The Enlightened Agent: Recent Episodes
Broker Buddha
Conversations with forward-thinking insurance professionals and industry leaders about the future of the business, the importance of the agent role, and how the right technology strengthens business relationships.
On this episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha CEO is joined by Tompkins Financial Vice President and Commercial Lines Manager, Kim Nevinger. Kim is responsible for the overall direction and management of the commercial lines service department, and as part of the agency’s senior leadership team, supports strategic initiatives across the organization. Kim has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry.
On this week's episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO Jason Keck is joined by Sheri Weaver, Learning and Development Manager at HNI Risk Services. As a Learning & Development professional with a passion for collaboration and for creating memorable and meaningful learning experiences Sheri absolutely loves working with others and always seek to discover and encourage their strengths. Throughout her career, she has enjoyed the opportunity to be one of the first in line to welcome new talent and help craft their onboarding journey. From new talent onboarding through instructional design, training facilitation, project management and workflow management she has eagerly embraced the opportunity to have fun, empower others and weave unforgettable experiences into learning and development programs.
On this week's episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO Jason Keck is joined by Lockton Chief Operating Officer and Chief Diversity Officer Brian Roberts. As COO for the Midwest, Brian is be responsible for operations and business development for Lockton’s regional hub, including Chicago, Cleveland, Green Bay, Memphis, Milwaukee, Nashville, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. A skilled people developer and coach, is also be responsible for attracting the best industry talent and maintaining Lockton’s position as the best place to work and do business in insurance.
On this week's episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO Jason Keck is joined by Skyward Specialty CEO, Andrew Robinson. Mr. Robinson became the Skyward's second Chief Executive Officer in May 2020 and is a highly experienced and successful global insurance executive with a 30+ year track record of growth, financial improvement, strategic and operational leadership. His experience includes ten years with The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc., where he was President of Specialty Insurance, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Chief Risk Officer and subsequently at Crawford & Co. where he was Global Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice-President.
On this week's episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO Jason Keck is joined by Lani Cathey, CEO at XDimensional Technologies, Inc. The tech and insurance industry are predominately dominated by white men. With that, Lani discusses what it's like to be a female CEO of an insuretech company and her journey of getting to where she is now.
On this week's episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO Jason Keck is joined by Casee Shelton, Commercial Lines Marketing Lead at Brown & Brown Tacoma. Casee is Broker Buddha's very first champion, which makes her the perfect guest to kick off our new series 'Champions of Change'.
On this week's episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO Jason Keck is joined by Kyle Samuel, Chief Operating Officer at McGriff. Jason and Kyle discuss Kyle's journey to becoming the COO at McGriff and what McGriff is doing to drive diversity, equity & inclusion.
On this weeks episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO, Jason Keck is joined by his client and friend, Muhannad Malki. Similar to Jason, Muhannad is a fellow Palestinian-American. In this special episode, the two discuss what it's like to be a Palestinian-American in America, and in the insurance industry.
On this week's episode of The Enlightend Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO, Jason Keck is joined by Cathy Kosin, Mom & Managing Director of Property & Casualty at Oswald. In addition to her role in P&C, Cathy is one of the founding members of the Women's Leadership Council at the agency. Jason and Cathy discuss the movement and development of female leadership within the insurance industry.
On this week's episode of The Enlightened Agent Broker Buddha's CEO, Jason Keck is joined by Michael Freilich, Chief Product Officer at Renaissance Alliance. Jason and Michael have similar passions for technology, product and insurance. As a listener of The Enlightened Agent, Michael was inspired by the DE&I series and wanted to share his journey as a leader in the insurance industry.
On this week's episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO, Jason Keck, is joined by Jelani Fenton, Founder & CEO of Safari. Safari is an insurance technology company that provides job placement and career development services to help a diverse pool of job seekers build and grow a career in the insurance industry. Jason and Jelani discuss why diversity, equity and inclusion matter and why people should care.
On this week's episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO, Jason Keck is joined by Tim Moriarity, Chief Information Officer at Cross Insurance. Tim is newly inducted into the insurance industry, coming from a vastly different career in science and genomic research. Coming from such a diverse background, Tim saw opportunity in the insurance industry because he knew he could make an impact in technology, process and modernization.
On this weeks episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO, Jason Keck, is joined by Preeti Asthana, Global Strategy and Business Transformative Executive at Aon. Preeti shares some of the things that Aon is doing around partner inspired diversity and using data to drive change. Jason and Preeti discuss her perspective and experiences as an immigrant, a women of color and global leader.
On this weeks episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha's CEO, Jason Keck, is joined by Derek Thomas, Chief Strategy Officer at Galway Holdings. Over the past 10 years at Galway, Derek has been focused on data and digital strategy as well as implementing insuretech like Broker Buddha. As an African American leader in the insurance industry, Derek has always championed diversity, equity and inclusion at all levels of an organization. Jason and Derek dive into Derek's perspective and experience as an African American leader in a predominately White male dominated industry.
On this weeks episode of the Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha CEO, Jason Keck, is joined Tina Semotan, President at HNI Risk Services. This is the first episode of the Enlightened Agent with an industry executive that is focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. Tina's level of support towards females, people of color and general diversity in the insurance industry is exceptional. Jason and Tina discuss the challenge of being a female in a male dominated industry, facilitating conversations around diversity and inclusion, and mentorship in the workplace.
On this weeks episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha CEO, Jason Keck, kicks off a new series around diversity, equity and inclusion. Jason is joined by Charlene Wheeless, Executive Coach who helps leaders and companies improve and create a more diverse work place. This episode is unique because you will hear Jason's first coaching session with Charlene in which they tackle and discuss interesting topics. If you're interested in exploring more about D, E & I, subscribe to The Enlightened Agent to ensure you won't miss an episode within this series.
On this week's episode of The Enlightened Agent, Broker Buddha CEO, Jason Keck, is celebrating a major business milestone. Broker Buddha has converted 10,000 carrier applications into online smart forms. Jason is joined by Caribou Honig, Co-Founder of InsureTech Connect and Parter at SemperVirens. Caribou is an influential member of the insuretech industry and someone who Jason has admiration for. The two discuss the value in conferences, the importance of structured data online and targeting niche opportunities.
Broker Buddha CEO, Jason Keck, is joined by Mike Volk, Sr. Manager of Cyber Insurance at Optiv. Mike began his insurance career on the broker side. He took interest in cyber insurance, an aspect of insurance that has grown within the last few years. As Mike's interest expanded, so did his knowledge and his ability to coach others. Jason and Mike also discuss some well known cyber security breaches and what risks breaches pose to businesses of all sizes.
Broker Buddha CEO, Jason Keck, is joined by John Darr, CEO and Agent at Darr Schackow Insurance. On this weeks episode, Jason and John discuss John's entrance into the insurance industry, Premium Time with John Darr, and changes that need to be made in the Florida marketplace.
Broker Buddha CEO, Jason Keck, is joined by Sr. Vice President and Principal of York International, Andrew Krantz. Jason and Andrew met 4 years ago at an insuretech dinner and have bonded through insurance and technology. What motivates and inspires Andrew is that the insurance industry is in a state of positive change. The changes are ultimately leading to better business practices and improved client experiences.
Broker Buddha CEO, Jason Keck, is joined by CEO and Founder of Gaspar Insurance Services, Tim Gaspar. Tim discusses the importance of obsessing over the client experience, the value of data to insurance organizations, and the importance of agency buy-in when adopting technology to improve operations.
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck is joined by Scott Henman, Commercial Insurance Agent at Michigan Insurance & Financial Services. Scott talks about his love for the trumpet and joy of being a dad in addition to his career in insurance that started 2 days after graduating from college. Scott talks about his longevity in the industry and the growth he has seen over the course of his career. His advice to other agents is to lead with authenticity when engaging with potential and existing clients.
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck is joined by Bill Pieroni, President & CEO of ACORD. In this episode, Bill talks about how ACORD, after 50 years, is more relevant than ever in the Insurance industry.
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck is joined by Toan Huynh, Investor and Growth Advisor and Partner at Baylane Capital. In this episode, Toan talks about how being chased by wars shaped her into the strong leader that she is today as well as how a friend's business was saved thanks to their agent.
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck is joined by Ed Page, President at top 50 agency, Relation Insurance. In this episode, Ed talks about the challenges of growing an agency through acquisition and how he used culture at the core to drive results https://www.relationinsurance.com/ (Learn more about Relation Insurance here)
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck is joined by Jeremy Perlman, Vice President at New Jersey based CBIZ Bordern Perlman. Jeremy talks candidly in this episode about what it took to transform from a new entrant to a seasoned executive in the insurance industry. Learn more about https://www.bordenperlman.com/ (CBIZ Borden Perlman here).
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck and host Dean Gemmell are joined by Brad Hosket, Principal and Managing Partner at Columbus-based Hosket Ulen. Brad had a career in real estate before entering insurance, and his willingness to examine everything the agency does has helped them manage explosive growth. https://hosketulen.com/ (Learn more about Hosket Ulen here.)
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck and host Dean Gemmell are joined by Jason Angus, Chief Operating Officer at The Hilb Group. This conversation has a bit of everything, from coverage for cosmetic surgeons and why focusing on agent job satisfaction improves the customer experience. https://www.hilbgroup.com/ (Learn more about The Hilb Group here.)
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck and host Dean Gemmell are joined by Christina Kelley, Chief Operating Officer at Gregory & Appel. It's a candid conversation about the state of the industry, coping with the pandemic, and how to achieve valuable change at an agency. https://www.gregoryappel.com/ (Learn more about Gregory & Appel and their podcast. )
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck and host Dean Gemmell are joined by Greg Gamble, Vice President for Client, Brokerage & Data Operations at Alliant Insurance Services. Greg has a wide range of expertise in the industry, and shares his thoughts with the candor of a lifelong New Yorker.
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck and host Dean Gemmell are joined by Mike Shanahan, the Chairman, President and CEO of HM Risk. Mike shares insights from his personal history in the industry—he was an original BlackBerry guy!—and discussess how his firm leverages technology to increase productivity.
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck and host Dean Gemmell are joined by Patrick Kinney, Executive Vice President of Enterprise Distribution Management at Travelers. Patrick discusses why inconvenience won't be accept by customers, and how technology can remove unnecessary parts of the process.
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck and host Dean Gemmell are joined by Jeff Gallimore, Chief Operating Officer for US National Accounts at Zurich North America. Jeff shares his journey in the industry, and talks about how technology and innovation are shaping Zurich and agent relationships.
Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck and host Dean Gemmell interview David Carpentier, Co-Founder and CEO of Assurely. When his journey through the minor leagues of professional hockey ended, Carpentier found his way to the business of insurance. After gaining experience with established agencies, he saw an opportunity in emerging categories and launched Assurely with Ty Sagalow. By focusing on innovative, highly customized solutions, they're thriving in today's ever-changing, technology-driven economy.
It's Episode One of The Enlightened Agent, and Broker Buddha CEO Jason Keck is joined by Benji Markoff, CEO of Founder Shield, to talk about how he found himself in the business of insurance, how tech improves the customer experience, and what enlightened agents will offer now and in the years ahead. It's a great conversation, and there was even some discussion of bitcoin that host Dean Gemmell did not really understand. Enjoy this very first episode of the show, a podcast that will be full of insights from leading agents and industry professionals. More information at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjimarkoff/ (Benji Markoff on LinkedIn) https://www.brokerbuddha.com/ (Broker Buddha)