We’re just getting started, but our experience is long-lived.

Founded during a pandemic, our fully virtual team believes in the tremendous opportunity to transform commercial insurance in the E&S market. We’re focused on removing the pain points and operational inefficiencies that have long frustrated brokers and underwriters alike. 

October
2020

14 team members came together to begin building Joyn’s workflow platform to support the entire underwriting process

July
2021

Strategic insurance partnership and investment from SiriusPoint is announced; Joyn opens for business with E&S Property in 21 states and 6 industry verticals (over 650 NAICS)

September
2021

General Liability is added to the product offering

December
2021

Excess is added to the product offering

January
2022

Coverage expansion to Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee

April
2022

Class offering expands to include Auto Repair, Restaurants, Gas Stations and Convenience Stores bringing its total eligible class list to over 700 NAICS codes; Equipment Breakdown coverage becomes available

May
2022

Joyn expands coverage to Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington

October
2022

Coverage for E&S property, general liability, and excess expands to Utah, New Mexico, and Oklahoma

January
2023

Joyn announces $17.7m Series A funding round led by OMERS Ventures with participation from Avanta Ventures, ManchesterStory, Cohen Circle, SiriusPoint and several private individual investors

February
2023

Industry veterans Brian Duperreault and Jim Hackbarth join the Board as independent directors

What brings you joy? For us, it’s asking why.

It’s finding new ways to solve old problems. It’s creating products that deliver to our customers. It’s using data and technology to make better decisions. Every day, we’re working to make the insurance experience more authentic, efficient and trustworthy — and to do something surprising — bring a bit of joy to insurance.

Why does it take weeks after sending in a submission to hear back (or sometimes never)? Why can’t all policies be issued at binding? Why isn’t it standard practice to share data?

Data.
Technology.
Expertise.

Efficient and transparent processes
We maximize every touchpoint to create the most impact
Consistent decision-making
Though our technology breaks the mold, our underwriting makes us predictable, reliable partners
Trusted relationships
The relationships we create and sustain make us quality partners for the long haul
Creative problem-solving
Thinking broadly, not sticking to the status-quo, helps everyone grow
Shared data and collaboration
Data is a two-way street. Sharing data allows everyone to become stronger and more resilient

Let’s join forces.

It’s time to transform insurance into a joyful experience.
The demands of today’s businesses grow each day. You’re looking for partners with services, data and insights to provide a deeper and more holistic offering. Your clients are looking for insurance products that make them stronger and more resilient.

We know insurance. And all of its inefficiencies. We’re delivering a new standard.

Why us? Our team is composed of insurance professionals, data scientists, technologists and product experts. We know that innovative problem-solving comes from diverse thought, culture and experience. We are solving serious, tough problems — and also understand the importance of a world-class team that supports one another.
Seraina Macia - Joyn 2023

Seraina Macia

Chief Executive Officer
and Founder

Callie Thomas

Callie Thomas

Chief Operating Officer
and Co-Founder

Edward (Ed M) McGough​

Ed McGough

Chief Technology Officer
and Co-Founder

Stephan Braig​

Stephan Braig

Chief Innovation Officer
and Co-Founder

Uwe Schoberth

Uwe Schoberth

Chief Distribution Officer

Fabiana Zambrano​

Fabiana Zambrano

Head of Product and Delivery

Bill Fahrner ​

Bill Fahrner

Chief Underwriting Officer

Chris Parrillo​

Chris Parrillo

Head of Small Business Underwriting and Loss Control

Dalton Jorgensen​

Dalton Jorgensen

Head of Operations

Caroline Ettinger​

Caroline Ettinger

Head of Business Insights & Technology Operations

Jeff Helzner ​

Jeff Helzner

Decision Scientist

Devasis Bassu ​

Devasis Bassu

R&D Lead

Pete-Delaney

Pete Delaney

Director of Distribution

Lindsey-Fisher

Lindsey Fisher

Senior Operations Specialist

Dawn Argue

Dawn Argue

Senior Underwriter

Susan-Lee

Susan Lee

Senior Product Manager

Alex-Bontz

Alex Bontz

Operations Lead, New Business

Dorian West

Dorian West

Senior Underwriter

Amy Pham

Amy Pham

Product Designer

John Young

John Young

Senior Data Analyst

Oguz Akgungor

Oguz Akgungor

Lead Software Engineer

Pete-Flanagan

Pete Flanagan

Senior Underwriter

Sharna Hines

Sharna' Hines

Operations Specialist

Bobby Gagnon Joyn

Bobby Gagnon

Broker Relationship Leader

Jasmine Brown Joyn

Jasmine Brown

Underwriter

MJ Powers

MJ Powers

Underwriter

James Perry

James Perry

Operations Specialist

Linda Koos

Linda Koos

Broker Relationship Leader

Alex Argue

Alex Argue

Underwriting Systems Analyst

Coming Soon 1

Adam Berger

Head of Growth

Caroline Creed Joyn

Caroline Creed

Broker Relationship Leader

Tyler Heist

Tyler Heist

Senior Data Engineer

Christina Young

Christina Young

Operations Specialist

Duy Vo

Duy Vo

Operations Specialist

Christopher Leuer

Christopher Leuer

Underwriter

JOIN OUR TEAM

Powered by our people. Defined by our culture.

Joyn’s values are the promises we make to our trusted brokers and customers – and each other. They are the main pillar of how we’re delivering a transparent and trusted commercial insurance experience. While technology and data make it possible, our people and values are the foundation of our company and the core of how we do business.

Build Impactful Experiences

We build our technology, products, and teams to be powerful, innovative, and results orientated.

Exceed Expectations

We constantly think about the needs of our brokers and customers, solving for tomorrow’s problems, establishing strong relationships, and creating future opportunity.

Break the Mold

We believe that thinking boldly and rejecting the status quo helps everyone grow.

Do the Right Thing

Brokers and customers can always expect us to do the right thing, from how we build and grow our teams to how we give back to our community.

Find Joy

We love what we do and who we do it with. We find joy in learning, listening, teaching, and innovating, working together to create a joyful insurance experience.
FOLLOW US
Linkedin

Joyn Insurance Services Inc. (“Joyn Insurance”) is a Managing General Agency (“MGA”) that underwrites commercial insurance in the Small and Middle Markets. We’re powered by technology, data and expertise to deliver a transparent, trusted and truly one-of-a-kind insurance experience to our valued brokers and customers. When we join up, we’re smarter, better, faster and protected. Together.

General Information

letstalk@joyninsurance.com | 877-711-5696

Submissions

submissions@joyninsurance.com

Service

service@joyninsurance.com

Claims

claims@joyninsurance.com | 866-648-4931

Media

media@joyninsurance.com

Seraina Macia - Joyn 2023

Seraina Macia

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Seraina Macia, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Joyn Insurance. Seraina has a long career in the insurance industry across Europe, the U.S. and Australia.

Prior to Joyn, she has held various roles as EVP at AIG including CEO of Blackboard Insurance, CEO of Country Management & Operations and CEO of EMEA based in London. From 2010 to 2013, she was CEO of XL North America. Seraina joined Zurich Insurance in Switzerland in 2002 where she held a number of senior leadership positions in Switzerland and New York, which included the roles of President of Zurich North America Specialties and Head of Investor Relations & Rating Agencies. She spent her initial 10 years of her career with Swiss Re where she held a number of senior roles based in Australia and Switzerland.

Seraina is the Chairwoman of Food Bank for New York City and the Chairwoman of BanQu, a for profit with purpose blockchain company that is focused on lifting 100 million people out of poverty. She is also on the advisory board of WORLD.MINDS.  From 2015 through April 2023, Seraina served as a member of the Board of Directors of Credit Suisse.

She holds an MBA from Monash Mt. Eliza Business School and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Seraina is a citizen of Switzerland, Australia and the United States.

Callie Thomas

Callie Thomas

Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder

Callie Thomas, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, she is our expert generalist and has responsibility for finance, operations, marketing, brand, people, and customer experience. Callie champions the strategy and culture at Joyn while keeping the team organized and focused on the north star mission to transform insurance into a joyful experience.

Throughout her career, Callie has gained an expansive background in generalist experiences in U.S. and international commercial insurance. At AIG and Blackboard Insurance, she has held diverse roles in finance, communications, brand, underwriting, strategy and general management. She has led teams through transformation, instilling a mindset of continuous improvement and open communications.

She earned her Bachelor of Science in both Finance and Economics from the University of South Florida.

Edward (Ed M) McGough​

Ed McGough

Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder

Ed McGough, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, he leads the team of technology experts that build, secure and manage our proprietary applications, core business systems and data environment. As it stands today, Joyn’s workflow platform brings together a collection of off-the-shelf insurance software tools via API integration into a proprietary workflow tool that we developed in-house. The workflow tool optimizes for minimal human touch in the underwriting process without sacrificing our underwriters’ ability to bring their experience to bear where needed. We bring together a range of processes that are typically performed manually, or in separate systems, into a single user experience for our internal team.

A technologist at heart, Ed has held roles in the space of data, engineering and analytics across a variety of industries in the UK, Australia, and USA. Prior to Joyn, Ed spent six years at AIG and Blackboard Insurance where he focused on bringing innovative technology and data solutions to the commercial insurance middle market underwriter. These solutions manifested in a single system to walk the underwriter through a clear and concise rules-based application that resulted in real-time rating and policy issuance.

He was awarded an MBA with distinction from Curtin University, Western Australia, and holds a first class honors degree in Computer Science from the University of Nottingham, UK.

Stephan Braig​

Stephan Braig

Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder

Stephan Braig, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-Founder of Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, his role is at the nexus of data science and strategy – developing business strategies informed by advanced analytics and data insights. He and his team tackle technology and data science problems in commercial insurance for which there are no viable solutions available in the market yet. Their innovations are key ingredients to Joyn’s transformative approach to commercial underwriting.

Prior to Joyn, Stephan was the Head of Research & Development at Blackboard Insurance where he led a team of data scientists and R&D developers focused on turning data into an asset by leveraging automated data capture from documents, natural language processing capabilities and behavioral analytics. Before his tenure with Blackboard Insurance, he was at AIG leading a team of business analysts and data scientists focused on advanced claims analytics.

He joined AIG from Capital One where he ran customer management programs in the core branded card business. He was the accountable executive responsible for developing the business strategy, marketing plan and end-to-end execution for these programs, while closely collaborating with operations, marketing, and technology functions. Stephan started his professional career at McKinsey & Company where he was an Associate Principal serving leading financial institutions both in the public and private sector.

He was raised in Germany and studied Physics and Mathematics at Heidelberg University, Germany. After moving to the U.S., he earned his Ph.D. and Masters in Theoretical Physics from Cornell University.

Uwe Schoberth

Uwe Schoberth

Chief Distribution Officer

Uwe Schoberth, Chief Distribution Officer at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, he is responsible for developing deep and trusted broker relationships, creating engagement strategies to drive meaningful growth, and identifying areas where Joyn’s technology and data capabilities can bring insights to broker partners. Uwe will partner across Joyn’s team of experts in insurance, data, and technology to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience to brokers and insureds.

Uwe brings to Joyn an expansive background in commercial insurance, having held many global, international, and domestic market-facing roles developing and overseeing business development strategies. Prior to Joyn, he was the Global Head of Distribution at Lloyd’s and has held distribution roles at Blackboard Insurance, QBE Group, XL Group, Winterthur International Insurance Company and Gerling.

Uwe is a former officer in the German military and holds a Master of Science degree from Southern Connecticut State University. He is also Vice Chairman for the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest and Chairman for German American Events, LLC.

Fabiana Zambrano​

Fabiana Zambrano

Head of Product and Delivery

Fabiana Zambrano, Head of Product and Delivery at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, she leads the strategy definition, execution, delivery and user understanding of our bespoke user applications, enabling a joyful experience for our underwriters.

As a technologist who is innately focused on the user experience, Fabiana has spent the last several years in the insurance industry improving the efficiency of the underwriting desk, building products and workflows that save valuable time for the underwriter to concentrate on the risk. Prior to Joyn, she led a hybrid, agile-principled team in the ground-up design, development, deployment and maintenance of a highly dynamic, first-of-its-kind, natively web-based commercial insurance workflow management system at Blackboard Insurance. As she began her career, Fabiana used data, analytics and clustering algorithms to enable customer segmentation and design targeted marketing treatments.

She was raised in Venezuela and studied Production Engineering at Universidad Simon Bolivar in Caracas. After moving to the U.S., she earned her Master’s Degree in Management Science and Engineering at Columbia University.

Bill Fahrner ​

Bill Fahrner

Chief Underwriting Officer

Bill leads all underwriting efforts at Joyn, from translating the insurance product specifications into a state-of-the-art underwriting platform to guiding our underwriters with risk evaluation and decision-making. 

With more than 25 years in the insurance industry, Bill has had the opportunity to develop deep expertise in Casualty underwriting, insurance product development, regulatory compliance, state filings, portfolio optimization, complex project management, process improvement, large team management and the art of building innovative, user-friendly technology platforms to enable data-driven underwriting. Prior to Joyn, Bill led the Insurance Product Development Team at Blackboard Insurance focusing on the development of Blackboard’s proprietary Package product in all states and providing requirements and direction to multiple Engineering teams. Before Blackboard, Bill spent 24 years at AIG, most recently as Casualty Underwriting Officer for the Americas.

Bill attended St. Mary’s College of California and earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Integral Liberal Arts. Bill is a trained actor and devout supporter of the Arts. He is passionate about diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Chris Parrillo​

Chris Parrillo

Head of Small Business Underwriting and Loss Control

Chris ensures our insurance products utilize consistent digital rules and leading-edge third-party data in the underwriting process. He also leads the development, implementation and execution of loss control based on automated rules.

Upon entering the insurance industry in 2014 as an Environmental Underwriting Analyst at AIG, Chris has continually evolved and strengthened his underwriting expertise. Over the last six years he has developed property & casualty expertise in middle market commercial insurance. Most recently, he served as Product Innovator at Blackboard Insurance where he spearheaded the strategy development and execution for Commercial Auto. Extensive focus was spent on establishing underwriting rules and alerts to trigger underwriting actions in the proprietary application.

He is a Certified Nursey and Landscape Professional, a field in which he spent the first four years of his career. He earned his Bachelor of Science from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, studying Environmental Planning and Design. Chris earned his Master of Engineering from Clemson University. He is a Certified Risk Manager and holds certificates in System Analytics and Risk Engineering.

Dalton Jorgensen​

Dalton Jorgensen

Head of Operations

Dalton has designed a connected ecosystem of vendors, processes and metrics to meet the needs of delivering a joyful insurance experience to our customers and brokers.

Dalton has developed his operations and underwriting skills working for AIG and Blackboard Insurance. Prior to Joyn, he led a team of more than 30 on and offshore operations associates as well as mapped out, operationalized, and developed and managed KPIs for multiple core processes. Additionally, he supported a national team of underwriters by rating hundreds of middle market commercial insurance submissions and assisting in supporting thousands of service tickets related to new business submissions, policy changes, and general customer service inquires.

Dalton received his Bachelor of Science in Supply Chain Management with a Concentration in Entrepreneurship from the University of Kansas. A devout learner, he has recently received certifications for Design Thinking for Innovation, Leading with Finance and Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt.

Caroline Ettinger​

Caroline Ettinger

Head of Business Insights & Technology Operations

Caroline Ettinger is the Head of Business Insights and Technology Operations. At Joyn, Caroline is responsible for the development and implementation of data-driven decision-making. She also leads the execution for all aspects critical to Joyn’s IT Infrastructure including strategic and financial planning, IT support and security, vendor review, and application integration and management.

Over the last several years, Caroline has developed a wealth of knowledge and skills leading and working with multi-department teams across a variety of industries. She is a Certified Agile ScrumMaster, an experienced Project Manager, and is proficient in a variety of analytics and management tools. Caroline is appreciated by the team for her engagement and interest in team building activities that result in inclusive experiences. Prior to Joyn, she was Technology Chief of Staff at Blackboard Insurance.

Caroline earned a Master’s in Political Science and Political Economy at the London School of Economics and Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Mathematics from Macalester College.

Jeff Helzner ​

Jeff Helzner

Decision Scientist

Jeff Helzner, Decision Scientist at Joyn Insurance. As part of the R&D team at Joyn, Jeff spends his time working on solutions to improve decision making across the insurance value chain. Currently, Jeff’s work is focused on the pipeline of customers matched to Joyn’s underwriting appetite.

Jeff has been applying his knowledge of decision making to the insurance industry for the past six years at AIG, Blackboard Insurance and now Joyn. His major projects have focused on areas such as reducing noise in human judgment, behavioral analytics, nudging, and decision support systems.

Prior to entering the insurance industry, Jeff was an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University where he taught undergraduate and graduate level courses at on foundations of probability and decision theory, logic, philosophy of science, and epistemology. His research focused mostly on foundations of rational choice theory, especially as it relates to decision making under conditions of uncertainty.

Jeff earned his PhD in Logic, Computation and Methodology at Carnegie Mellon University. He is an Advisor at KeeperAI and RationalAi.

Devasis Bassu ​

Devasis Bassu

R&D Lead

Devasis Bassu, R&D Lead at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, Devasis spends his time solving for industry problems that lack a commercialized solution. Enhancing and augmenting the underwriting process with data-driven advanced analytics and insights, enabled by automated data intake, is one of the problem priorities at Joyn.

A researcher in information analytics with more than 20 years of industry experience, Devasis has led, performed and managed numerous research projects across insurance, telecommunications, automotive, and government sectors. Prior to Joyn, Devasis spent five years at Blackboard Insurance and AIG researching and developing solutions related to creating efficiencies in the insurance value chain. Before landing in insurance, Devasis was a Senior Scientist in the Applied Research Labs (originated in Bellcore) over 15 years.

Devasis was raised in India and has a B.Sc. in Mathematics with Honors in Statistics, and Physics from St. Xavier’s University, and a M.Stat. specializing in Mathematical Statistics and Probability from the Indian Statistical Institute. After moving to the U.S., he earned his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He is inventor of 5 issued patents (others pending), and numerous scientific publications.

Pete-Delaney

Pete Delaney

Director of Distribution

Pete Delaney is the Director of Distribution at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, Pete connects with broker partners, developing strategic two-way relationships based on data insights and meaningful communication. Passionate about creating and driving growth opportunities, Pete has been working in the insurance industry for almost twenty years.  Prior to Joyn, Pete was at Keenan & Associates where he worked with California K-12 school districts and community colleges to provide risk transfer solutions. Prior to that, Pete worked at Blackboard Insurance where he developed and led strategic broker partnerships in support of Blackboard’s go-to-market approach, value proposition and financial goals. In the years prior to Blackboard, Pete worked for both Aon and AXA XL focusing on new business development for their construction industry verticals.

Pete attended Villanova University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing. Pete is a licensed Property and Casualty Broker in the state of California.

Lindsey-Fisher

Lindsey Fisher

Senior Operations Specialist

Lindsey Fisher is Senior Operations Specialist at Joyn Insurance.  She plays a crucial role in delivering our one-of-a-kind experience to our customers and brokers by ensuring our underwriters have everything they need at their fingertips and building efficient processes and monitoring capabilities.

Over the last several years, Lindsey has become passionate about commercial insurance having worked across various teams in underwriting, claims, and operations. Prior to Joyn, she spent two years at Blackboard Insurance where she was a Mission Control Advocate, helping build and monitor the submission, endorsement, and post bind data reporting processes. Prior to Blackboard, Lindsey was at AIG in a number of roles including Technical Underwriter and Operations Analyst.

Lindsey earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in Latin American in Caribbean Studies from the University of Kansas. She has a designation of Associate in Risk Management (ARM).

Dawn Argue

Dawn Argue

Senior Underwriter

Dawn Argue, Senior Underwriter at Joyn Insurance.  At Joyn, Dawn will use her vast experience in the insurance industry to grow Joyn’s business. Her expertise for West Coast risks will add important perspective as the Company grows.

For more than two decades, Dawn has been developing her expertise in the insurance industry through roles that spanned claims, personal lines, broking and commercial underwriting. Her passion lies with underwriting where she has spent the last fifteen years building books of business in both the admitted and specialty markets. Dawn joins the team from Capital Insurance Group where she was an Underwriting Practices Consultant.

Dawn has her Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) and Certified Construction Insurance Program (CCIP) designations. She also has her Commercial Lines Insurance Certification (CLIC) and is a licensed agent in PA, AZ, OR, CA, NV, WA.

Susan-Lee

Susan Lee

Senior Product Manager

Susan Lee, Senior Product Manager at Joyn Insurance. As part of the technology team at Joyn, Susan will drive the development of the operations workflow and underwriting platform, working with the business team to understand the requirements and designers to create mockups, then creating user stories for the engineers to code. She will then continuously collaborate with engineers to complete the development of the product.

Prior to entering the insurance industry, Susan worked as a management consultant for four years at IBM. Making the move to insurance, Susan was a Senior Product Manager at Blackboard Insurance for three years where she managed the development of a new technology-enabled commercial underwriting platform. In that role she was prioritizing user stories, communicating with vendors and stakeholders, and driving product releases in an agile environment. Most recently, Susan was at Marsh when she was responsible for managing several client initiatives, like a motor vehicle insurance platform, a rewards app that connects multiple insurance products, and a professional liability platform.

Susan earned her Bachelor of Science in Finance and Marketing from New York University’s Stern School of Business and has earned her Certified Scrum Master (CSM) designation. She was born in Chicago but spent half of her life in Seoul, Korea.

Alex-Bontz

Alex Bontz

Operations Lead, New Business

Alex Bontz leads the new business operations process at Joyn Insurance.  He plays a crucial role in delivering our one-of-a-kind experience to our customers and brokers by ensuring our underwriters have everything they need at their fingertips and building efficient processes and monitoring capabilities.

As a true believer in the mission to change the way that insurance is perceived, Alex has spent the past several years in the insurance industry supporting innovation and technology-enabled efficiency gains. Prior to Joyn, Alex was at ProSight Specialty Insurance providing front-line support for core systems and developed requirements for proprietary products. Prior to ProSight Specialty Insurance, Alex spent two years at Blackboard Insurance where he enabled the pre-underwriting of submissions for the national team. He began his career at AIG in a rotational leadership program that focused on underwriting, claims, operations, reporting, and general strategy.

Alex began his higher learning career at the United States Air Force Academy where he focused on Business Management. He transferred to the University of Kansas where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Management and Leadership, with a concentration in International Business.  Alex is a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt.

Dorian West

Dorian West

Underwriter

Dorian West, Underwriter at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, Dorian will use her expertise in the Texas insurance market to grow a profitable book of business while expanding broker and agent relationships.

As a service-minded insurance professional, Dorian has spent much of the last ten years underwriting property, inland marine, general liability, flood, crime, umbrella, and auto risks. She joins the team from Porch Group where she was a Manager of Customer Service & Retention for their Elite Insurance Group division.  Dorian’s dedication to the industry is evidenced in her role as Chairperson of the Insurance Management Advisory Board at Collin College.

Dorian holds a Master of Arts in Business Management from Dallas Baptist University and earned her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism at Baylor University. She is a licensed agent in Texas and is a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt. Dorian is also an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Amy Pham

Amy Pham

Product Designer

Amy Pham, Product Designer at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, Amy will be instrumental in defining our standards, best practices, user experience, and visual design for our greenfield systems.

Over the last five years, Amy has been building her design portfolio. She joins us from Arimus where she was a Designer & Marketing Manager responsible for defining, communicating, and executing on three mobile applications, conducting useability testing, and leading all marketing efforts for application launch. Prior to Arimus, Amy was a Cause Marketing Associate at The Walt Disney Company where she spent time redesigning the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility website and designing content to promote global cause marketing campaigns. Amy has also put in time as a Graphic Designer for UCLA and in social media for Discovery Channel.

Amy graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from The University of California, Los Angeles. During her time at UCLA, she spent a summer abroad at University of Cambridge, Pembroke College studying Marketing, Film & Theatre Journalism, and World Politics. Amy enjoys outdoor activities that include kayaking, hiking, and zip-lining. When not outdoors, she spends her time cooking or cake-decorating and loves taking care of her house plants.

John Young

John Young

Senior Data Analyst

John Young, Senior Data Analyst at Joyn Insurance.  As our first dedicated data analyst, John will be working with complex structured and unstructured data from all corners of our business, preparing repeatable analysis and reporting solutions. He’ll also become the expert on Joyn’s dimensionally modelled data warehouse and will guide our team to ensure that we are capturing the right data at the right level of detail.

Over the last five years, John worked at Tokio Marine North America Services where he worked his way through the Actuarial Analyst program. He spent time on data design and development as well as information analytics reporting. John’s experience in actuarial science coupled with his coding skills, not to mention his attention to detail and problem-solving attitude, will make him a great asset to the Joyn team.

John earned his Bachelor of Science in Risk Management with an Actuarial Science specialty from The Pennsylvania State University. He is currently enrolled in the Applied Data Science Program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Oguz Akgungor

Oguz Akgungor

Lead Software Engineer

Oguz Akgungor, Lead Software Engineer at Joyn Insurance.  As our first internal engineer, he will be instrumental in laying the technical foundation for the business and building out a scalable engineering practice. Oguz will be working closely with product managers, designers, and other engineers to ensure that the platform meets the needs of the business.

For more than two decades, Oguz has been building extensive background in leading the design and development of software applications across a wide range of operating system platforms and programming frameworks. He is well-versed in SAFe, Agile, Scrum and Kanban project methodologies, leveraging expertise to ensure delivery of the highest quality software products. Oguz began his career as a developer in Turkey and moved to the U.S. with much experience under his belt. He has worked on a wide array of engagements for multiple startups, led remote engineering teams, and spent time in corporate at AIG where he first met several members of the Joyn team. Most recently, Oguz Senior Team Lead at AmazinDash where he led teams in Turkey and India to maintain core products, APIs, dashboards and backend applications.

Oguz was raised in Turkey and studied Mathematics and Actuarial at Bogazici University and received his Master of Education Science at Yildiz Technical University.

Pete-Flanagan

Pete Flanagan

Senior Underwriter

Pete Flanagan, Senior Underwriter at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, Pete holds the distinction of being the team’s first underwriter. His role will focus on growing a profitable book of business and providing broker partners with excellent service.

With 17 years of experience in the industry, Pete is a dedicated insurance professional with strong broker relationships. He comes to Joyn from Willis Towers Watson where he was a Senior Property Broker responsible for controlling the placement design, marketing, and implementation of large and complex property programs. Prior to that Pete was at Blackboard Insurance where he marketed and underwrote a P&C book from the ground up, focusing on real estate, manufacturing/wholesale, hospitality, and professional services risks. Before Blackboard, Pete held a number of underwriting roles of increasing responsibility at several carriers.

Pete earned his MBA in Finance from Georgia State University, and BBAs in Accounting and Risk Management/Insurance from the University of Georgia. He is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), and has his Agent’s Property and Casualty License in the State of Georgia.

Sharna Hines

Sharna' Hines

Operations Specialist

Sharna’ Hines, Operations Specialist at Joyn Insurance.  At Joyn, she plays a crucial role in ensuring a seamless experience for our trading partners.  With a background in the brokerage side of insurance, Sharna’ is well-suited to provide insight and context to our fast-growing company.

For the last eight years, Sharna’ has held a variety of roles in the insurance industry including brokerage, client services, and having her own independent life insurance agency. Most recently, Sharna’ was Associate Broker at Amwins working on new and renewal E&S accounts.  Knowing the ins and outs of customer service within the industry will serve her well in her role at Joyn.

Sharna’ earned her Master of Business Administration at Roosevelt University and her Bachelor of Science in Biology Illinois State University. She is a licensed Property & Casualty Producer in the State of Illinois.

Bobby Gagnon Joyn

Bobby Gagnon

Broker Relationship Leader

Bobby Gagnon, Broker Relationship Leader. At Joyn, Bobby engages with our broker partners, developing strong and trusted relationships based on data insights and meaningful communication. He has made a career out of being there for folks when they need it the most and helping to ensure their dreams are protected.

With over 25 years of experience at top rated life, property & casualty insurance companies in management & sales, Bobby comes to Joyn with a deep understanding of customer needs and market dynamics. Most recently, Bobby was with American Family Insurance for nearly ten years focusing on business development, strategy planning, product analysis, and field leadership. He has also held positions with Church Mutual, Prudential, and American National.

During this time, Bobby worked to expand his knowledge to stay at the top of his game. He earned several industry designations and accreditations that include Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), Certified Risk Manager (CRM), Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI), and Certified Personal Risk Manager (CPRM). Bobby earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Augusta University and is a former D1 collegiate athlete. He is active in his community supporting a variety of government and nonprofit organizations as a board member.

Jasmine Brown Joyn

Jasmine Brown

Underwriter

Jasmine Brown, Underwriter at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, Jasmine will use her analytical skills to gain a strong understanding of the risks she underwrites. She is excited to work with our trading partners to help Joyn build a profitable book of business.

With six years in the industry, Jasmine brings experience in the E&S market from two perspectives: the underwriter and the broker. She has extensive expertise underwriting property, general liability, inland marine, and excess risks. Most recently she was with Burns & Wilcox as an Associate Broker, collaborating with brokers on small to middle market commercial accounts.  Before that, she was an Associate Underwriter at Amwins where she successfully aided her team to build a profitable book of business.

Jasmine graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Risk Management and Insurance from The University of Louisiana at Monroe. She has her Surplus Lines Agent and General Lines Agent license in the state of Texas. In her spare time, Jasmine enjoys being creative and expresses herself through baking, crochet, and arts and crafts projects. She stays active in her community by volunteering at local food banks and charitable organizations.

MJ Powers

MJ Powers

Underwriter

MJ Powers, Underwriter at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, MJ will use her investigative nature and dedication to the craft of underwriting to help our trading partners find solutions for their risks all the while helping Joyn grow a profitable book of business.

Over the last ten years, MJ has gained a wealth of insights and experience in underwriting commercial insurance. Most recently, MJ was at Capital Insurance Group where she was an underwriter focused on the Southwest region of the U.S.  

MJ earned her Bachelor’s degree in Business and Corporate Communications from Cazenovia College. She holds her industry designation as Associate in General Insurance (AINS).

James Perry

James Perry

Operations Specialist

James Perry, Operations Specialist at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, he plays a crucial role in delivering our one-of-a-kind experience to our customers and brokers by ensuring our underwriters have everything they need at their fingertips and building efficient processes and monitoring capabilities.

Exceptional customer service skills come naturally to James. He is a strong communicator within the team and has a passion for learning. His insurance career began as a Professional Associate with the Casualty team at AIG.

James earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History, Summa Cum Laude, at S.U.N.Y University at Albany. He is certified by the International TEFL Academy to teach English as a foreign language globally.

Linda Koos

Linda Koos

Broker Relationship Leader

Linda Koos, Broker Relationship Leader at Joyn Insurance. Linda works with our broker partners to build deep and meaningful relationships that are mutually beneficial for growth. Linda has a great track record of helping partners navigate business challenges and innovate with products and services.

Having more than two decades years of experience in the insurance industry, Linda comes to Joyn with a wealth of leadership and business development expertise from both the carrier and broker perspectives. Most recently, Linda was Vice President and Managing Director of the Michigan offices of Burns & Wilcox where she was charged with developing and leading multiple teams and responsible for driving growth of product platforms amongst multiple product divisions. Prior to Burns & Wilcox, Linda spent time spent time in leadership roles at Hylant and AIG.

Linda earned her B. A. in English/Communications Arts with a minor in Business & Technical Writing from Oakland University. She earned a certificate in Women’s Leadership Program Studies from the Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. Linda is engaged in a variety of community activities including United Way of Washtenaw County, Coalition on Temporary Shelter (COTS), and Skyline Club of Michigan Women’s Leadership Group.

Alex Argue

Alex Argue

Underwriting Systems Analyst

Alex Argue, Underwriting Systems Analyst at Joyn Insurance. At Joyn, Alex will play a critical role in translating underwriting features to our technology team. She will also work with our partners to ensure that our system results are producing accurate results and are in compliance with regulatory demands.

Most recently, Alex was at Capital Insurance Group where she spent the last five years collaborating with the a variety of stakeholders to enhance core technology solutions. She earned several promotions and expanded her experience and knowledge of agile and waterfall methodologies.

Alex earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology and Sociology at Albright College. She is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM).

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Adam Berger

Head of Growth

Adam Berger, Head of Growth at Joyn Insurance. Adam leads our production underwriters while partnering with our Distribution team to identify and unlock growth opportunities. A primary responsibility of his role is to use data and analytics to find patterns in underwriting habits, remove bias, and increase opportunities.

Over the last two decades, Adam has built an extensive career in the insurance industry. From the early days as a risk analyst for Marsh and formative underwriting years at ACE, Adam then moved into leadership positions of increasing responsibility focused on the property market. Most recently, Adam was Senior Vice President at GuideOne where he was responsible for three divisions, several MGUs, risk engineering, and wholesale broking. Adam’s leadership qualities and experience with the E&S property market are the perfect complement to Joyn’s underwriting team.

Adam earned his Bachelor of Business Administration from Temple University.

Caroline Creed Joyn

Caroline Creed

Broker Relationship Leader

Caroline Creed, Broker Relationship Leader at Joyn Insurance. Caroline engages with our broker partners to build trusted and valued relationships based on data insights, meaningful communication, and responsive engagement. 

Although early in her career, Caroline already has tremendous experience in the insurance industry. Over the last five years, she has been strategically building relationships, creating profitable growth, expanding product knowledge, and leading young industry professionals. Most recently, Caroline was a Wholesale Business Development Manager at Markel where she managed broker relationships in the Midwest and represented numerous commercial and personal lines of business. Earlier on at Market, she was an excess casualty production underwriter. Prior to Markel, Caroline was an intern at both WSIA and Preferred Specialty.

Caroline earned her Bachelor of Science, Business Administration in both Insurance and Risk Management as well as Finance from the Darla Moore School of Business at The University of South Carolina. She is an active participant on the WSIA Internship Committee and the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Associate Board.

Tyler Heist

Tyler Heist

Senior Data Engineer

Tyler Heist, Senior Data Engineer at Joyn Insurance. Tyler will be working with Joyn’s complex structured and unstructured data, helping us build a strong, scalable foundation as our business grows. Designing data models and developing fast, reliable ELT processes will be elements of Tyler’s day in addition to partnering with our data scientists and software engineers to solve unique business challenges.

Tyler is a data engineer and scientist with a background in healthcare and microscopy data. They have a passion for data quality, reproducible research, scientific communication, and finding novel solutions to real-world problems using machine learning. Tyler joins the team having spent time at Cerebral and Epic Systems.

Tyler earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Computer Science from the University of Richmond and a PH.D. in Quantitative and Computational Biology from Princeton University. 

Christina Young

Christina Young

Operations Specialist

Christina Young, Operations Specialist at Joyn Insurance. Christina plays a crucial role in delivering our one-of-a-kind experience to our customers and brokers by ensuring our team has everything they need at their fingertips. Additionally, she engages with Joyn’s Product, Underwriting, and Distribution teams to continually improve ease of business both internally and externally by enhancing our systems and processes.

Prior to joining the team, Christina was an inventory analyst for Watchbox. She was responsible for inventory tracking, quality control, and systems accuracy. Christina was an active participant in designing and implementing models for process optimization and accuracy.

Christina earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Supply Chain and Information Systems and a minor in Information Systems Management from The Pennsylvania State University. She graduated Cum Laude.

Duy Vo

Duy Vo

Operations Specialist

Duy Vo, Operations Specialist at Joyn Insurance. Duy engages with Joyn’s Product, Underwriting, and Distribution teams to continually improve ease of business both internally and externally by enhancing our systems and processes. He also plays a crucial role in delivering our one-of-a-kind experience to our customers and brokers by ensuring our team has everything they need at their fingertips.

Prior to joining the team, Duy had several operations roles at crypto companies. He is skilled in developing standard operating procedures, metric-based decisioning, and cross-functional analysis.  

Duy earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University.

Christopher Leuer

Christopher Leuer

Underwriter

Christopher Leuer, Underwriter at Joyn Insurance. Christopher will use his years of underwriting experience to develop strong relationships with our trading partners. He will also use his experience to further advance Joyn’s business rules for our workflow platform.

Having almost 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, Christopher has had the opportunity to perform a variety of underwriting and broking roles. His knowledge of the E&S market will provide tremendous insights in his role at Joyn. Most recently, he was on the broking side spending time at Jencap and Marsh. Before that, he was an E&S underwriter for RT Specialty, ARC, and Aspen Specialty.

Christopher earned his Associate of Science in Culinary Arts from Paul Smith’s College. He is a licensed Property and Casualty producer in the state of New York.