Directors at Large

Ryan Canter is the AVP of Product Management at American Modern Insurance Group (AMIG) in the program business unit. He manages the pet heath product administered by Embrace Insurance and a renters product administered by a different partner.  Ryan graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a focus in accounting and finance. His 14 years of P&C insurance experience has been primarily in recreational personal lines products such as: collector car, watercraft, and motorcycle.  In late 2021, he became responsible for the pet health program.  Ryan believe experiences, behaviors and execution are key characteristics for developing new skills and ‘needle moving’ results. Away from work, he spends time with his family (an amazing wife and two beautiful daughters) and enjoys playing golf.  Ryan has one dog, who is 13-years old, but she is definitely another member of their family.

Christine Langan is the Head of Pet Insurance at AXIS Capital, with over 30 years of underwriting experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining AXIS, Christine was Head of Underwriting for group employee benefits at AXA. In this role, she managed an underwriting team focusing on new business growth and block persistency for a start-up group employee benefits organization. Her responsibilities covered life, disability, dental, vision and voluntary products.

Before her tenure at AXA, Christine held the position of Vice President, Underwriting at AIG Benefit Solutions, where she managed a $200 million block of business. She began her underwriting career at Prudential, focusing on medical, dental, life and vision products.

Christine earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Quantitative Business Analysis from The Pennsylvania State University. She resides in New Jersey with her husband, two children and their Havanese dog, Diogee.

Nilesh Telang is a Senior Director of Category Management for Chewy, a trusted destination for pet parents and partners everywhere. Telang currently serves as General Manager for CarePlus, Chewy’s exclusive suite of pet insurance and wellness plans. In his role, Telang oversees innovations and expansions within CarePlus, with the goal of furthering Chewy’s commitment to making healthcare more affordable and accessible for pet parents. Prior to joining Chewy in 2021, Telang spent over a decade at Amazon and at Dell where he launched, scaled, and managed several different business lines that included Amazon’s portable mobile electronics and media (software) categories, the international expansion of Amazon’s B2B offerings and channel strategy and planning for Dell’s consumer services business. He has over 20 years leadership, technology and product experience that spans across e-commerce, retail, and technology sectors. Telang holds an MBA from the University of Texas-Austin and master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Texas-Dallas. Telang lives in Austin, Texas with his family, which includes Saisha, a loving Weimaraner-Chihuahua mix.

Nick Gatt is SVP and COO of the Programs division at Westchester, a Chubb Company, where he oversees distribution management and directly manages the Healthy Paws program. Nick has over 20 years of experience including time as a Director in the Advisory practice of KPMG, and the last 11 years at Chubb (and previously ACE) in a variety of leadership roles in Internal Audit, Operations and Programs.

He has been responsible for the Healthy Paws program since early 2020. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in MIS/Finance from St. Joseph’s University and an MBA in Accounting from Drexel University.

Nick resides in Pennsylvania and outside of work he enjoys nothing more than spending time with his wife, two perfect daughters and his rescue dog, Chopper.

Casey Masters is the President, Chief Operating Officer of Companion Protect™, LLC and is responsible for leading the operations and insurance teams and is instrumental in the development and execution of the company’s long-term strategy. After earning a degree in Finance from Kansas State University, Casey began his insurance career in 1991 as a Financial Analyst at Lockton Companies—working with large national clients on the financial structure of their insurance programs. This role led the way for him to become a Co-Founder of lock\line, a startup within Lockton Companies, where he served as Director of Finance and eventually Senior Vice President of Client Services. Under his guidance and direction, lock\line grew to become the leader of wireless device protection programs and was acquired by DST Systems in 2002 and ultimately merged with Asurion in 2005.

Casey lives in Leawood, Kansas with his wife and kids. He enjoys sports, cooking, and of course spending time with his rescue dog—Salvy.

Carly Julio is the AVP of Specialty Products in Crum and Forster’s A&H division, she is a dynamic leader who is focused on partner relationships. Carly’s focus over her 15 year tenure at Crum has primarily been on admitted leisure travel and Canadian travel insurance distribution along with working  in the blanket accident and student space. Carly is instrumental in the facilitation of supporting the transition of Crums business to IPG after the 2022 acquisition of the Pet portfolio. She is vested in the success of Pet insurance as an industry and is passionate about advocating for the product and supporting those in the industry. Outside of the office Carly enjoys traveling with her family and taking her dog Jetti to the beach they live nearby for long runs. 

Brian Macias is the President of Embrace Pet Insurance. He is a University of Michigan graduate with 18 years of experience in the direct-to-consumer and affinity sales of financial products, including home loans, property and casualty insurance, accident and health insurance, and Medicare. Beginning his career as a mortgage banker at Quicken Loans, Brian worked his way up to an executive leadership position at the company and has since created significant growth in similar roles at National General Insurance and other entrepreneurial ventures. He lives in the Cleveland area with his wife, two daughters, and chocolate Lab, JoJo.

Tom Bean is Vice President of Operations with FIGO Pet Insurance. In this capacity, Tom oversees the Claims and Customer Experience Departments. With over a decade of professional experience in the insurance industry, Tom has developed a strong background in management, strategic growth, workforce development, and analytics. Tom joined FIGO in 2019 as Claims Director and quickly advanced to executive leadership after growing the Claims Department while ensuring policyholder expectations were met and exceeded. Tom has received industry recognition for his leadership. 

Prior to joining FIGO, Tom served as Strategic Advisor and Property Claims Manager at American Family Insurance. Tom received his B.A. in Marketing from Eastern Illinois University. Tom currently resides in Chicago with his wife Brittany and his golden doodle, Lady.

Andres is CEO and co-founder of Kanguro Insurance. Kanguro was born to modernize the insurance experience with a customer centric approach making English and Spanish speakers feel at home with its 100% end to end bilingual capabilities. Andres has 14+ years of experience in the banking and insurance sector where he started designing and commercializing insurance products and establishing the captive management strategy for SPR Insurance Group in New York. He then focused his efforts in South America. First joining ExcelCredit (a fintech) after its first year of being launched to help drive its growth stage in its retail offering. He then Co-founded Iris Bank, a digital bank for small and medium sized enterprises. Andres continued his efforts by co-founding Golden Tree Reinsurance as a fully licensed and AM best rated carrier and is currently a member of the board of directors. Andres has a B.S in Marketing with a minor in entrepreneurship from Bentley University and a Masters in Technology Management from Georgetown University.

Angela holds the role of Claims Technical Lead at Lemonade, bringing over 12 years of experience in the Pet Insurance industry, coupled with a dedicated tenure of 3 years at Lemonade. Leveraging her profound knowledge of the veterinary industry, Angela spearheads initiatives to optimize claim processing and establish standardized operating procedures. Collaborating closely with Lemonade’s product, technology, and engineering teams, she contributes to the refinement of claim handling systems. Prior to insurance, Angela worked a Registered Veterinary Technician, primarily in General Practice and Emergency Medicine, for about 7 years. Before her immersion in Veterinary Medicine, she served honorably in the United States Navy, stationed in Italy and fulfilling duties aboard naval ships. Angela holds a degree in Social Sciences (BS) and Veterinary Technology (AAS).


Currently, Angela shares her home with her husband and 3 cats. Outside her professional pursuits, she engages in the art of origami and enjoys anything outdoors, including running and marathon training.

Steve Beattie is the Product Director for Liberty Mutual and oversees both Liberty and Safeco branded Pet products, he is focused on enabling growth while maintaining profitability. Since joining Liberty in 2015, Steve has held a variety of analytics roles in Claims and Product. Steve has a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering from the University of Missouri along with an MBA from the D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. Steve resides in New Hampshire with his wife and dog, Bradley.

Michael Walling is the CFO of MetLife Pet Insurance. He began working in the pet insurance marketplace with start-up brand PetFirst Healthcare in 2014. Because of his expertise and genuine passion for this unique growing line of insurance, Michael joined MetLife upon their acquisition of Petfirst in 2020. 

Michael is a CPA and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Sullivan University and from the from the University of Louisville with a master’s degree in accountancy. Prior to working in the pet healthcare field, Michael was the CFO of Republic Industries International.

Michael has been involved in NAPHIA for many years and became a Board Member representing MetLife in 2022. He lives in Kentucky with his wife and two cats Zoey and Charlie. He golfs and runs, but admittedly not with his cats.

Jennifer Nocco is the Head of Pet Insurance at Petco, responsible for leading the Petco | Nationwide partnership strategy and pet insurance brand. She joined Petco in 2021 after more than a decade in the hospitality industry, working for Caesars Entertainment. Jennifer has an extensive background in marketing strategy, product management, operations, sales and analytics. She began her career in investment banking at Merrill Lynch, working with clients in the insurance industry.

Jennifer holds an MBA from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in Math and Economics from Boston College. She lives in San Diego with her husband Chris, stepdaughter Skye, dog Nigel and cat Buddy.

Raegan is the proud owner of a Boston terrier named Craig who oversees dog toys, squeaky balls, and treat distribution.

As the Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Petline Operations, Raegan oversees the strategic operations across the company.

Having been with Petline since 2010, she’s held numerous leadership roles that have helped her gain a comprehensive understanding of the business and drive growth.

Raegan’s expertise and genuine love for pets make her an invaluable member of the team at Petline!

Melissa Gutierrez is SVP and General Manager with Synchrony CareCredit, where she leads the rapidly growing Pets Best Insurance business unit. Prior to joining Pets Best, Melissa was President of NBS Insurance Agency, Inc.  During a 33-year career with Nationwide, Melissa held roles in sales, strategy, marketing and finance across several business units including Nationwide Insurance, Nationwide Financial and Nationwide Specialty Health. Melissa holds the chartered life underwriter (CLU) designation, a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Franklin University, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Dayton.  Melissa is currently the Chairman of the Franklin University Board of Trustees; Franklin University is a private, non-profit international university based in Columbus, Ohio.

In her spare time, Melissa enjoys rowing crew, gardening, traveling, and cooking.  She resides in Galena, Ohio with her husband Tony, youngest son, Joshua and two cats (who love everyone but each other!), Elvis and Keisha. 

Chad Bellin is President of Insurance Services at Independence Pet Group (IPG), one of North America’s largest pet insurance and services companies. At IPG, Chad is responsible for all facets of insurance operations, including implementation and management of partnerships, broker and employee benefits sales, as well as direct-to-consumer inbound sales, claims, and customer service. 

Before joining IPG, Chad was the Vice President of Operations at LTCG, the industry-leading long-term care insurance TPA. Early in his career, he spent eight years at Target Corporation in various management and leadership roles in-store operations.

Chad is driven by his desire to support and develop others. He believes that to create a world-class enterprise, every employee must be invested in the company’s mission, and the company must be invested in the employee’s career. He understands the importance of empowering others.

Chad is a University Wisconsin-Eau Claire graduate with a B.S. in Management and a Minor in Human Resource Management.

He lives in the Indianapolis area with his wife, Jamie, and has three children.

Lauren relocated to Canada in 2022 to be PetYellow’s Chief Executive Officer. Prior to that, she has over 10 years of pet insurance experience in Australia, across a broad range of functions from claim assessment, dispute resolution, compliance, account management, sales, marketing, underwriting and product and portfolio management. Lauren has a Bachelor of Business Management, a Diploma in Veterinary Practice Management, and years of experience as a veterinary nurse.  Pet parent to three chihuahuas, Lauren is passionate about building products and services that improve the health and welfare of pets and provide peace of mind to the pet parents that care for them.

Lior is Head of Operations and Corporate Secretary at Pumpkin. As a founding team member, he is currently leading the company’s operational, legal and financial matters. Lior is an executive with cross-functional expertise in direct-to-consumer operations, law, finance, corporate development and M&A.

Prior to joining Pumpkin, Lior was Chief Operating Officer of IL MAKIAGE, a direct-to-consumer beauty brand. Prior to that, Lior held Corporate Development leadership positions in the energy space with TechnipFMC, leading M&A and integration projects and strategy development cases. Lior started his career as a lawyer at Meitar Law, Israel’s premier law firm, advising clients on M&A and financing transactions, commercial agreements and general corporate law matters. He has also served as a combat officer (Captain) in the Israeli Defense Forces.

Lior holds an MBA (honors) from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a dual degree in Law (LLB, honors) and Economics (BA) from Tel Aviv University.

Trey Ferro is the CEO of Spot Pet Insurance. He brings digital partnerships expertise from his previous roles at Grubhub and Cameo, as well as experience in business development from Aon.  Trey’s key focus is to establish a brand that resonates with customers by having best-in-class marketing and delivering excellent value with the products Spot offers. Trey’s unique blend of skills has allowed Spot to see tremendous success as an industry disruptor in a very short period of time.  

Trey graduated from Northwestern University and currently resides in Miami, Florida. He enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors with his dogs Lou and Cider. 

Dr. Steve Weinrauch, BVMS, MRCVS, joined Trupanion after nine years of continuous full-time practice in 2013 as Director of Veterinary Direct Pay, then promoted to Chief Veterinary Officer in 2015 and expanded his role to Chief Product Officer in 2016. Steve was born and raised in Boston, trained, and met his wife in Scotland, and prides himself on bringing a bit of east coast to Seattle. His wife is also a practicing veterinarian in the Seattle area. Together they share their home with a small herd of dogs and three young and very tolerant sons.

Dr. Steve also has a passion for helping animals and the veterinary professionals who dedicate their lives to them. He is the Founder of Mightyvet.org 501(c)(3). Previously he served as Director of De Novo Development at National Veterinary Associates and Partner Veterinarian and Chief of Staff at a large Washington hospital. He has published his research in numerous peer reviewed journals and is licensed to practice in both the USA and the European Union.