The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers has made three senior leadership moves, including the creation of its first chief AI officer role, as brokerages across the industry weigh how exposed their business is to AI-driven distribution.
The firm promoted Adam Baillie to president, expanded Bernadetta Scholz's remit to include chief operating officer alongside her existing CFO role, and appointed Rob Jadon to the newly created position of chief AI officer.
Baillie has been with Liberty since joining as a producer in 2014, having since held roles including managing partner, chief strategy officer, chief operating officer, and president of strategic growth. As president, he will help lead execution of Liberty's strategic vision, drive alignment across the organization and support continued growth.
Scholz joined Liberty in 2021 as chief accounting officer and was promoted to CFO in 2022. She brings more than two decades of financial and operational leadership experience from both public and private companies, spanning accounting, audit, treasury, capital markets and M&A.
In her expanded role, she will continue overseeing financial strategy while taking on responsibility for day-to-day operations.
Jadon's appointment as chief AI officer is a new role for Liberty, tasked with applying AI to strengthen how the brokerage serves clients, supports producers, and operates internally.
The leadership changes follow a strong year for Liberty. The brokerage grew revenue 16.3% to $222.4 million in 2025, well above the 9.4% average organic growth rate for independent agencies reported in the Big "I" Best Practices Study, and completed 12 partnerships and acquisitions during the year, bringing its cumulative deal count to more than 50 since 2019. The company also closed a debut $525 million first-lien credit facility led by JPMorgan in October 2025 to fund continued expansion and producer hiring.
The creation of a dedicated chief AI officer role lands at a pointed moment for US brokers.
On February 9, 2026, major publicly traded broker stocks suffered their sharpest single-day declines in years after two AI-powered quoting apps, built by Insurify and Spanish insurer Tuio, launched inside ChatGPT.
Willis Towers Watson fell 12%, its worst trading session since November 2008, while Aon and Arthur J. Gallagher each dropped roughly 9% to 10%, dragging the S&P 500 Insurance Index down 3.9% in its biggest single-day fall since October. A follow-up funding report on Waniwani, the infrastructure provider behind the ChatGPT insurance apps, cited a Bank of America estimate that as much as $15 billion in broker revenue could be at risk from AI-driven distribution over time.
Analysts have pushed back on the scale of the initial reaction, noting the apps so far target simpler personal lines products like auto and home insurance, while large brokers generate the bulk of their revenue from commercial and specialty lines that require more complex, human-led advice.
Even so, the episode has accelerated pressure on brokerages of all sizes, including specialty and middle-market platforms like Liberty, to build the technology and leadership needed to compete as new AI-driven distribution channels emerge alongside traditional broker relationships.
Bill Johnson, chairman, founder and CEO of Liberty, said Baillie's impact over the past decade had been extraordinary.
"He combines the mindset of a producer, the vision of a strategist, and the leadership of an operator," Johnson said, adding that Baillie's understanding of the business, its people and its culture make him well positioned to lead Liberty's next phase of growth.
Baillie said Liberty had been his professional home for more than a decade. "We have tremendous momentum, exceptional people, and a unique culture, and I look forward to helping build on that foundation," he said.
On Scholz's expanded role, Johnson said she had consistently demonstrated sound judgment, strong execution, and an ability to get things done. Scholz said she was honored to take on the role and looked forward to continuing to support Liberty's partners, producers, employees, and clients.
On Jadon's appointment, Johnson said success with AI would depend on how thoughtfully it is applied, adding that Jadon brings the operational experience and strategic mindset needed to ensure AI strengthens how Liberty serves clients and supports producers. Jadon said his focus would be on combining human expertise with AI. "The greatest opportunity is not simply to automate work, but to help our people make better decisions, move faster, and spend more time delivering the expertise and personal service our clients value most," he said.
The appointments give Liberty a dedicated AI leadership seat at the table just as the broader brokerage industry works out how exposed its distribution model really is to AI, a question that remains unresolved even as broker stocks have partially recovered since February.
