AmTrust Exec | Meet The Team

Jim is currently a Senior Vice President at Amtrust Financials Services, Inc., an international property and casualty insurer. Jim manages AmTrust Exec a $100m management liability underwriting division.

Jim, along with fellow managing principals Paul Bunone and John Colis, formed Euclid Executive Liability Managers, (Euclid Exec) a managing general agency focused on the marketing and underwriting of management liability products. Euclid Exec was acquired by AmTrust Financial Services in January of 2020.

Jim has over 28 years of underwriting and management experience of management liability coverage (Public, Private & Non-Profit Directors and Officers Liability, Employment Practices and Fiduciary Liability)
 
Prior to the formation of Euclid Exec, Jim was the US Management Liability Leader for Beazley Insurance Company. Inc. Jim managed the US management team which has underwriting operations in New York and Chicago. The US management liability practice ended 2010 with over $50m in written premium.
 
Prior to joining Beazley, Jim spent 12 years with Chubb Group of Insurance companies in various underwriting and management roles. Jim was Vice President of Chubb & Son, Inc. prior to his departure. Seymour managed a $110m portfolio of management liability business. His group received Branch Department of the Year Award in 2004 based on growth and profitability.
 
Jim is a Managing Member of three real estate corporations, Greenleaf Park Apartments, LLC, a 55 unit complex located in Massachusetts, Wellington Townhomes, LLC, a 48 unit complex in New Hampshire, and LS Capital, LLC., a real estate development company that had returns on invested capital in excess of 90%.
 
At the age of 19, Jim was elected to a three year term on the Board of Selectman in his hometown of Merrimac., MA (population 5,100) As a public official, he participated in union negotiations, budget planning, and various day to day operations of the town.
 
Jim earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance from Babson College, Wellesley MA. He is an active member of the Lake Bluff Volunteer Fire Department.

Jim can be reached at jim.seymour@amtrustexec.com.
 

Paul Bunone is currently a principal of AmTrust Exec a managing general agency focused on the marketing and underwriting of management liability products.

Paul began his career in 1984 underwriting management liability lines (Public, Private & Non‐Profit Directors and Officers Liability, Employment Practices and Fiduciary Liability)  and professional E&O coverages.

Prior to the formation of AmTrust Exec, Paul was responsible for the U.S. wholesale distribution of middle market management liability products for Beazley Insurance Company. Inc., as well as the management of Beazley’s “non‐standard/ hard to place” management liability book of business.

Paul joined Beazley in January, 2005 as underwriting manager for the northeast responsible for marketing and underwriting Beazley’s presence in that territory.

Prior to joining Beazley, Paul co‐founded and managed Crum and Forster’s Professional Liability department in January 2000 after spending the prior 16 years at a managing general agency which underwrote hard to place professional liability (D&O and E&O) and which was ultimately purchased by an A+ insurance carrier.

Paul earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ. He has a NJ State Producers license and a Registered Professional Liability Underwriter designation from the Professional Liability Underwriting Society.

Paul can be reached at paul.bunone@amtrustexec.com.

Jason is currently the EPL Product Manager & Non-Profit Product Manager for AmTrust Exec where he is focused on the marketing, underwriting, and management of the EPL  & NP programs.

Jason has been in the insurance industry since 2002 with experience in underwriting and wholesale brokerage within management liability lines (Private & Non-Profit Directors and Officers Liability, Employment Practices and Fiduciary Liability) as well as Miscellaneous E&O, Staffing PL/GL, and Real Estate E&O coverage lines.

Prior to joining AmTrust Exec Jason was the Senior Underwriter for the Miscellaneous Professional Liability team at Business Risk Partners. There he was in charge of the Real Estate E&O and Staffing PL/GL programs which included creating tailored policy forms and endorsements.

Prior to joining Business Risk Partners, Jason managed the Professional Liability department at Quaker Special Risk, a wholesale brokerage firm which handled large volume from retail agents throughout New England.

Before joining Quaker Special Risk, Jason began his management liability career at Beazley Insurance Company, Inc. At Beazley he underwrote small management liability business, and then moved onto the Healthcare D&O team. He helped create the healthcare policy form and endorsements and was charged with marketing the new product throughout the East Coast.

Jason began his insurance career at Sun Life Financial in 2002 as a group disability claims analyst and later underwriting group life and disability.

Jason earned a B.S. in Business Management degree from Plymouth State University in Plymouth, NH.

Jason can be reached at jason.binette@amtrustexec.com.

Melissa Schwartz joined AmTrust Exec with over twenty years of underwriting and management experience in Financial institution Bonds, Commercial Crime, Public and Private Directors and Officers Liability, Employment Practices Liability and Securities Broker Dealer Errors and Omissions.

Prior to joining AmTrust Exec, Melissa was the Fidelity Product Leader with Liberty International Underwriters, a division of Liberty Mutual. As Product Leader, Melissa was responsible for underwriting strategy, distribution, policy forms, premium raters, regulatory compliance and staffing. She built a profitable book of business and grew the team to a staff of three, two in New York and one in Chicago.

Prior to joining LIU, Melissa was a senior underwriter with ACE USA, where she underwrote various lines of coverage, including Public D&O, Securities Broker Dealer E&O, Financial Institution Bonds and Commercial Crime.

Prior to ACE USA, Melissa was a senior underwriter with AIG, working on national sized Commercial Crime and Public D&O accounts.

Melissa has participated extensively on industry issues around fidelity and crime insurance at working sessions and conferences with PLUS, The Fidelity Law Association and Surety and Fidelity Association of America and ISO. In November, 2016, she spoke on a panel at the Fidelity Law Association conference – “Developing Risks and Exposures Including Cyber and Social Engineering”.

Melissa earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Hartford in West Hartford, CT. She is currently studying for the Certified Fraud Examiners designation, through the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Melissa can be reached at melissa.schwartz@amtrustexec.com.

Abby joined AmTrust Exec’s management liability team in May 2020.  She brings experience underwriting management liability risks from her various roles at Allianz Global and Corporate Specialty and Liberty International Underwriters.  Her product expertise includes public, private and non-profit Directors & Officers Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Fiduciary Liability, Commercial Crime Insurance, Cyber Liability and Insurance Company Professional Liability.  At Liberty, Abby managed the marketing, distribution and underwriting for the Cyber Liability rollout to the Midwest region.    
 
Prior to her shift to the underwriting side of the business, Abby worked as an Assistant Vice President for Marsh’s FINPRO practice and a Broker in Aon’s Financial Services Group where she also began her insurance career as a college intern.  As a broker for management liability products, she provided advisory and placement services directly to clients and negotiated contract terms with the underwriting community.
 
Abby earned her Bachelors of Science in Finance from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is active in her community as the Chairperson of her town’s Bike & Pedestrian Advisory Committee and a board member for the Barrington Endurance organization.  She also teaches group fitness classes and volunteers with the PTO at her sons’ school.

Abby can be reached at abby.bellgrau@amtrustexec.com.

Mark joined AmTrust EXEC with a decade of experience in management liability, derived from both the underwriting and brokerage sides of the business.  Product experience includes commercial public, private and non-profit Directors & Officers Liability, Employment Practices Liability, Fiduciary Liability, Crime and Kidnap & Ransom.

Prior to joining AmTrust EXEC, Mark was the Northeast Regional Manager at Starr Companies, where he was responsible for management of the regional commercial underwriting team and guiding production, workflow and strategy for the northeast.  Mark also served as a national referral authority for field underwriters across the country for healthcare risks, Crime & Fidelity coverage extensions and was responsible for implementing, managing and directing a national panel program.

Before joining Starr Companies in 2012, Mark had handled various production responsibilities and multiple territories as an Executive Underwriter at Hartford Financial Products, focused on public and private commercial accounts.  Mark also has experience on the brokerage side, as Assistant Vice President within Marsh’s FINPRO Private Equity/M&A group, where he provided diligence, advisory and placement of management liability programs for a variety of private equity backed companies and transactional accounts.

Mark earned a bachelors of science degree from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, as a double-major in Economics and Marketing.

Mark can be reached at mark.butler@amtrustexec.com.

Rob joined AmTrust Exec in September 2020, brining extensive Management Liability underwriting experience and a track record of crafting original and complex solutions for publicly-listed companies. He has over 16 years of financial services experience, with the last 12 spent underwriting Management and Professional lines of insurance with increasing levels of risk taking and authority. He is well regarded in the marketplace as a technical subject matter expert on the Directors & Officers product, particularly as it relates to natural resource and utility firms, master limited partnerships, REITs and otherwise distressed or leveraged companies.  

Rob joined QBE in 2013 when the company established its Specialty practice in North America, building to scale a profitable and well-regarded Management Liability practice. Most recently, he was based in London with QBE,  serving as Director of Financial Lines and overseeing the product management and underwriting strategies for Professional Indemnity (E&O), Cyber and Legal Expenses across the UK, various Lloyds syndicates and Europe. Prior to QBE, Rob was an underwriter at Chubb and began his career out of college with Lehman Brothers. 

Rob graduated from Seton Hall University, and now lives in the greater-Chicago area with his family. 

AmTrust EXEC welcomes Matt Pfersdorf as Executive Underwriter. Matt brings extensive management liability underwriting experience, with a track record of crafting complex primary and excess solutions for publicly-listed companies. 

The addition of Matt to the AmTrust EXEC team underscores our commitment to our valued broker partners of providing access to empowered decision makers at the point of sale, underwriters who are distinguished by their technical excellence and commerciality with our mutual insureds.

Matt has 9+ years of financial services experience. Most recently he was an Assistant Vice President for a large global insurer, actively underwriting and managing a team of underwriters focused on public-traded management liability insureds. He began his career on the brokerage side, as a client advisor and placement specialist. 

Matt will be based in our downtown Chicago office and can be reached at matthew.pfersdorf@amtrustexec.com. 

Michelle Sorrentino joined AmTrust Exec’s team in March 2022 as a Senior Underwriter and is focused on underwriting the standalone EPL program. She brings 10+ years of underwriting experience. Her product expertise includes Misc. Professional Liability, Securities Broker Dealer/Investment Advisory E&O, and Financial Institutions including Private Directors & Officers Liability from her previous role at Business Risk Partners.

In her current role at AmTrust, she will have production responsibilities and will look to market the EPL product.

Michelle earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Eastern Connecticut State University and resides in northeastern, CT with her husband and 3 dogs.

Michelle can be reached at michelle.sorrentino@amtrustgroup.com.

Alex Doerflein joined AmTrust Exec with over seven years of experience underwriting Crime and Fidelity products, including Commercial and Governmental Crime and Financial Institution Bonds. Prior to joining AmTrust, Alex was an Executive Underwriter at Berkley Crime, a division of Berkley Financial Specialists, where he was responsible for new business production. 

Alex is an active member in Crime and Fidelity insurance industry events participating in Surety & Fidelity Association of America, Fidelity Law Association, and Insurance Services Office meetings and conferences. 

Alex graduated from Binghamton University earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. 

Alex can be reached at alex.doerflein@amtrustexec.com.

AmTrust EXEC welcomes Alton Moore as Executive Underwriter. Alton is an experienced insurance professional with a track record of consistently achieving corporate goals and objectives.  With over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, he has demonstrated an ability to influence decision makers and effectively manage and collaborate with teams. Most recently, Alton was an Underwriting Consulting Director at CNA, marketing and underwriting private company management liability products. And prior to CNA, he managed several specialty business units for the Western Region at Liberty International Underwriters. Alton started his insurance career at Chubb Group of Insurance Companies in New York City.

When he is not working, Alton enjoys spending time in Northern California with his wife, daughter, and family dog. His hobbies include snowboarding, mountain biking, and swimming. 

Alton will be based in our San Francisco office and can be reached at alton.moore@amtrustgroup.com.

Nicole is currently the operations coordinator for AmTrust Exec. Nicole has over 10 years of insurance experience with the last 2 years focused on management liability lines (Directors and Officers Liability, Employment Practices and Fiduciary Liability).

Prior to joining AmTrust Exec, Nicole worked in the accounting department where she was responsible for accounting on several AmTrust Exec programs.

Nicole started her career at AmTrust Exec in 2003 and has held an Illinois insurance license since 2008.

Tony is currently an Underwriting Assistant for AmTrust Exec. Tony has over 15 years of experience in management liability lines (Private & Non-Profit Directors and Officers Liability, Employment Practices and Fiduciary Liability) as well as Miscellaneous E&O, Technology, Security & Privacy and Media coverage lines.

Prior to joining AmTrust Exec, Tony was with Axis Pro supporting a large Miscellaneous Professional Liability, Media, Tech, Security & Privacy book of business.

Tony began his insurance career at Chubb Group of Insurance in 1998 as a LAN Coordinator doing network administration for the entire Chicago office and later began supporting the professional risk team focusing on the Marsh book of business.

Tony earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.

Leslie joined the Amtrust Exec team in April 2020 as an underwriting assistant. She has over 4 years of insurance experience.

Prior to joining AmTrust Exec, Leslie worked in the workers compensation department where she was responsible for amending and issuing insurance policies as well as ensuring their compliance to state and federal regulations. Leslie also has two years of audit experience in which she assisted with the completion of virtual, physical, and voluntary audits.

Leslie graduated from The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.

Lauren Kuykendall is currently an Underwriting Assistant for AmTrust Exec.  Lauren has over 10 years of insurance experience.

Prior to joining AmTrust Exec, Lauren was an Underwriting Assistant for the Lawyers Professional Liability, Accountants Professional Liability and Non-Profit departments at Monitor Liability Managers.

Prior to Monitor, Lauren was a Client Service Representative at Assurance Agency working for one of the top Property & Casualty producers.

Lauren graduated from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL.

Vicky Dedona is currently a Technical Assistant for AmTrust Exec. Vicky has over 10 years of insurance experience. Her experience includes working in Group Benefits with United Health Care, Delta Dental and Met Life as an Account Manager.

Vicky joined AmTrust Exec in 2002 as a file clerk and learned new positions along the way.

Vicky graduated from Robert Morris College, Aurora IL.

Kamala is currently an Underwriting Assistant.  She joined AmTrust Exec in April 2020 with over 7 years of insurance experience.

Kamala started her career as a Trainee in Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Co. handling Property and Casualty insurance. Later she worked as operations lead in Reliance General Insurance Company.

Before joining the AmTrust Exec Team Kamala was working as CSR in an Insurance Agency handling Professional Liability Insurance.

Kamala is a graduate in Accountancy and Management from University of Madras and holds Fellowship from Insurance Institute of India. She earned AINS (The Institutes) and holds Illinois Producer License.