Headquarters:

Chicago, IL

Year founded:

2010

Number of employees:

5,200+

Phone:

312 784 6001

Email:

Marketing@ryanspecialty.com

Website:

ryanspecialty.com

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/ryan-specialty

“We prioritise embracing cutting-edge technologies, creative problem solving and continuous improvement to enhance our premium funding solutions and provide exceptional value to our clients”

Brett Bastow, IQumulate Premium FundinG

Patrick G. Ryan

Founder and Executive Chairman

Timothy W. Turner

CEO, Ryan Specialty Chairman, RT Specialty

Tasha Smith

HR Director

Leadership

A widely respected entrepreneur and global insurance leader, Pat Ryan formed Ryan Specialty in 2010. Prior to launching the company, he founded Aon Corporation and served as its chairman and CEO for 41 years. At his retirement, Aon had more than 500 offices in 120 countries, generating revenues then in excess of $7 billion. Ryan has received numerous accolades, including the esteemed Horatio Alger Award, which honors those who are dedicated to the principles of integrity, hard work, perseverance, and compassion for others and the Brigham Young University International Executive of the Year for Corporate Integrity. He has been elected to the International Insurance Society Hall of Fame. In 2019, he was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame for his contribution to the finance and insurance specialist sector of the automotive industry.

Founder and Executive Chairman

Patrick G. Ryan

Tim Turner has had an extraordinary 35+ year career providing leadership, expertise, and service within the insurance industry. He joined Ryan Specialty in 2010 to create and develop Ryan Turner Specialty. Under Turner’s exceptional strategic leadership, RT Specialty is now one of the top wholesale distributors of specialty insurance in the industry and is known for its expertise and outstanding client service. Prior to Ryan Specialty, Turner was the president of CRC, one of the largest wholesale insurance brokers in the US at the time. He began his insurance career as a casualty broker with AJ Renner & Associates in 1987. Before joining the insurance industry, he served on the Wayne County SWAT Team and was an undercover narcotics officer with the Narcotics Cocaine Task Force of the Michigan State Police.

CEO, Ryan Specialty Chairman, RT Specialty

Timothy W. Turner

Tasha Smith is a strategic HR leader with over eight years of experience and a master’s degree in Human Resource Management and Change Management. As HR director at RPS, she leads enterprise-wide initiatives that drive talent development, cultural transformation, and performance. Smith has launched leadership programs, shaped compensation and retention strategies, and developed a mindfulness-based meditation series now offered globally in three languages across Gallagher. Prior to RPS, she served as vice president of marketing for the Volusia/Flagler SHRM chapter and was named one of the “40 Under 40” by The Daytona Beach News-Journal.

HR Director

Tasha Smith

BRETT BASTOW, IQUMULATE PREMIUM FUNDINGs

Leadership

Christy Hutchison

Vice President, Marketing

Christy Hutchinson 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. Hutchison’s extensive leadership experience includes roles at prominent marketing firms, where she worked across a range of industries including healthcare, pharmaceuticals. and Fortune 500 insurance companies. She is a graduate of Michigan State University.

Vice President, Marketing

Christy Hutchison

Cristi Carrington

Chief Distribution Officer

Cristi Carrington has worked in the insurance industry for nearly 30 years and is the point person for Brown & Riding’s carrier relationships. She manages the underwriting division and has developed many specialized programs for the company during her tenure, including a Habitational program, DIC, MPL, All Risk, including Wind & Earthquake, and a nationwide risk purchasing group for a top 40 nationally ranked retailer. Carrington currently serves on WSIA’s Board of Directors and is also the organization’s PAC committee co-chair. She also serves as president of the Surplus Line Association of Washington.

Chief Distribution Officer

Cristi Carrington

Stevens & Associates Lawyers is a leading and trusted employment law firm based in Sydney known for delivering high-quality legal expertise in the area of employment law and industrial relations across Australia, alongside a proven track record of effectively and swiftly resolving a variety of workplace law issues. In the past year, the firm’s growth has been notable. It has: • experienced a 213% growth in the number of client matters, increasing from 149 client matters in the 2022 financial year to 390 client matters in the 2023 financial year • improved its online visibility, leading to over 50 online enquiries each month and a conversion rate of client leads of up to 40% • significantly expanded the breadth and type of matters that it advises on day to day, which has increased the firm’s skillsets, diversity and resilience • expanded its community outreach by collaborating with local Sydney venues for client seminars and continuing active participation in a Sydney small/family business group Stevens & Associates Lawyers has adapted to digital trends by implementing an effective strategy with SEO and web design, resulting in a structural shift that has seen increased representation of employees where the firm previously mainly advised employers. The firm’s recognition as a “Fast Firm” attests to its momentum in the employment law space.

“IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started”

Wayne Tower, IQumulate Premium Funding

Christopher Welty, PHR, SHRM-CP

Chief Human Resources Officer

Elizabeth Bounds

General Counsel

Nealy Farshadi

Principal, Strategic Client Relations

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Christopher Welty joined Brown & Riding in 2007 as an HR assistant and swiftly advanced within the company. His dedication and talent led to a series of promotions, culminating in his appointment as the firm’s CHRO in 2019. During his tenure, Welty has seen B&R more than quadruple in growth. He helped successfully integrate the company through two mergers and has been a strong advocate for many of the company’s important benefit plan enhancements. He excels at collaboration and has been a key contributor in establishing and promoting the company’s culture and offering programs and opportunities to help employees.

Chief Human Resources Officer

Christopher Welty, PHR, SHRM-CP

Elizabeth Bounds oversees Brown & Riding’s legal, risk management, and claims departments. As the company’s chief legal resource, she reviews and negotiates corporate contracts and manages the firm’s litigation, internal legal resources, and relationships with outside counsel. She also works closely with B&R’s senior management in developing overall risk management strategies for the firm and is directly accountable to the Board of Directors for implementing risk control measures and for the facilitation and oversight of corporate liability insurance placements. In the claims department, she takes an especially active role in policy interpretation and client claims advocacy.

General Counsel

Elizabeth Bounds

Nealy Farshadi is instrumental in helping strengthen and grow Brown & Riding’s client relationships. She maintains and improves quality procedures, oversees B&R’s ISO certification, and manages the firm’s client feedback program. Her contributions enable the executive management team to act on client input effectively. As a result, B&R’s client feedback scores greatly exceed the average and continue to improve each year. Farshadi also supports and furthers the growth of B&R and its employees by contributing to professional development within the organization and being a resource to staff.

Principal, Strategic Client Relations

Nealy Farshadi

Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager. As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

One culmination of these efforts has been the real-world, needs-based IQEdge solution. A one-stop online quoting tool designed for both the Australian and New Zealand markets, IQEdge delivers quotes in under 60 seconds. Plus, the solution offers quote comparison and quote versioning capabilities, enabling users to review vital historical and financial data in a single page view. IQEdge can streamline and automate application processing, underwriting document verification and payment collection, cutting the need for manual labour and minimising processing errors. A digital “self-service” platform, IQEdge, reduces the need for customer and administrative support. Meanwhile, borrowers can access their accounts, make payments and manage their policies independently and through sales and support teams, which are always available for further assistance. “We’ve created a quality platform that simplifies the quoting process yet amplifies the customer experience,” says Gordon. “It’s a real game changer.” IQumulate offers an online digital quoting tool to clients. The best-in-market solution enables IQumulate to tailor funding offerings to brokers that align with their prefered distribution channel.

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What does IQumulate have in mind for the future? “IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started,” says Wayne Tower, CEO. “Through continuous engagement with our clients, partners, marketplace and industry, we will listen to the needs as they arise and position our business to be agile and respond to changes as they occur. “Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients. This can improve client satisfaction and potentially attract more business, with the potential to allow IQumulate to capture a larger market share, whilst continuing to deliver service excellence to clients.” “As forward-thinkers with a digital and ‘do it better’ mindset, we collectively and proactively look to learn and improve on our customer experience for our clients, paving the way for successful business outcomes for our clients and our business in the coming years ahead. “We’re excited for the future and look forward to what’s on the horizon.”

What does IQumulate have in mind for the future? “IQumulate is on a technology journey, and we’re just getting started,” says Wayne Tower, CEO. “Through continuous engagement with our clients, partners, marketplace and industry, we will listen to the needs as they arise and position our business to be agile and respond to changes as they occur. “Faster decision-making innovations such as AI-powered decision support systems can expedite the underwriting and approval process, leading to quicker responses to clients. This can improve client satisfaction and potentially attract more business, creating a competitive advantage with the potential to allow IQumulate to command premium pricing or capture a larger market share. “As forward-thinkers with a digital and ‘do it better’ mindset, we collectively and proactively look to learn and improve on our customer experience for our clients, paving the way for successful business outcomes for our clients and our business in the coming years ahead. “We’re excited for the future and look forward to what’s on the horizon.”

Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Commercial Manager

Stephen McMillan

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

Product Manager

Claire Watson

“If we focus on our talent, then we know our clients will feel the RPS difference and choose us as their first call every time”

Adam Mazan, Risk Placement Services

“Our associates are our number one audience for engagement and support”

Adam Mazan, Risk Placement Services

Ivan Verescuk

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Shaun O’Brien

Head of Underwriting

Emily Walker

Head of Strata and Development

Rex Oakman

Head of Operations and Risk

Sandy Newton

Head of Underwriting

Andrew Mitchell

Manager – NSW

Michael Prokopis

Manager – Southern Region

Pam Chhabra

Manager – Residential Strata

Jeffrey Valdivia

Manager – Commercial Strata

Adam Basaldella

Manager – Claims

The world has become a much riskier place, and clients’ needs have expanded. To address the growing need for specialists in the increasingly important E&S market, Patrick G. Ryan, the widely respected entrepreneur and insurance visionary, founded Ryan Specialty. The company’s professionals have extensive knowledge of the industries in which they specialize and the complex insurance products they distribute and underwrite. Ryan Specialty has a platform of extraordinary wholesale brokers and expert underwriting managers who deliver customized insurance solutions for hard-to-place risks, both big and small. For more information, visit ryanspecialty.com

“Our associates are our number one audience for engagement and support,” says president Adam Mazan. “If we focus on our talent, then we know our clients will feel the RPS difference and choose us as their first call every time.” The firm has built robust programs for early talent, including college internships and mentoring relationships. The learning and development (L&D) program at RPS is another cornerstone of its employee support system. Through tailored learning paths, associates are empowered to take charge of their careers, broaden their experiences and advance within the organization. RPS places a high value on employee retention, investing in the growth and training of all employees – from early career professionals to seasoned experts. This investment is not just about skills development, but about setting employees up for long, fulfilling careers within the firm. Employee satisfaction is continuously gauged, ensuring that the company remains responsive to the needs and aspirations of its workforce. For clients and partners, RPS is a strategic ally committed to delivering successful outcomes. The company’s professionals leverage their deep expertise to craft customized solutions, handling each risk with care and precision. This same commitment to excellence is reflected internally, where employees are supported, valued, and given every opportunity to succeed.