Root Inc. has hired an insurance industry veteran as CFO to succeed Dan Rosenthal, who has continued the role on an interim basis since adding two more C-suite titles.
Rob Bateman most recently was president and CFO of Ategrity Specialty Insurance Co., a startup business insurer in Arizona. He starts April 11, according to a news release.
"His established background and depth of experience across the insurance industry is the right combination to lead our finance organization through the next phase of our journey," Root CEO Alex Timm said in the release.
Bateman started at Ategrity in September 2020, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that he spent eight months as CFO of Amerisure Insurance, three and a half years as executive vice president and CFO of Infinity Insurance, more than two years as EVP and CFO of Country Financial, and nine years at The Hartford in successive roles ending as senior vice president and controller.
"The way Root is bringing data and technology to insurance truly is the future of this industry," Bateman said in the release. "I can’t wait to pair my experience with their focus on pricing, the customer experience, technology, and the embedded product."
Bateman also had nearly 10 years' prior experience in auditing roles in the Hartford, Connecticut, area, including at KPMG. He has a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and MBA from University of Connecticut.
The 55-year-old will split his time between Scottsdale, Arizona, and Columbus, a spokeswoman said.
His base annual salary will be $500,000, and he can earn a performance-based bonus up to that amount, according to a regulatory filing. Bateman will receive restricted stock worth $1.2 million to vest in stages over the next two years.
Rosenthal was named the first-ever COO and chief revenue officer in September at the Columbus digital insurer. He began as a director in 2017 and joined the staff as CFO in November 2019. He helped lead it through several funding rounds and its October 2020 IPO.
The parent of Root Insurance Co. (Nasdaq: ROOT) has struggled with high inflation in claims costs and a plummeting stock price since going public, as I analyzed in this week's cover story. There also have been other changes in the C-suite in the past year, as well as a 20% cut to the workforce in January.
