Blue Ash-based Coterie, an insurance startup that uses technology to provide instant coverage for small businesses, has expanded its C-suite by four.
The promotions will help accelerate growth, CEO David McFarland said. They include Morgan Smith as the company’s new chief operations officer; Paul Bessire as chief data officer; Marci Campbell as chief technology officer; and Pete Buccola, who will serve as chief insurance officer.
The company announced the moves publicly this week.
“We’re proud to reimagine Coterie’s executive team with leadership that already exists within Coterie,” McFarland said in a release. “They are incredibly well-respected leaders by all Coterians, our partners and our customers.”
Smith joined the company in 2020 and most recently served as VP of operations for Coterie. She has more than 15 years in the insurance industry with a focus on operational strategy. Before Coterie, she served as workers compensation resolution lead for the now-shuttered New York City-based Blackboard Insurance, a subsidiary of AIG; and held several roles at Liberty Mutual Insurance in claims management, distribution process improvement, underwriting and client services. She is based in Oradell, N.J.
Bessire has been working in predictive analytics for 20 years. Prior to joining Coterie in 2021, he was the VP of advanced analytics at Walnut Hills-based Amend Consulting, where he helped clients and sports teams make more efficient decisions using data. He previously worked for Western & Southern, FoxSports and founded and sold his own company, Prediction Machine, in 2016, to Canadian-based sports media company Barscope. He is based in Cincinnati.
Campbell, who joined Coterie last year and most recently served as VP of products and engineering, is a former software developer and product executive. She previously served as VP of products for Cincinnati Children’s spinout Clarigent Health. Prior to that, she served as COO and SVP of product for Cincinnati-based AscendSMS after 15 years at Knovation as VP of solutions and innovation. She is also based in Cincinnati.
Lastly, Buccola joined Coterie in 2020 and most recently served as VP of insurance. He spent more than 15 years at Travelers Insurance and later worked at Blackboard Insurance as the west underwriting leader. He is based in Sacramento, Calif.
The C-suite additions follow another change to the leadership team made late last year. Coterie in November named Bobbie Collies, previously vice president of distribution, chief growth officer, replacing co-founder Tim Metzner.
Metzner, at the time, said Coterie was working to bring on more experienced leaders as it continues to gain traction in the market.
Coterie, founded in 2018 by McFarland, Metzner and Kevin Mackey, uses tech and data to deliver simpler insurance solutions — owners policies, general liability insurance and professional liability insurance — to small businesses, contractors and gig workers. Agents can quote and issue policies faster via Coterie's portal, and its API integrates into existing platforms like Intuit Quickbooks and Thryv.
The company had a red-hot 2021, raising two rounds of capital, including a $50 million Series B, pushing its funding total to $73.12 million. Those raises helped buoy Coterie to No. 9 on the Courier's list of best-funded startups.
The company currently employs 135.
