NJM Insurance Group named a new CFO. A former Uber-engineering executive joined the Metromile team. The former leader data scientist of Farmers is now at Betterview. Willis Re has a new head of London Market Reinsurance Claims.
***
New Jersey-based NJM Insurance Group has named Chris Malone as chief financial officer.
Malone joins NJM with more than 25 years of financial and leadership expertise. In this role, he will oversee the company’s financial and actuarial departments.
Malone most recently served as the vice president and lead financial officer for Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance in DePere, Wisc., where he led the company’s financial operations as well as data analytics, workforce planning, vendor management and quality assurance.
He has also held various leadership positions at Plymouth Rock Assurance Company, Travelers Companies and The Hartford, where his experience spanned finance, product management, field operations and marketing.
Founded in 1913, NJM provides workers compensation insurance, personal auto, renters and umbrella coverage in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It is headquartered in West Trenton, N.J., with locations in Hammonton and Parsippany, N.J.
***
Metromile, the pay-per-mile insurance company, announced that Paw Anderson, a technologist with 20-plus years of engineering leadership experience, joined the companies as CTO.
He was most recently a senior leader of engineering in Uber’s Advanced Technology group, where he grew his team from 27 to 700.
Beyond ridesharing and autonomous vehicles, he’s been on the front lines of technical challenges in several sectors, including GIS, fintech and e-commerce, ranging from small startups to large, established companies, according to Metromile.
“What’s been constant is my passion for enabling teams to effectively build software, while also empowering them to enjoy their biggest personal growth,” said Anderson in a statement.
CEO Dan Preston stressed Paw’s passions for creating products that directly help customers and for building positive culture internally in announcing the hire.
As CTO, Anderson is responsible for leading, coaching, motivating, and growing Metromile’s engineering team in its San Francisco and Boston offices.
“Working at Uber, I became immersed in mobility and learned how that landscape is continuing to evolve. When I think about the future of mobility, I see Metromile as a key player in expanding individual freedom,” Anderson said.
***
Betterview, a machine learning InsurTech startup that focuses on capturing and analyzing data from drones, satellite and other aerial imagery, announced the appointment of Dan Shoham as its new Chief Science Officer.
Prior to joining Betterview, Shoham was a Lead Data Scientist at Farmers Insurance.
Shoham, who in 1986 earned a PhD in Mathematics from Temple University at age 21, also worked at organizations widely recognized as computer vision and predictive analytics pioneers, including MIT Lincoln Labs where he was part of a team that pioneered computer vision science to detect Soviet mobile ballistic missile launchers during the Cold War.
He also worked at HNC Software, creator of one of the first predictive analytic models used to identify credit card fraud, and founded Edgewater Analytics, an angel-backed startup that developed predictive analytic small business creditworthiness scores.
David Lyman, CEO and Co-Founder of Betterview expects Shoham’s unique skill set to enhance existing predictive analytic capabilities at Betterview, which developed a proprietary risk score for buildings and properties, among other things.
***
Steve Robson has joined Willis Re as head of London Market Reinsurance Claims.
He brings extensive client-side experience and perspectives, and will focus on the closer alignment of the servicing and placement teams of Willis Re, the reinsurance division of Willis Towers Watson.
During his 36 years in the sector, Robson served as head of Claims at BRIT, managing director of Syndicate 1884, president of the International Association of Claims Professionals (IACP), and chairmanships at the London market CAT Coordination Group and its Reinsurance Claims Practitioner Group. Robson will lead Willis Re’s Claims Broking team in London, and report to Chris Brook, Willis Re’s global chief operating officer.
Sources: NJM Insurance, Metromile, Betterview, Wills Re