Bold Penguin President and CEO, Peter Settel, recently introduced an updated leadership team and structure.  This more fully aligns Bold Penguin to an enterprise and partner-driven strategy suited to address complexities and trends in the commercial market, with expertise, agility, digital and AI advantage, and customer focus.

"Speed, agility, and technology-driven innovation have always been ingrained in Bold Penguin’s culture,” stated Settel. “This leadership team is in place to build on those strengths, on our leading market position and partnerships, and our exceptional momentum. I am truly psyched to be part of this team and Bold Penguin overall, as we accelerate investments into our partnerships and transforming commercial insurance.”

Settel highlighted each of the team members’ deep expertise, industry knowledge, and total commitment to team success. Below are a few highlights of the recent leadership announcement:

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Lakshan De Silva (Glacier member since 2020), Executive Vice President, Chief Data and Technology Officer, expands his scope to include the Product, Engineering, and Delivery teams, as well as Insurance Intelligence — Bold Penguin’s Data and AI platforms, SubmissionLink® and ClauseLink ™. On what it means to “Be Bold”, he said, “ [It means] the courage to drive outcomes that seem insurmountable when you start the journey, and the resilience to keep going even if you don't get there the first time.” 

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Nicole Farley (Glacier member since 2022), Senior Vice President, Chief Insurance Officer, also expands her scope, including accelerating growth and scale of Bold Penguin’s wholesale and agency operations. Regarding what excites her most about her new role, she shared, “I’m excited to bring together our broker partners, carrier partners, and digital agency and wholesale operations under one vision. This role gives me the opportunity to strengthen partnerships, expand distribution, and drive Bold Penguin’s mission of delivering a quote for every risk in commercial insurance.”

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Freddy Montano (Glacier member since 2025), Senior Vice President, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer, has broad accountability for Bold Penguin’s control infrastructure and operational functions. He shared that his focus as he steps into this new role will be “Advising the leadership team on financial health, operational readiness, and strategic initiatives. I view my role as to help translate vision into action by aligning financial and administrative functions to Bold Penguin’s mission...bridge together and balance fiscal discipline with operational agility.”

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Chris Kessler (Glacier member since 2019), Senior Vice President, Chief Product Strategy and Business Development Officer, takes on this new role leading Bold Penguin’s strategy and investments for new market development and growth, including ecosystem partnerships with other insurtech and established innovation partners. When asked how he sees Bold Penguin’s technology creating new market opportunities, he added, “ [Our] technology platform creates the market for commercial insurance, connecting businesses, brokers, and carriers through tech enablement, AI and data, distribution, and placement.”

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Brenda Koenig (Glacier member since 2025), Senior Vice President, Chief Partnership and Solutions Officer, leads enterprise partnerships with direct to consumer and agency-based carriers leveraging Bold Penguin’s digital platform and SaaS offerings, coupled with bespoke, partner-specific investments and innovations.  On what makes a partnership successful, she stated, “Spending the time to really understand your client’s strategy and their key success measures is critical, and then delivering on value in alignment with those. Combine that with relationships built on trust and open communication.”

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Jay Patel (Glacier member since 2025), Vice President, Chief of Staff and Head of Strategy, drives Bold Penguin’s strategy and execution for achieving optimal speed and effectiveness in order to become the largest distribution network and embedded commercial platform for Tier 1 carriers, brokers, and agencies. Jay shared his first impressions of the Glacier so far by adding “ [It] is full of incredibly talented and welcoming people. The opportunity to reshape how commercial insurance is transacted is massive, and I couldn't be more excited for our growth ahead."

Interested in hearing more about Bold Penguin’s enhanced capabilities, such as Universal Submission, Insurance Intelligence, and digital distribution? Click here.

Interested in joining Bold Penguin’s growing team on the Glacier? Click here.