Several insurance organizations announced leadership changes this week, spanning global risk advisory, specialty brokerage and pet insurance.
Marsh created a new global role focused on captive solutions, Ames & Gough promoted two long-serving equity partners to senior vice president, and Odie Pet Insurance brought in a veteran pet insurance executive as its chief growth officer.
Marsh has named Aileen Krehbiel (pictured, left) to the newly created role of global strategic client service leader, captive solutions, within Marsh Risk.
In the role, Krehbiel will lead the firm's captive strategic deployment across its largest and most complex captive clients worldwide, working with Marsh brokers and advisors to deliver strategic advice to clients.
Krehbiel joins Marsh from John Deere, where she most recently served as manager, captive insurance programs, with additional responsibility for employee benefits technical accounting. She previously worked in the assurance services practice at Ernst & Young. Based in Bettendorf, Iowa, she will report to Michael Serricchio, Marsh's US and Canada regional leader for captive solutions.
For brokers, this appointment is worth reading as more than an internal Marsh hire. A dedicated global client service leader created specifically for captive solutions signals that Marsh sees rising demand among its largest clients for captive strategy support, and gives brokers advising middle-market or growing clients considering a captive structure for the first time a named specialist and expanded internal resource to potentially draw on through an existing Marsh relationship, rather than routing captive questions through a generalist risk advisory contact.
"Aileen's rare combination of global captive insurance operations experience, technical accounting depth, and a strong corporate risk perspective will benefit clients and colleagues alike," said Serricchio. He said the appointment reflects the strategic advice and creative innovation Marsh's largest, most complex clients are seeking amid a volatile risk landscape.
Ames & Gough, a Washington, DC-based insurance broker and risk management consultant serving design professionals, law firms, associations and other professional service organizations, has promoted equity partners Brian Lynch (pictured, center) and Jared Maxwell (pictured, right) to senior vice president.
Lynch, who became an equity partner in 2023, leads the firm's national practice for associations and nonprofits from its Washington, DC office. He has more than 17 years of experience in insurance brokerage, having joined Ames & Gough in 2016 after working at insurance brokerages in Boston.
Maxwell, an equity partner since 2016, is responsible for client service and business development in the firm's Boston office. Since joining the firm in 2013, he has worked with architecture, engineering and construction clients on professional liability and executive risk. He previously spent eight years at Marsh in sales and client service roles focused on design firms.
"Over the years, Brian and Jared have distinguished themselves as key members of our leadership team by consistently delivering exceptional results for our clients," said Matt Gough, CEO of Ames & Gough. He said both executives had provided ongoing support and direction in developing colleagues across the firm.
Odie Pet Insurance has appointed Lane Kent as chief growth officer. In the role, Kent will help lead the company's next stage of growth across strategic partnerships, embedded distribution, channel development, product strategy and operational execution, working closely with Odie's founders and leadership team.
Kent brings more than three decades of insurance leadership experience to the role. He most recently served as chief executive officer of Independence Pet Group, one of North America's largest pet insurance platforms, having previously served as its chief operating officer.
Kent's embedded-distribution and channel-development background is a specific detail worth brokers' attention. Pet insurance remains a meaningfully under-penetrated line relative to how many pet-owning households exist, and a chief growth officer with a background specifically in embedded and channel partnerships suggests Odie is actively building out distribution relationships with agencies and brokers as a growth lever, rather than relying solely on direct-to-consumer sales. Brokers not currently offering pet insurance as part of a home or auto client conversation have a genuine cross-sell opportunity here.
"Lane has operated at the scaled version of the business we are building, and that perspective is incredibly valuable as Odie enters its next chapter," said Miles Thorson, co-founder and CEO of Odie Pet Insurance. Thorson said Kent brings deep category knowledge, a builder's mindset and the credibility to strengthen Odie's relationships with distributors, carriers, capital partners and pet parents.
Kent said Odie has the ingredients he looks for in a growth company, including a compelling market opportunity, a founder-led culture and a willingness to challenge legacy assumptions in the pet insurance category.
The appointment comes as Odie continues expanding its business-to-business and embedded partnership strategy while investing in service standards, operational discipline and product innovation.
