Allison (O’Hair) Arzeno

Chief Executive Officer

Allison joined the company in 2017 as Chief Data Scientist, and has spent her career modeling ways data science can help people address their most important challenges, from personal health to personal finance, and teaching others to find answers in data for themselves.

It started with her work in operations research at MIT, where she earned her PhD studying how predictive modeling can help diabetes patients personalize their care. She then applied her expertise to helping bolster heart health as CEO of a health wearables startup and to identifying promising applications of data analytics as a consultant at Sequoia Capital.

Allison has literally written the book on business analytics — “The Analytics Edge” — a popular textbook she co-authored while a lecturer at MIT. She’s also taught data science to business students at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Now, in leading data science at the core of the Assurance platform, she guides her team’s steadfast focus on the customer and constant exploration of data solutions to drive real-time decisions.

Nick Howard

Senior Vice President, Technology

Nick leads engineering, product and data science to support the business and drive innovation throughout Assurance. He is passionate about building world-class, high-impact teams that are focused on driving transformation to help consumers get the coverage and financial wellness they deserve.

He started his career in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer in 2002 and served more than three years of combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning two bronze stars in the process. He then served as a professor of mathematics at the United States Military Academy, where he taught multivariate calculus, probability and statistics. After three years of teaching, he left the Army and moved into the tech world, working at startups in the healthcare and supply chain industries where he focused on optimization, analytics and data science.

Nick holds an M.S. in operations research from MIT. He is a father of four children, and currently resides in Toronto. He enjoys spending time with his family, especially watching his young kids learn to enjoy the rugged Canadian winter through skiing and ice skating.

Gulliver Swenson

Chief People Officer

Gulliver and his dynamic People Team are obsessed with making Assurance the best place to work, learn and grow. Prior to his current role, Gulliver served as Assurance’s Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer.

Before joining Assurance, Gulliver spent 14 years as an attorney at Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland PLLC, a 120-year-old law firm and one of Seattle’s most respected. Over the course of his career, he honed a collaborative approach that well serves the iterative culture of Assurance — applying legal expertise and resources that keep the customer’s best interests front and center, while partnering with all aspects of the business to continually bring new ideas, strategies and products to market.

Grant Fisher

Chief Financial Officer

Grant is deeply passionate about the intersection of finance, strategy, insurance, and technology, which ended up bringing him to Assurance in October 2019. He believes that tools that help drive smarter financial decisions are a key to improving lives.

As CFO, he oversees the company’s overall financial activities including controllership, planning and analysis, treasury, and financial operations. Prior to becoming CFO, he served as head of Planning & Analysis for PGIM, the global asset management business of Prudential. Grant has more than 20 years of finance, insurance and distribution experience and has held leadership roles in transformational projects over the course of his career. Grant specialized in matters related to forecasting, capital efficiency and structuring, funding, and M&A. Grant received a bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Franklin and Marshall College and a Masters of Business Administration from Columbia University.

Suzanne Sainato

Chief Compliance Officer

Suzanne brings more than 20 years of experience as a compliance officer, attorney, and auditor in financial services. Her team helps ensure that our sales practices and services at Assurance meet the needs of our customers and regulatory requirements.

After several years as a litigation attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Suzanne was in-house counsel at MetLife advising on sales practices regulatory and litigation matters, insurance product development, and the implementation of e-signatures and voice signatures for the sale of life insurance. She continued her career as a compliance officer at Pan-American Life and Symetra, where she also led the internal audit team and reported to the board of directors. Suzanne’s passion for innovation and meeting the needs of those left behind by the financial services industry led her to her Assurance IQ role with Prudential in 2020.

A serial learner, Suzanne has degrees from Yale University (BS), University of Alabama (JD), and Loyola University of New Orleans (MBA), in addition to taking an Applied Business Analytics course at MIT. Suzanne’s career in financial services was inspired by her father, who was diagnosed with cancer when he had a wife and several young children but no life insurance. After surviving cancer, he taught Suzanne and her siblings about the value insurance can provide for peace of mind during life’s challenges. Suzanne is committed to making that peace of mind more available for everyone.

Doug Morrin

Chief Legal Officer

Doug joined Assurance as its Chief Legal Officer in October 2019, after Prudential’s acquisition of the company. He leads a legal team focused on supporting Assurance’s continued growth and ability to help consumers protect the ones they love and live their lives more fully.

Over his twenty years in the legal profession, Doug has served in a variety of roles – as a litigator, regulatory attorney, product development lawyer, distribution attorney, and Chief Legal Officer for several businesses. This breadth of experience has helped Doug and his team offer sound judgment and useful solutions to a broad range of legal matters at Assurance.

Doug earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his JD from Boston College Law School. Doug also taught third grade in Los Angeles as part of Teach for America prior to his legal career, and continues to focus on educational equity as a Board member of a city charter school. He remains a rabid, lifelong New York Knicks fan.

Jaymee Johnson

Chief Marketing Officer

Jaymee serves as the Chief Marketing Officer, where he defines how Assurance delivers on our mission to protect and improve the personal and financial health of all consumers.

Jaymee’s career has been spent at the intersection of the mobile and fintech industries. Prior to joining Assurance, Jaymee built and launched T-Mobile MONEY, T-Mobile’s digital banking business.Earlier in his career, he served as head of Global Marketing at Amazon Payments. He was also a founding member of Softcard, a mobile payment joint venture between AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon that was later acquired by Google. Jaymee earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and an MBA from MIT.

Most weekends, Jaymee can be found cheering on his kids from the sidelines of local soccer fields and baseball diamonds.

Founders’ Story

Assurance was born out of Michael Rowell’s and Mike Paulus’ shared passion to deliver financial wellness solutions to anyone, anywhere. Michael’s vision to improve the lives of people everywhere by providing clear, actionable steps to lasting, holistic, personal and financial health, and Mike’s dedication to utilizing technology to democratize access to financial services has led Assurance to become a leading consumer solutions platform for health and financial wellness needs.

Michael’s deep passion for technology, data science and systems thinking was instrumental in his aspiration to address the broader health and financial challenges of consumers. After beating cancer, he recognized the important role that insurance and financial security play in providing peace of mind during life’s most difficult challenges.

Mike’s passion for technology and his experience building and investing in fintech companies sparked his commitment to deliver financial wellness solutions to consumers in an innovative way. Growing up on a blueberry farm in rural Washington, he was motivated by the transformational effect technology had on his ability to connect to the entire world from his family farmhouse.

Today, the co-founders of Assurance are proud of the legacy they have left behind. Assurance continues to pave the way as a leading insurance platform dedicated to providing a unique experience for every consumer. Assurance’s mission, to protect and improve the personal and financial health of all consumers, empower them to take actions that improve their life and protect the things they care about, is being realized every day.