ABOUT US
Your dedicated team of designer-builders
Our team brings decades of insurance industry expertise and includes former chief underwriting officers, product managers, compliance leaders, product developers, and regulatory experts—the folks who’ve actually written the underwriting guidelines, built the rating plans, and navigated the regulatory gauntlet with state departments of insurance.
We've designed complex products, rebuilt broken ones, and defended our work to the toughest regulators. Whether you're considering admitted or non-admitted markets, we bring practical, experience-based solutions that come only from owning the outcomes ourselves.
This is Sproutr.
Our team is driven by our company values:
Be Generous with Knowledge
Lead From
the Front
Lean With Yes
See Beyond
Leadership
JoAnne Artesani
Founder & CEO
JoAnne founded and is the CEO of Sproutr following a 25-year commercial multi-peril insurance career bringing underwriting, portfolio management, product, and program design expertise to Sproutr's insurance design & build practice. Prior to founding Sproutr, she held a senior executive position defining, developing, and leading the commercial lines business practice at Hippo Insurance. Prior to joining Hippo in 2020, JoAnne held leadership positions responsible for book P&L within underwriting units, MGA program management, and product development teams at AIG. JoAnne was responsible for launching the Health & Human Service practice for The Hanover Insurance Group. She led data-driven insurance product design and program operational implementation at NYC based InsurTech, Attune Insurance, later acquired by Coalition. JoAnne is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point, where she obtained an undergraduate degree in Psychology. She holds an MBA from Babson College with a focus on Entrepreneurism. JoAnne is a panel speaker, advises a number of insurance and fintech start-up businesses, and participates as a mentor and educator in the InsurtechNY MGA Labs.
Omer Drori
Head of Operations
Omer Drori is the Head of Operations at Sproutr and is a seasoned executive with over a decade of experience in the U.S. insurance industry. He specializes in strategic partnerships, carrier relations, and business development. As Director of Carrier Relations at Semsee, he established and led a dedicated department, driving substantial revenue growth and enhancing carrier engagement through innovative ideas, tools and data-driven performance insights. Prior to Semsee, Omer held key roles at Bolt Tech, where he managed high-profile accounts, streamlined technical integrations, and led cross-functional teams across global markets. His expertise in project management, KPI analysis, and executive communication underscores his commitment to delivering value and fostering innovation in the insurance technology space. Omer holds an MBA in Finance and a BS in Industrial and Management Engineering. His comprehensive understanding of the insurance landscape and strategic mindset make him a valuable asset in driving growth and operational efficiency.
John Artesani
CFO
John is CFO of Sproutr and has overall responsibility for the financial and administrative aspects of the company. John brings over 30 years of commercial property and casualty, financial, operational and risk management experience to Sproutr’s broad underwriting services function. Previous to joining Sproutr, John held a number of successive executive leadership roles at AIG spanning their North American P&C operations including divisional financial officer positions, overseeing numerous property and casualty business units including surplus lines, programs/delegated underwriting authority, captives and retail property and carrier operations. John holds a degree in Accounting from Bentley College and a master’s degree in Finance from Suffolk University.
Jeff Breault
Product Dev Practice Leader
Jeff is the Practice Leader at Sproutr. He is responsible for Product Development and Program Design Services, and leads a team of insurance product and compliance professionals, optimizing for flexible frameworks and execution efficiency. Jeff brings nearly two decades of commercial lines experience at larger insurance carriers as well as early-stage Insurtech companies. Most recently, Jeff was a Director of Commercial Lines at Nationwide where he led data analytics and pricing functions. Previous roles include Head of Insurance Product at a pioneering commercial auto Insurtech, where he successfully introduced a first of its kind utilization-based insurance product to market. Additionally, Jeff has held roles as an AVP of Underwriting at a commercial auto and specialty transportation insurer. Jeff has a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics from Grand Valley State University, and holds the CPCU designation.
Alex Toplansky
Head of Technology
Alex Toplansky is Sproutr’s Head of Technology where he brings two decades of technology and data leadership and significant influence in insurance digitization. Alex previously led Prudential Financial's first Voice of Customer AI/ML initiatives and oversaw the firm's first digital direct-to-consumer life insurance platform during his tenure as Director. As a Senior Business Analyst at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, Alex launched Palantir-based underwriting data initiatives and a digital straight-through BOP, Auto, and GL platform for the national broker market. Earlier in his career, Alex was a Senior Producer for one of Europe's largest video game publishers. Additionally, he built and scaled social media analytics platforms for a venture-backed startup through its acquisition by KPMG. He holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business and a BA from Brandeis University. Alex lives in the New York suburbs with his wife and two boys.
Practice Leads
Ed Skoch, J.D.
Dir of Programs & Placements
Ryan Buchheit
Director - Private Client
Product & Program Development
Lisa Beaulieu, J.D.
Sr. Product Development & Regulatory Mgr
Pam Mailander
Sr. Product Development Manager
Kari Brashers
Sr. Product Development Manager
Rex Ramos, J.D.
Sr. Product Development Manager
Erin Lynn
Sr. Filing & Compliance Manager
Reid Bellanca, CPCU
Product Development Manager
Jennifer Swift
Product Development Manager
Lee Vespers, CPCU, AU
Product Development Manager
Maria Jordan
Sr. Filing Analyst
Cheryl Marthers
Sr. Filing & Compliance Analyst
Janice Herron
Sr. Filing Analyst
Mel Webb
Sr. Filing & Compliance Analyst
Michelle Madurski
Filing Analyst
How our team delivers
We hand select project experts based on the needs of the work. You’ll know who’s doing what, why they were selected, and how their experience maps to the outcomes you need.
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Underwriting & Program Design
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Led by program architects with deep carrier and MGA and MGU history
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Includes guideline writing, exposure validation, and audit support
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Insurance subject matter experts who know how to turn product strategy into system logic
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Product Development & Regulatory Execution
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Senior-level experts in policy form crafting
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Filing professionals with track records in every jurisdiction and product line
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Actuarial, Financial, and Competitive Grounding
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FCAS-level partners for rate planning and feasibility studies
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Business-focused Analysts who understand the current market standards and how to exceed them
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Program Placement Services
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Carrier-trusted client advocacy and introductions for Sproutr program design clients
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Client-centric MGA/MGU and carrier pairing, advocacy and contract negotiation
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Hands-on facilitation and onboarding support with Carriers thru first 90-day post launch
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Common questions about insurance program design and execution
The people you meet are the people who build it.
Sproutr does not operate on a leverage model. We don’t sell senior expertise and deliver junior execution. Every engagement is staffed with experienced insurance operators who have owned outcomes before - underwriting leaders, product managers, filing specialists, regulatory experts, and actuaries.
That means:-
No learning curve on your project
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No translation loss between strategy and execution
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No need to instruct us on what to do
If someone is on your project, they’ve held that job within the insurance industry.
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Traditional firms advise, sometimes from a purely academic viewpoint.
Sproutr builds from practical, real-life experience.Most consulting models stop at recommendations, decks, or conceptual frameworks. The hard work is left to the client, or pushed to vendors who weren’t involved in the strategy.
Sproutr’s teams:
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Author underwriting guidelines
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Draft rate, rule, and form language
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Create novel or denovo policy language where no comparison can be found
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Design filing strategies and execute DOI/SERFF submittals
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Pressure-test programs against carrier, reinsurer, and operational realities
We stay involved until all moving parts come together.
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That’s normal.
Many clients come to us with partial builds:
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A draft business plan
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Investor or reinsurance broker pitch deck
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Early underwriting guidelines
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Initial actuarial or feasibility work started
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Competitor product forms or specimen language
We define the objective, assess what’s relevant, what’s usable and what is needed to fill the gaps deliberately. You keep what works. We fix or create what doesn't.
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Speed without credibility is expensive. Sproutr designs for defensible velocity. That means moving as quickly as the market allows without creating downstream rework. Regulatory timelines, carrier review cycles, and data readiness all set real constraints. Not understanding where shortcuts create lengthened timelines will lead to delays later.
Our job is to sequence the work so you don’t lose momentum (or trust) along the way.
They already do. Sproutr’s work product is built to stand up in front of:
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Carrier program decision committees
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Reinsurance partners
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Compliance and audit teams
Our teams know what questions will be asked because we’ve asked them ourselves in prior roles. That perspective shows up in how submissions are written, how pricing is defended, and how governance is structured.
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Enough to make good decisions. Not enough to slow the work. Sproutr is designed to reduce the burden on internal teams, not add to it. We lead the authoring, coordination, and execution. You provide context, judgment, and directional input where it matters.
Clear roles. Clean communication. No unnecessary meetings.
A program that is built to scale, designed to pivot, and delivers underwriting profitability to all stakeholders after launch.
Not just approval. Not just capacity. But something that:
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Delivers underwriting consistency
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Price aligns to risk
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Achieves successful underwriting audit
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Scales without breaking controls
That’s the lens we use when informing teams, defining scope, and executing deliverables.
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Every engagement starts by matching the problem to the people, not the other way around.
Sproutr is boutique and we right-size the projects to the right people who are capable of navigating multiple related items. We match project teams intentionally, aligning underwriting, product, regulatory, and operational expertise to the specific risks in front of you. That’s how we reduce execution risk and avoid surprises late in the process.