Michael Rowell no longer CEO of Assurance IQ
Prudential Financial is announcing that Allison Arzeno will succeed Michael Rowell as CEO of Assurance IQ, effective immediately, less than two years after the acquisition and with about a year left to potentially achieve the additional earnout of up to $1.15 billion (conditional upon meeting multi-year growth objectives).
Rowell, who cofounded Assurance IQ , will transition to serve as a strategic advisor to Andy Sullivan, executive vice president and head of Prudential’s U.S. businesses, where his “expertise and strategic counsel will add value as Prudential delivers financial solutions to more customers across the socioeconomic spectrum.” Mike Paulus, another co-founder of Assurance IQ who served as president until Arzeno assumed her role in late 2020, will step away from his role according to the press release.
The news follows multiple management changes since Prudential acquired the company back in late 2019. Grant Fisher, who was most recently Prudential’s VP of finance, joined as the new CFO, replacing Simba Rusike. Chuck Brousseau replaced Don Loonam as the new COO, and Doug Morrin took over Gulliver Swenson’s chief legal officer role. Rusike and Swenson now hold other roles at Assurance IQ while Loonam is no longer with the company.
After Prudential agreed to pay $2.35 billion, Assurance IQ went from being “a profitable, fast-growing direct-to-consumer platform that transforms the buying experience for individuals seeking personalized health and financial wellness solutions” to a losing company that’s all over the place. It reported losses in six straight quarters totaling $136 million while adding a w-2 agent component and launching a new lead-gen business.
“Allison is a superb combination of data scientist and business leader. She was instrumental in the building of Assurance’s innovative business model alongside Rowell and Paulus and has done an exceptional job scaling the business in her role as president.” – Andy Sullivan.
“We are confident that under Allison’s leadership, Assurance will continue to make strides in its mission to protect and improve people’s personal and financial health.” – Michael Rowell.
“We are deeply proud of what Assurance has achieved in such a short amount of time. Allison has been a leader since the beginning and continuously exceeded expectations. I know we are leaving the company in very capable hands.” – Mike Paulus.
Bottom Line: Don’t be surprised if this is the outcome.
