Appointed EVP and CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin at just 26 years old, Matt Banaszynski was first introduced to the insurance world while working for the US Congress, assisting constituents in resolving a variety of government-sponsored insurance issues, such as flood, terrorism and health. He later transitioned into the public-policy sector before moving on to a position as chief of staff for a Wisconsin legislator, who was also an independent insurance agent.
“At the time, he was the only one in the legislature with any firsthand insurance experience,” Banaszynski says. “I was then asked to become an expert on everything related to insurance, especially property & casualty insurance. The Griffiths Foundation and other P&C trade organizations and companies helped to educate me and make me an ‘expert’ aide to lawmakers.”
Banaszynski spent the next few years helping formulate and author insurance laws for the state of Wisconsin. “My passion was never politics, but rather insurance and public policy,” he says. “Partisan politics had worn me down.” So he took the role of vice president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin and was soon promoted to EVP and CEO. “Since assuming the helm of the IIAW,” Banaszynski says, “I have been focused on professionally developing myself so that I may be a better leader to those I work for and with.”
