Viewpoints

Paul Baccaro is the co-founder and CEO of Social Jazz. He is a lifelong tech junkie and spent the past 20-plus years building online products and taking them to market.

As the chief solutions officer of Kite Technology Group, Jason Gobbel is an expert at one thing: helping small to midsized businesses take advantage of technology.

Despite being unimpressed by the software on offer when he first joined the independent agency channel, Ryan has relished the opportunity to constantly innovate and improve agency technology and processes.

“The use of telematic devices in monitoring driving behaviors and enhanced data analytics capabilities are among some of the more positive changes,” says independent agent Lydia Ramos. “They allow us to analyze a variety of factors, including traffic patt

Hispanic influence continues to expand in the world of business, entrepreneurship and insurance, playing a key role in shaping the future of these sectors.

Growing up in a family where insurance was a topic of conversation at the dinner table, Andrews’ future in insurance was written in the stars.

“Small businesses are as vulnerable, or more so, than enterprise organizations,” says independent agent Robert Sargent. “However, many small businesses do not acknowledge their vulnerability.”

Blackwell is responsible for Applied Systems’ strategic growth business units, including Ivans, EZLynx and Applied Pay, as well as Applied’s corporate financial functions.

In 2023, Isler received the InsurPac Young Agent of the Year award for helping AIIA win its first InsurPac Eagle Award. In 2024, she received the national Young Agent of the Year Award for leadership in her local and state associations.

“More education is needed to get younger people to incorporate life insurance into their retirement planning and overall investment strategy,” says independent agent Colleen Corrigan. “If they purchase life insurance under the age of 40, it’s fairly inexp