical expertise,” he adds. Jencap’s areas of specialization include environmental; workers’ compensation; property; construction; habitational/real estate; transportation/garage; cannabis; cyber, management, and professional liability; manufacturing; healthcare; and many more.

Jencap is committed to employing innovative enterprise-wide technology solutions that support their underwriters in making more timely and effective risk decisions. As such, they launched Two Sigma Insurance Quantified’s SubmissionIQ in 2022. SubmissionIQ equips their underwriters with the data they need to make smart and strategic risk assessments, further supporting them in implementing best-in-class business processes. The common thread woven through Jencap’s success is its people, as they have the best brokers and support staff in the industry. Fun fact: 20% of Jencap’s staff are employee equity holders. They don’t just say that their team members “own it” – they really do! This adds a unique layer of commitment and dedication to their job and the company’s success. “Our team has successfully executed on an aggressive acquisition and integration plan over the last few years, which has contributed greatly to our strong market position. Each acquisition has provided geographic expansion, new market access, exclusive programs and niche specialization,” says Jencap Chief Executive Officer John Jennings. To date, they have acquired 19 companies and rebranded 10 of those companies to Jencap. Click here for more information on Jencap.

Medals

Environmental

Program business

Real estate

Turnaround time – claims

BDM support

Broker communication, training and development

Overall service level

BDM support

Medals

Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Real estate

Environmental

Program business

Medals

Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Real estate

Environmental

Program business