Galway Specialty Wholesale (GSW), parent of Jencap Group (Jencap) and Paragon Insurance Holdings (Paragon), has announced six leadership appointments across its executive team.
The reshuffle fills out GSW's top operating and finance roles while adding a dedicated president over Jencap's brokerage division for the first time, a structure the company says is intended to prepare its programs and brokerage businesses for continued scaling rather than respond to any single event.
Dave Nielsen will assume the newly created role of GSW Chief Operating Officer. In practice, that means he will run day-to-day operations across the platform, from how efficiently GSW's businesses function to how well its technology and infrastructure scale as the company grows.
Kyle Struble has been promoted to GSW chief financial officer, taking charge of financial planning, reporting and capital decisions across the platform. Struble moves up from chief financial officer of Paragon, GSW's managing general agency unit, giving him prior exposure to the finances of one of the businesses he will now oversee company-wide.
At Jencap, John LaCava becomes president, Jencap Programs, responsible for growing and overseeing the profitability of Jencap's program portfolio; he previously led Jencap Program Administrators as president and CEO.
Joe Hayes steps up to president, Jencap Brokerage Division, a newly dedicated post overseeing Jencap's transactional brokerage business, after most recently serving as the unit's national casualty practice leader. Tom Murphy is promoted to office president and chief growth officer, Programs, tasked with steering the strategic direction of Jencap's program management platform. Matt Dunn joins as executive vice president, Jencap Business Operations and Acquisitions, focused on tightening up Jencap's internal operations while running the company's acquisition pipeline.
John Jennings, CEO of Galway Specialty Wholesale, said: "As our organization continues to grow in scale and complexity, it is essential that we expand our executive leadership capacity and deepen our bench strength. These appointments reflect our continued commitment to building a durable leadership structure through internal promotions that supports both near-term execution and long-term perpetuation of the company."
Mark Maher, president of Jencap Group, added: "Joe and Tom have demonstrated the leadership discipline and strategic insight required to guide our organization through its next phase of growth. Strengthening our executive ranks ensures we are well-positioned to meet the evolving needs of our clients, partners, and employees."
GSW sits within Galway Holdings, the private equity-backed platform formed in 2020 when Oak Hill Capital's EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants combined with The Carlyle Group's Jencap Holdings. Harvest Partners acquired majority control of Galway Holdings in 2023, with Oak Hill and Carlyle reinvesting alongside management.
Jencap has ranked among the largest wholesale property and casualty distribution firms in the US, and Galway has said it manages more than $7 billion in insurance premiums across over 100 offices nationwide.
The reshuffle comes as the US wholesale and MGA channel continues to expand rapidly. AM Best estimated total US excess and surplus lines direct premium at $135 billion in 2024, marking a seventh consecutive year of double-digit growth for the segment, according to Fitch Ratings' latest annual market review. Conning's 2025 MGA Strategic Study put total US MGA premium at $114.1 billion in 2024, up 16% year over year, while the WSIA stamping office composite showed surplus lines premium climbing a further 8% to $90.3 billion across the 15 reporting states in 2025.
That growth has fueled continued consolidation among private equity-backed wholesale platforms, with Ryan Specialty, Amwins and others actively acquiring specialty MGAs and program administrators alongside Galway's own expansion through Jencap and Paragon. Producer compensation has risen alongside the deal activity, with MarshBerry reporting 17.9% salary growth for specialty broker producers in 2024.
For a platform managing more than $7 billion in premium across retail, wholesale and MGA operations, GSW's deeper executive bench reflects a broader industry pattern of building out specialized leadership as programs and brokerage books continue to scale.
