McGowan picks managing director for two business units

McGowan picks managing director for two business units | Insurance Business America

Professional Risks

McGowan picks managing director for two business units

“Exceptional future growth” expected with key hire at the helm

Professional Risks

By
Terry Gangcuangco

Insurance broker The McGowan Companies has appointed Karl I. Olson as managing director of professional liability and management liability wholesalers McGowan, Donnelly & Oberheu, LLC (MDO) and McGowan Wholesale’s professional and management liability division (McGowan P&M).

Olson will report to McGowan president and chief executive Thomas B. McGowan, IV.

With over two decades of experience in the insurance sector, Olson’s career includes several high-profile roles. From 2001 to 2008, he served as director at Carpenter Moore Insurance Services, specializing in professional liability and healthcare insurance. Between 2008 and 2015, he was vice president, branch manager, and practice leader for professional liability at Sullivan Brokers Wholesale Insurance Solutions.

From 2015 to 2024, Olson held the position of vice president and national practice leader for professional and management liability at Burns & Wilcox Brokerage. Olson is well-regarded in the industry as a speaker on professional and management liability, serves as an advisor to private equity firms, and is a consultant for insurance carriers on policy forms and endorsements.

McGowan’s president and CEO commented: “I am pleased to welcome Karl Olson to the McGowan family. I have known Karl for many years. He is an outstanding executive and insurance professional. His leadership skills and track record of building and managing increasingly larger and more complex businesses will accrue to the benefit of McGowan and its 82,000 brokers across the United States.

“In his new role, Karl will be responsible for the oversight of our professional and management liability subsidiaries – including strategy, governance, and attention to major issues. These business units have been growing rapidly over the past 15 years, and I look forward to many decades of exceptional future growth with Karl’s capable hands ‘at the helm’.”

Similarly, Olson shared his excitement about joining the company, saying: “I am very excited to become part of The McGowan Companies, an organization with such a wonderful reputation among brokers.

“Its extraordinary underwriting, distribution, and technological capabilities allow its brokers to differentiate themselves from the ‘pack’ and provides them with a meaningful competitive advantage… ultimately leading to significantly higher-than-average closing ratios for its brokers with regard to both new and renewal business.”

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