Next Insurance introduces new hires

Next Insurance announced the appointment of former Fitbit executive Melanie Chase as Chief Marketing Officer and former Yelp executive Effi Fuks Leichtag as Chief Product Officer.

Following its recent $1 billion appraisal and in a bid to become the only online one-stop-shop for all small business P&C insurance needs, Next Insurance is embarking on a strategic hiring journey to bring onboard world class executive talents that will take the company’s growth to new heights.

Melanie Chase joins Next Insurance following her role as Vice President of Marketing at Fitbit where she spent the past 6 years developing the company into one of the world’s premier health and fitness brands. Chase brings with her many years of experience in high-growth consumer electronics and software marketing, brand building, advertising, and product strategy. Chase first got her start in marketing at General Mills and Clorox where she worked on major CPG brands. In her role as Chief Marketing Officer at Next Insurance, Chase will oversee the company’s marketing brand, strategy and operations.

Effi Fuks Leichtag joins the Next Insurance team from Yelp where he quickly rose up the ranks, serving most recently as Vice President of Product Management, where he managed the company’s overall consumers’ growth, core products, search, personalization, and other key initiatives. Leichtag began his career in product management at Kifi (acquired by Google) before serving as Chief Operations and Product Officer at Complete Labs, Inc and founded and led the product management teams in several other startups such as ExPOS and Fribiz. Along with a commercial law degree, Effi also holds a Major Rank in the Israeli Artillery Corps where he commanded and trained various field units throughout his six years of active duty. In his role as Chief Product Officer, Leichtag will oversee Next Insurance’s product management and design.

“We’ve come a long way and we’re just getting started. We are striving for excellence here at Next Insurance and we believe a large part of that is bringing onboard new executive talent with proven success to help take our growth to the next level. We are extremely excited to be welcoming Melanie and Effi to the team, both of whom bring with them a vast amount of experience and knowledge, and I look forward to working closely with them both.” – Guy Goldstein, cofounder and CEO of Next Insurance.

“I’m proud to be joining a company committed to supporting America’s small business. Next has already built a great service that customers love. Now it’s time to accelerate the company’s growth and make Next a household name.” – Melanie Chase.

“Next Insurance’s innovative insurance products are changing the game for small businesses and independent traders across hundreds of classes of business. I am honored to be given the opportunity to take Next’s product offering to the next level.” – Effi Fuks Leichtag.