Bold Penguin, the largest commercial insurance exchange, is pleased to announce that Karnina Szymanski has been named President of Insurance effective May 21, 2021. Additionally, Mark Hara, who previously served in the insurance role, has been named President of New Ventures. 

“We are excited to announce these executive positions and further grow Bold Penguin under the leadership of Karnina and Mark,” said Jim Struntz, COO. “Karnina will continue to work closely with our insurance partners to expand the Bold Penguin Exchange to benefit small businesses. Mark will help us establish unique partnerships that bring new and bold solutions to Bold Penguin customers.” 

Szymanski previously served as Bold Penguin’s Vice President of Strategic Partners. As Bold Penguin’s President of Insurance, Szymanski will work with national, regional and specialty carriers to expand the availability of their products and programs on the Bold Penguin platform. Before joining Bold Penguin, Szymanski led numerous small business initiatives at large insurance carriers, including Farmers Insurance and Progressive Insurance. 

“I’m very excited to continue working to expand our relationships with insurance carriers, agencies and other partners,” said Szymanski. “Digital insurance is at a tipping point and I look forward to bringing Bold Penguin solutions to the industry to deliver the fastest quote and bind experience with the broadest market access.” 

Hara previously served as the President of Insurance. In the newly-formed President of New Ventures position, Hara will pursue new and unique opportunities for Bold Penguin that allow further expansion of the Exchange, which resulted in over 1,000,000 new business quote starts in 2020. 

“I am looking forward to helping Bold Penguin take advantage of the many unique solutions in the market that, when efficiently integrated into the Bold Penguin platform, can assist in delivering an exceptional quote and bind experience for both small business owners and the agents who support them,” said Hara. “As the largest commercial insurance exchange, Bold Penguin is often presented with unique solutions that can bolster our offerings. Evaluating and executing on these opportunities will allow us to rapidly expand the Bold Penguin Exchange.” 

Bold Penguin has a history of acquiring companies, including xagent and RiskGenius in 2020. Hara will be responsible for evaluating further acquisition opportunities and leading the strategy and integration activity.

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