Grant Lippincott
Managing Partner
Experience:
Grant has extensive experience in insurance and financial services. Grant is currently the Manager of Brookside Investment Partners (“Brookside”) and Rockbrook Partners I, LLC (“Rockbrook I”), both formed to make investments in the property and casualty insurance industry. Rockbrook I is one of the largest investors in Aspen Holdings, Inc. (“Aspen”), an insurance holding company created by Grant and two partners in 1997. While with Aspen, Grant was responsible for co-founding FirstComp Insurance Company, a successful mono-line workers’ compensation insurance company, FirstComp Underwriters Group, a managing general agency, and Precision Premium Consultants, a premium audit consulting company. Grant has been an Associate with the Technology Finance Group in the Corporate Finance Department at Smith Barney.
Education:
Grant graduated from the Harvard Graduate School of Business with a Master in Business Administration degree in 1992 and has a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1984. Additionally, Grant was the recipient of the Ernst and Young 2002 Entrepreneur of the Year Award for financial services in Nebraska and Iowa.
Kieran A. Sweeney
Managing Partner
Experience:
Kieran began his insurance career in 1987 at Willis Faber, Plc at Lloyd's of London. In 1991, he joined U.S. Capital Group, Inc., a New York-based insurance and reinsurance holding company. At U.S. Capital, he held positions including president of Pan Atlantic Investors Limited and senior vice president and general manager of U.S. Capital Insurance Company. Before establishing Align Financial Group, LLC in 2003, Mr. Sweeney was president and chief executive officer of Arrowhead General Insurance Agency in San Diego, California. Arrowhead grew to become one of the largest general insurance agencies in the U.S. prior to being sold to Brown & Brown in 2011. Mr. Sweeney also founded PGIA Holdings, LLC in 2011, Catalytic Holdings LLC in 2013 and Bondsman Holdings, LLC in 2016. Align is a leading program underwriting manager, focused on specialty casualty insurance verticals. PGIA (Personable) is a $100+ million writer of non-standard auto insurance that was sold in 2014 to ABRY Partners, a Boston-based hedge fund. Catalytic is the largest independent specialist property catastrophe underwriting manager in the U.S. and Bondsman is a specialty surety insurance underwriter.
Education:
Mr. Sweeney graduated from University College Galway, Ireland in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry & Immunology.
Andy Swindall
Partner
Experience:
Andy began his insurance career at Arrowhead General Insurance Agency in 1992. Andy worked in the actuarial department and oversaw 100+ rate and form filings per year. After leaving Arrowhead in 2003, he joined Kieran Sweeney to help form Align General Insurance Agency. Andy helped grow Align through various iterations and market cycles. In 2011, Align’s non-standard auto division was sold to a private equity firm, Excellere Partners, and Personable Holdings, Inc. was formed. Andy was the CEO at Personable. After three years, Andy led the successful sale of Personable. Andy rejoined the Align team in October 2016.
Education:
A graduate from U.C. San Diego, Andy achieved degrees in Economics and Law & Society.
Doug Goode
Partner
Experience:
Doug began his career at Employers Reinsurance as an actuarial analyst before moving into their reinsurance brokerage division Bates Turner/Benfield. Doug spent 17 years as a reinsurance broker before leaving to join Rockhill Insurance Group, a specialty insurer with both admitted and non-admitted entities, as head of Business Development. Doug left in 2011 to join QBE where he was a senior vice president with QBE North America in charge of sales strategy and new business processes for the program division. Doug then went back to Rockhill in 2013, as Chief Operating Officer. At Rockhill, Doug led and directed all marketing, business development and specialty underwriting functions, and played a key role in overall company strategy.
Education:
Doug graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management Information Systems.
Tim McAuliffe
Partner
Experience:
Tim began his insurance career at AIG in 1995 as Associate General Counsel for the Miscellaneous Professional Liability Group. Over his 14 year career with AIG he held various positions of increasing responsibility, including COO for Starr Excess Liability; Regional Vice President for Lexington Insurance for the New York, Boston and Philadelphia regions and President of American Home Assurance Company. In 2009 Tim joined Ironshore Insurance Company as President of Casualty and Programs. Within the Program group he developed a unique practice that was a combination of traditional Carrier/MGA/Program Administrator contracts as well as Joint Ventures with Agencies; Agency Acquisitions and Book Transfers.
Education:
Tim graduated from Rutgers College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree, he obtained his Juris Doctor from New York Law School.
Kristina Castle
Partner
Experience:
Kris joined the Rockbrook Advisors team as a partner in 2007. At Rockbrook Advisors, Kris focused on identification, diligence and oversight for insurance related portfolio companies, and served on several boards of directors for these companies. Prior to joining Rockbrook Advisors, Kris was with Aspen Holdings/FirstComp Insurance as the Assistant Treasurer and Director of Finance for the company. During her tenure with Aspen, Kris’ corporate development responsibilities included evaluating several acquisition opportunities for the company as well as organizing, forming and capitalizing Banyan Re, LLC, an offshore captive reinsurer.
Education:
Kris graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a Master in Business Administration degree and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Finance and Accounting from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
Neill Kanji
Senior Associate
Experience:
Neill is a Senior Associate at ReAlign Capital Strategies and is responsible for lead and growth development. Neill specializes in modeling, research, operations, project & transaction management as well as underwriting investments and opportunities. Previously, he was with Align General Insurance Agency and served as the Sr. Business Analyst & Project Manager during his tenure with the company.
Education:
Neill graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelors of Science in Economics degree.
Rod Eldred
Advisor
Experience:
Rod Eldred began his insurance career in 1977 with Crum and Forster where he held various underwriting and management positions through 1984. At that time, Mr. Eldred became Vice-President of Continental Divide Insurance Company, a member of the Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group. Over time, Mr. Eldred assumed various positions of increasing responsibility and eventually became President of the Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies in Omaha Nebraska, the retail insurance division of the Berkshire Hathaway Insurance Group. The business produced under Mr. Eldred's tenure at BHHC was specialty focused and consisted primarily of Construction, Commercial Automobile and Worker's Compensation. Mr. Eldred joined Align in February of 2011 to start an insurance division writing Specialty Automobile and Worker's Compensation initially in the state of CA. Over time, these programs will be expanded into other states beginning in the Western U.S.
Kenneth Zekavat
Board Member & Advisor
Experience:
Ken has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and over 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. Ken is the founder of Zekavat Investment Group, Inc (ZIG), a private equity practice focused on the financial services industry with an emphasis on the insurance industry. Ken has sold insurance portfolio company investments with written premium totaling approximately $700 million annually and ZIG’s current portfolio companies have combined written premium of over $300 million annually. Ken was a founding investor of Aspen Holding, FirstComp Insurance Company, FirstComp Underwriting Group, Catalytic Holdings, and Personable Holdings, an early investor in Align Financial Group and is an active board member of each portfolio company investment. Ken has also served on several non-for-profit boards, currently on the board of the Philadelphia YMCA.
Education:
Ken earned an MBA from NYU, Stern School of Business.