AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ethos, the
insurtech leader that's transforming life insurance, has hired
industry veteran Marty Schafer as
its first Chief Distribution Officer to bolster the company's
channel distribution. Schafer will be responsible for building a
team to focus on enabling partnerships specifically with third
party life insurance distributors and life, property and casualty
insurance agents.
Schafer joins Ethos following more than two decades in the life
insurance industry, most recently as Senior Vice President at Crump
Life Insurance Services. Before that, he was Vice President of
National Accounts at John Hancock, where he was responsible for
management and oversight of their US Life Insurance National
Account relationships. He also co-founded the distribution company
Saybrus Partners, where he served as Executive Managing Director
for nearly ten years. But his insurance career began long before
that. After Schafer completed his professional soccer career, he
became a teacher and picked up selling life insurance as an
independent agent in the summers, then full time as an agent with
Prudential.
"Marty is one of the most beloved people in the life insurance
industry, so he's been on our radar for a while. When we were
looking for someone to take ownership of enabling Ethos'
distribution partners with the Ethos platform, he was top of our
list," said Peter Colis, CEO and
founder of Ethos. "We couldn't be more excited about adding Marty
to our executive team, which will allow us to better serve our
partners and policyholder families."
Schafer's hire follows a $100
million round from Softbank Vision Fund 2 that brought
Ethos's valuation to $2.7 billion and
total funds raised to over $400
million. SoftBank joined existing investors Sequoia Capital;
Accel; GV (formerly Google Ventures); General Catalyst; Jay-Z's Roc
Nation; and the investment vehicles of stars Will Smith and Robert
Downey Jr.
"I've been in the insurance business a long time and have never
been more motivated by a company's mission," said Schafer.
"Protecting the next million families is an important cause -
especially to me, as a father of four. I'm thrilled about being a
driver of change for the next 100 years of the life insurance
space. Peter and the Ethos team are pioneers, building something
net new, and I couldn't pass up the chance to be a part of it."
Ethos has been growing at a significant rate and increasing its
year-over-year momentum. Revenue and users have each grown by more
than 600 percent year-over-year, and the company expects to issue
$20 billion of life insurance
coverage in 2021, surpassing all insurtech competitors. In addition
to its revenue and user growth, the company has surpassed
$100M in annualized gross profit. The
company has offices in Austin,
San Francisco, and Singapore, and plans to double its employee
count by 2021 year end.
About Ethos
Ethos is a technology company. We make it
easier than ever for everyone to protect their families with life
insurance. Ethos has created the insurance industry's most advanced
proprietary technology, eliminating the traditional barriers to
life insurance by developing instant and accessible products that
make it easy for everyone to protect their families with life
insurance online, in minutes without any medical exams. We issue
billions in coverage each month and an invaluable amount of peace
of mind for our families every single day. Ethos is a global
company, with offices in Austin,
San Francisco, and Singapore. To learn more, visit
www.ethoslife.com.
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SOURCE Ethos