About Comparion Insurance

Christopher A. Capone

Chris Capone is the President & CEO of Comparion Insurance Agency. In this capacity, Chris is responsible for leading the Comparion enterprise, a top 5 insurance agency in the U.S., across personal property and casualty, life, annuity, and small commercial lines of business. Comparion utilizes a team of thousands of licensed employee producers as well as the networks of strategic business partners to provide tailored local insurance solutions at national scale. Prior to this role, Chris led the Exclusive Agent Distribution team of Liberty Mutual which combined with other organizations to form Comparion.

Chris joined Liberty Mutual in 2002 in a strategy capacity and was appointed to Managing Director, Affinity Employer Programs in 2005. He was promoted to Vice President, Affinity in 2008 and then served as Vice President, Regional Claims in 2010. He was promoted to Vice President, Partner Distribution in January 2011, and then promoted to Sr. Vice President, eCommerce in 2012. In 2014, he was appointed to Sr. Vice President Strategic Partnerships, and continued in that role until his promotion to President, Exclusive Agent Distribution in 2016. In 2021, Chris was named President and CEO of Comparion Insurance Agency.

Prior to joining Liberty Mutual, Chris held numerous positions within GE Capital, GE Investments and GE Aviation.

Chris earned a M.B.A. from the F.W. Olin School of Business at Babson College as valedictorian and earned a B.S. in Finance, summa cum laude from Bentley College. He holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Associate in Personal Insurance (API) and Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI) insurance designations.

John Bem

John Bem is Vice President and the Regional General Manager of the Central Region at Comparion Insurance Agency. In this role, he is responsible for managing all aspects of agency operations in LA, KS, MO, OK and TX. His team has hundreds of employees in roles ranging from front line sales producers, marketing support personnel and business managers.

Mr. Bem has over 25 years of insurance industry experience and held various management roles across Service, Sales, Compensation & Recognition and Call Center Operations. His first Senior Leadership role was as a Region Service Manager in Midwest leading the region to become one of the most efficient and highest customer satisfaction regions in the country. He was then promoted to Area Manager in Upstate New York leading a large sales team before taking a role in Liberty Mutual's Home Office in Boston to gain experience in leading several teams that support field sales and service teams. In 2019, he moved to Texas when he was promoted to RGM for Central Region.

Mr. Bem holds an M.B.A. in Marketing from Benedictine University, a Certificate of Business Administration Accounting from St. Clair College, and a B.A. in Computer Information Systems from Walsh College.

Thomas Bertha

Thomas Bertha is the Vice President and Regional General Manager for the Mountain Region at Comparion Insurance Agency. In this role, he is responsible for managing all aspects of agency operations in AZ, CO, NV, NM, UT and WY. His team has hundreds of employees in roles ranging from front line sales producers, marketing support personnel and business managers.

Mr. Bertha joined Liberty Mutual in 2002 as a personal-lines sales representative. In 2004, he was hired into his first management role, and he has assumed various leadership roles for the company over the last 18 years. In 2019, he was promoted to RGM for the Mountain Region under Liberty Mutual and in 2022 he maintained the same role while transitioning to Comparion.

Mr. Bertha holds a B.A. in English from Dartmouth College.

Taggart Bolen

Taggart Bolen is Vice President and Region General Manager of the Southeast Region at Comparion Insurance Agency. In this role, he is responsible for managing all aspects of agency operations in AL, AR, FL, GA, MS, NC, SC, and TN. His team has hundreds of employees in roles ranging from front line sales producers, marketing support personnel and business managers.

Mr. Bolen joined the company as a sales representative in 2008. After being promoted in 2010 to senior branch manager, he has held a range of leadership roles with increasing responsibility. Prior to joining the company in 2008, Mr. Bolen worked in the housing and real estate sector holding positions in sales, marketing, and leadership.

Mr. Bolen has earned the Leadership Excellence certification from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University and holds both an M.B.A. and a B.A. in Consumer Economics from the University of Georgia.

Cameron Finch

Cameron Finch is Vice President and Regional General Manager of the Northeast Region at Comparion Insurance Agency. In this role, he is responsible for managing all aspects of agency operations in CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI and VT. His team has hundreds of employees in roles ranging from front line sales producers, marketing support personnel and business managers.

Cameron has held various positions over his tenure at the company, including analyst and management roles in Product and Pricing division, Distribution Analytics, and Distribution Operations. Prior to becoming Regional General Manager, he led and stood up the Wholesale Brokerage team supporting Comparion's agents nationally. Prior to joining Liberty Mutual in 2009, he worked at The Parthenon Group in Boston.

Cameron holds an M.B.A. in Organizational Leadership from Boston University and a B.A. in Economics from Trinity College.

James S. Gwynn III

James Gwynn is Vice President and Regional General Manager of the Mid-Atlantic Region at Comparion Insurance in DC, DE, OH, KY, MD, NJ, PA, VA and WV. His team has hundreds of employees in roles ranging from front line sales producers, marketing support personnel and business managers.

James has been with the company for 28 years. During that time he has held several roles in Exclusive Agent Distribution with increasing responsibility including Sales Representative, Sales Manager, National Sales Director and Regional General Manager.

James holds an M.B.A. from Temple University, a M.S. in Financial Services from the American College and a B.A. from University of Phoenix. He holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Life Underwriting Training Council Fellow (LUTCF), Financial Services Certified Professional (FSCP), Associate in Management (AIM), Associate in Personal Insurance (API) and Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP) designations.

Kenny Kendrick

Kenny Kendrick is Vice President and Regional General Manager of the Pacific Region at Comparion Insurance Agency. In this role, he is responsible for managing all aspects of agency operations in AK, CA, HI, ID, MT, OR and WA. His team has hundreds of employees in roles ranging from front line sales producers, marketing support personnel and business managers.

Mr. Kendrick joined the company in 2011, and has held various roles in Operations and Distribution across the U.S. Prior to joining Comparion, Mr. Kendrick worked with Nationwide Insurance, Superior Insurance, and Sagamore Insurance with roles in territory management, product management, operations, and distribution.

Mr. Kendrick holds a B.A. in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University.

Kris Bielefeldt

Kris Bielefeldt is the Head of Carrier Relations for Comparion Insurance Agency. In this role, Kris manages a team responsible for stewardship of the existing carrier partnerships, our relationship with Bolt, and adding new carriers to the panel. Kris' team includes relationship managers, project managers, and business analysts who work diligently to ensure the joint success of our carrier partners and our agents. The team also supports various functions such as legal, compliance, service, and licensing in key strategic projects.

Kris has worked for the parent organization since 2000 with roles in sales, business analysis, lead generation, and partnership management.. Prior roles had a specific focus on launching and scaling key strategic partnerships, both driving volume into internal distribution channels and managing external agency partnerships. In his last role, Kris was responsible for Safeco's national “platform” agencies.

DeAnna Kerrick

DeAnna Kerrick is the Sr. Vice President of National Strategy and Enablement for Comparion Insurance Agency. In this role, DeAnna leads a team with oversight of marketing and sales enablement, agency experience and programs and national operations.

DeAnna has over 30 years of experience in financial services holding positions in banking and insurance concentrated in marketing, agency programs and operations. She joined Liberty Mutual in 2007 under the Safeco brand leading national agent marketing programs. In her 15 years with the company, she has held various roles, most recently as SVP of Exclusive Agent Distribution - West before assuming her current role with Comparion Insurance Agency.

DeAnna holds a B.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Pam Kusma

Pam Kusma is Assistant Vice President and Senior Director of Agency Experience & Programs within Agency Distribution Solutions. In this capacity, Pam is responsible for the agent and agency lifecycle, compensation and recognition strategy, and programs for best in class agent experience. Prior to this role, Pam led SA Development.

Pam joined the company in 2018 and was appointed Assistant Director, Partnership Marketing. She was promoted to Director Sales and Marketing Associate Development in 2019 and then served as Director Agency & Franchise Development in 2020. She was promoted to AVP & Director Exclusive Agent Experience in 2022.

Pam earned her B.A. from Tufts University. She holds the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the National Alliance for Insurance Education.

Eric Incitti

Eric Incitti is the Senior Director of Economics and Analytics at Comparion Insurance Agency. In this role, Eric leads a team responsible for financial planning and analysis, lead generation and marketing program economics, compensation program design, and various other analytical needs for the agency.

Eric joined Comparion from Liberty Mutual, where held various finance, analytics, and corporate strategy roles since 2009. Most recently, Eric was a Strategy Director for Liberty Mutual's US Retail Markets division.

Eric holds an M.B.A. from the Questrom School of Business at Boston University and a B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. He holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.

Ellen LaGana

Ellen Lagana is Assistant Vice President and Director of National Operations for Comparion Insurance Agency. The NatOps team is accountable for the development and execution of Comparion's strategic vision, goals and measures of success. Prior to taking this role, Ellen held various operational and analytical roles at Liberty Mutual Insurance.

Ellen graduated summa cum laude from Northeastern University with a B.S. in Economics.

Eliza Coan

Eliza Coan is the Director of Agency Communications & Information Strategy. In this role, Eliza leads of team of experienced communicators responsible for driving meaningful engagement between leadership and employees, providing strategic roadmaps for teams and building an external presence for our partners and communities.

Eliza joined Comparion from Liberty Mutual where she has held several roles in Marketing and Communications since 2014. Eliza holds a B.A. in Marketing from Bentley University.

Matt Galluzzo

Matt Galluzzo is Assistant Vice President and the Manager of Agency Partnerships on the National Sales & Enablement team at Comparion Insurance Agency. In this role, Matt leads a team responsible for managing the relationships and day-to-day operations with third-party agency distribution partners. Matt's team is also responsible for managing key carrier partnerships.

Matt joined Comparion from Liberty Mutual. He began his career as a Sales Associate in 2011 and has held various roles of increasing complexity and responsibility across sales, analytics and operations for the past 12 years.

Matt earned his B.A. in Business Administration from Bryant University. He holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation.

Adam Ruri

Adam Ruri is Assistant Vice President and the Director of National Partnerships at Comparion Insurance Agency. In this role, Adam is responsible for developing strategic alliances and agency affinity relationships. He spearheads national business-to-business market expansion strategy and leads cross-functional efforts to operationalize negotiated partnership agreements.

Adam has held various roles during his tenure at the company and joined Liberty Mutual through the Field Management Development Program. He has held management positions in Claims and Distribution, including serving as the first national Brokerage Wholesaler during the agency's inception. Prior to becoming Assistant Vice President, Adam led the US Retail Markets Recognition team executing national incentive and employee engagement programs. Before joining Liberty Mutual, he worked at Rinchem Company, Inc. where he managed their Global Sales Team.

Adam holds an M.B.A. in Marketing and Strategy from Purdue University and a B.S. in Management from the BYU Marriott School of Business.