BTIS

Paul Hohlbein

Co-president

Jeff Hohlbein, JD

Co-president

Parminder Saini

Chief Technology Officer

Leadership

As co-president of BTIS, Paul Hohlbein has been a driving force behind the company’s growth since its inception, helping shape it into a leader in commercial insurance. With expertise in sales, marketing, and strategic growth, he focuses on innovation, relationships, and market expansion. Before BTIS, Hohlbein built his expertise in retail insurance with Farmers and CalFarm, gaining valuable insight into agent needs. His leadership has fueled BTIS’s ongoing success. Outside of work, he enjoys golf, racing cars, and time with family, living by his motto, “If you aren’t having fun, you aren’t doing it right.”

Co-president

Paul Hohlbein

As co-president of BTIS, Jeff Hohlbein has been instrumental in driving the company’s underwriting, operations, and strategic growth. With expertise in underwriting performance, product development, business analytics, accounting, and legal affairs, he ensures BTIS operates efficiently while delivering innovative solutions. A graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law, he ranked in the top 17 percent of his class before launching a career in insurance defense, construction defect litigation, and contract disputes. Outside of work, he enjoys traveling for motocross competitions, spending time with family, and tackling new challenges both on and off the track.

Co-president

Jeff Hohlbein, JD

Parminder Saini is a visionary technology leader with over 25 years of experience in software architecture, digital transformation, and leadership. As CTO of BTIS, he leads engineering, data, and AI teams, pioneering cloud-native, API-driven solutions that bring agility and real-time insights to commercial insurance. Before BTIS, he spearheaded major initiatives at Esurance, including auto rating and the homeowner’s insurance platform. Outside of work, Parminder enjoys pickleball, traveling, and co-running Woodey.com, a premium sunglasses brand, with his wife, Komal. Guided by his motto, “Keep life simple, take things easy, but set your goals high,” he continually pushes the boundaries of innovation.

Chief Technology Officer

Parminder Saini

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Sara Bankert

VP of Commercial Insurance

Sara Bankert is a seasoned insurance professional with extensive experience in service, relationship management, underwriting, programs, sales, and leadership. Before joining BTIS, she spent five years in retail insurance with Farmers Insurance. Based in Rocklin, CA, Bankert thrives in a collaborative environment and values the incredible team at BTIS. Outside of work, she enjoys boat surfing, traveling, and home projects. Happily married for 15 years, she has two kids and two dogs. Family has always been central to her life, as she was adopted at a young age. She lives by the motto “Life is 10 percent what happens to us and 90 percent how we react to it.”

VP of Commercial Insurance

Sara Bankert

Oscar Farias

Vice President, Sales Engagement

Oscar Farias is an insurance industry leader with expertise in business development, program management, and technology enhancement for agency engagement and underwriting. Prior to joining BTIS, he held significant roles in business development and underwriting at top insurance firms. Farias has a BA in behavioral science and an MBA from the University of Redlands. Based in San Diego, CA, he enjoys mountain biking and off-roading. His favorite quote is from Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote: “Take care, sir, for those things over there are not giants but windmills.”

Vice President, Sales Engagement

Oscar Farias

Founded in 1998 in Rocklin, CA, Builders & Tradesmen’s Insurance Services (BTIS) was built on a foundation of speed, ease of use, and exceptional customer service. What started as a small artisan contractor general liability program has grown into a nationwide wholesale intermediary, offering a broad range of commercial lines, including general liability, workers’ compensation, contractor’s license bonds, builder’s risk, inland marine, commercial auto, BOP, and excess. With over $500 million in controlled premium, BTIS remains committed to providing individualized products and top-tier service while maintaining a small business rapport. The firm’s cutting-edge technology – which features intuitive quoting platforms and comparative raters – ensures producers can secure coverage quickly and efficiently. More than just a market access point, BTIS empowers agents with education, sales tools, and dedicated support to help them succeed. As part of the Amynta Group, BTIS continues to push the boundaries of innovation while prioritizing strong relationships and personalized service. Its goal is simple: to deliver speed, simplicity, and reliability, ensuring every producer and client feels confident in their coverage. While BTIS has grown significantly, its commitment to ease of use, rapid turnaround times, and genuine customer care remains at the heart of everything it does.

“Monarch E&S has the products, talent, expertise, and reputation to get deals done with our strategic partners and clients, which is essentially table stakes”

Yiana Stavrakis, Monarch E&S Insurance Services

Jenny Hammond

Vice President, Marketing

Brad Dowling

Vice President, Workers’ Compensation

Philip Massaro, CPCU

Vice President, General Liability

Simon Williams

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

With over 20 years in the insurance industry, Jenny Hammond brings a unique perspective to marketing, shaped by her experience as a retail agent, underwriter, and sales leader. She understands the needs of agents, the intricacies of underwriting, and the drive behind sales, allowing her to craft marketing strategies that resonate. As VP of marketing at BTIS, she blends creativity and strategy to engage agents, build brand loyalty, and make insurance exciting. A die-hard 49ers fan, she thrives on competition and strategy, both in marketing and in fantasy football. Before her insurance career, she proudly took the stage as a dancer at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Vice President, Marketing

Jenny Hammond

With over 20 years in underwriting and business analysis, Brad Dowling brings deep expertise to BTIS as vice president of workers’ compensation underwriting, overseeing strategy, risk assessment, and program development to deliver competitive solutions for agents and insureds. Before BTIS, he spent over a decade at Applied Underwriters, advancing through underwriting roles focused on statutory and analytical risk assessment. Dowling holds a marketing and economics degree from Buena Vista University and even interned in sports marketing for Lincoln Pro Baseball. Based in Greater Omaha, he is known for his analytical mindset, strong communication skills, and commitment to underwriting excellence.

Vice President, Workers’ Compensation

Brad Dowling

With a career spanning insurance, automobile, and technology industries, Philip Massaro brings deep expertise in product development, management, compliance, and pricing. He has held leadership roles at Progressive, Great American, AmTrust, Toyota Gulf States Financial Services, and GEICO, where he managed underwriting for 20 states and $12 billion in premium. A CPCU and MBA graduate, he has completed executive programs at Case Western and Wharton. Based in NYC and Cleveland, Massaro enjoys cycling, art, travel, music, and golf. A road trip enthusiast, he has visited every US state except North Dakota and Alaska. He lives by his motto, “No time like the present.”

Vice President, General Liability

Philip Massaro, CPCU

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

Partner

Kimi Shah

Partner

Kimi Shah

maintaining an in-house team of more than 20 programmers to facilitate fast improvements direct bill options to streamline the payment process for the agent and the insured providing IVANS policy downloads that enable up to 30 percent labor savings to independent agencies delivering online capabilities including rating, policy documents, payments, and claims reporting

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“We will continue to strengthen our service proposition and customer experience as a key differentiator, as we build on the momentum we have achieved to date across multiple business lines and territories,” says McLean. “Our im is to continue to grow our market relevance and strengthen our partnerships with our strategic brokers as we expand our leadership position in key sectors. “We will also continue to invest in talent. We are committed to drawing from the broadest pools of talent, and to creating an environment that attracts and retains stellar employees. We recognise the importance of building teams that are diverse, collaborative, and innovative and are dedicated to cultivating a supportive and inclusive workplace culture in which all our employees can thrive.”

Monarch’s sister company, Capitol Special Risks, is now part of the Monarch umbrella to provide retail broker customers with expertise and markets in the professional, management, and cyber liability space. “I am very proud of our young and dynamic leadership team,” says Derek Borisoff, chief executive officer of Monarch E&S. “Stefanie McLeod, vice president of personal lines, and Devon Borisoff, vice president of commercial lines, are led by Yiana Stavrakis, our very capable president. All three are known standouts in our industry who lead by example in both work ethic and desire to solve problems. Our firm’s outstanding performance is a result of their positive communications with our people, superb carrier relationships, and proactive management style.” As a full-service MGA and wholesale brokerage, Monarch gives retail insurance brokers access to many different lines of business through its commercial lines, personal lines, professional lines, transportation, mining/energy, CAT property, earthquake, and flood departments. “Monarch E&S has the products, talent, expertise, and reputation to get deals done with our strategic partners and clients, which is essentially table stakes,” says Yiana Stavrakis, president at Monarch E&S. “How do we go above and beyond? We aim to work on every deal, regardless of size, as if it were our personal account and provide our retail brokers with problem-solving competencies to handle hard-to-place risks. Most competitors do not provide the same level of service for smaller brokers and risks as they do for larger ones. Monarch thrives when it comes to providing solutions for small to mid-market risks.”

relationships and teamwork embracing and driving change holding teammates accountable pursuing excellence with humility giving back to the community

Furthermore, talent acquisition and retention pose a significant challenge and are at the forefront of most business leaders’ minds during this unique time. The insurance industry has been aware for years of a looming talent shortage caused by the Baby Boomer generation’s retirement and is now experiencing a war for talent. “Monarch has been able to overcome this talent acquisition challenge by staying true to who we are, a family environment with national resources, which is something we will continue to encourage and promote,” says Stavrakis. “When working for a team like ours, you are not another cog in the wheel but have the opportunity to make your mark and grow with us as we build out Monarch 2.0.” Monarch E&S Insurance Services is licensed in every state and is continuously finding ways to enhance its team, client, and carrier partner experiences. Get ready for the royal treatment as Monarch 2.0 expands digitally.

“I am very proud of our young and dynamic leadership team. Our firm’s outstanding performance is a result of their positive communications with our people, superb carrier relationships, and proactive management style”

Derek Borisoff, Monarch E&S Insurance Services

Yiana Stavrakis, Monarch E&S Insurance Services