Insurance moves: Sun Life US, Goosehead Insurance, SIIA
Moves span dental benefits, personal lines and self-insured health plan services
Insurance moves: Sun Life US, Goosehead Insurance, SIIA
INSURANCE NEWS
By Kenneth Araullo
Mar 31, 2026

Several insurance and healthcare organizations have announced leadership appointments across dental benefits, personal lines and self-insured health plan services.

Sun Life US names Tony Mollica as dental business president

Sun Life US has named Tony Mollica (pictured above, left) as president of its dental business, which includes DentaQuest, effective March 30. He succeeds David Healy, who was appointed president of Sun Life US.

Mollica will set strategic direction for the dental unit across its Medicaid, Commercial and Medicare Advantage segments, as well as affiliated Advantage Dental+ practices. He will also lead go-to-market strategies for all businesses and products, including vision insurance, which currently serve approximately 32 million people nationwide.

His responsibilities include overseeing membership and retention strategies and leading managed care initiatives that balance quality, access and cost. Mollica joins Sun Life from Humana, where he most recently served as CEO of Independent Care Health Plan, overseeing market strategy and day-to-day operations.

He previously held clinical operations and product leadership roles at UnitedHealth Group. He holds a Master of Healthcare Innovation from Arizona State University, a Master of Science in Communication – Organizational Development from Illinois State University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Read more: Sun Life names president of Sun Life Asset Management

Goosehead Insurance appoints Martin Thornthwaite as general counsel

Goosehead Insurance (NASDAQ: GSHD) has appointed Martin Thornthwaite as general counsel and corporate secretary, effective March 30. The company also announced the departure of John O'Connor, who is leaving to pursue other opportunities.

Thornthwaite most recently served as senior vice president and associate general counsel at RealPage, Inc., where he oversaw commercial and consumer litigation, regulatory and governmental investigations and employment-related legal matters. He previously practiced at Clark Hill PLC and Strasburger & Price LLP.

He holds a Juris Doctor from the SMU Dedman School of Law and a BBA in Finance and Business Honors from the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business.

Read more: Goosehead Insurance consolidates leadership, appoints Mark Jones Jr. as CFO and COO

aequum CEO Christine Cooper joins SIIA board

Christine Cooper (pictured above, right), CEO and co-founder of aequum LLC, has been appointed to the board of directors of the Self-Insurance Institute of America (SIIA) for 2026. aequum is a cost containment firm serving more than 425 self-insured health plans and their participants across all 50 states.

Cooper is a member of SIIA's Price Transparency Committee and recently participated in the SIIA Healthcare Price Transparency Forum, where industry leaders examined developments related to surprise billing, the No Surprises Act and fiduciary oversight of health plan expenditures.

SIIA's board comprises senior leaders from stop-loss carriers, third-party administrators, brokers and service providers who guide the association's strategic and advocacy priorities.

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