Meet the team with 100+ years of experience.

Vast experience, strong partnerships.

Meet the Team

  • Jim Higgins

    CEO & MANAGING DIRECTOR

    Jim is an accomplished Senior Executive with over 30 years of experience in the life, accident, and health insurance industry. He possesses a unique combination of carrier-level strategic planning, operations, product development, and marketing expertise, along with both US and international MGA and financial institution distribution experience.

    A pioneer in the deployment of e-quote through e-policy technology, Jim has held executive-level positions at USLife Corporation, JPMorgan Chase Insurance Group, HSBC Insurance Group, USA, Samsung Life Insurance Co., Ltd, and Crum & Forster’s Accident & Health division.

  • Bill Tyson

    CMO & MANAGING DIRECTOR

    Bill has a 30+ year track record of building and managing multi-channel, multi-line insurance businesses using a variety of distribution models, technology platforms, and data-driven marketing. He is a seasoned global insurance executive having excelled at several Fortune 500 companies including AIG, CIGNA, CIGNA International, Jardine Matheson, and Swiss Re – New Solutions Group.

    For the last 5 years, Bill has been commercializing new InsurTech solutions that leverage emerging technologies including the Internet of Things, blockchain, accelerated underwriting applications, behavioral science techniques, and a variety of digital solutions across the (re)insurance value chain.

  • John Spinner

    MANAGING DIRECTOR

    John started his insurance career in 2006 as a Life and Health agent before transitioning into management. He spent the first half of his career in Territory/Regional Sales management roles.

    John left corporate insurance management in 2013 to co-found Innovative Insurance Brokers Inc. (currently doing business as Innovative Financial Group). Under John’s leadership, IFG grew to 4,500 agents and issued over $100 million in total insurance premiums across all product lines in 2018. It is one of the largest and fastest-growing insurance marketing organizations in the country.

    At the end of 2018, John decided to sell his interests in Innovative Financial Group and join IIP Group.

  • Zachary Bornehimer

    CIO

    Zach is a specialist in algorithms and data structures with experience in more than 10 programming languages. His pattern-based approach to complex issues has shown effectiveness in the areas of theoretical corpus linguistics and natural language processing.

    Zach received both his undergraduate and graduate degree from the University of South Florida where his research into pattern-based corpus linguistics culminated in the development of his theory of Linguistic Fusion, a Discovery Procedure, Unification Theory, and Formation Theory for all Human Languages.

    His unique overlap in business, programming, and background in creative expression provides a system-driven approach to business solutions where technology is a means to an end.

  • Richard Katz

    NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR

    Rich has been actively involved in the life and health insurance industry for 50 years. Throughout his career, Rich has successfully managed multiple methods of distributing insurance products including direct response, career agents, independent agents and brokers, and P&C agencies while also developing integrated marketing systems to maximize market penetration. His experience includes both B2B and B2C sales as well as affinity and endorsed market sales.

    Rich has been a member of the Inter-Company Marketing Group since 1988, is a Past President and recipient of their Lifetime Achievement Award, and has served on the Board of Directors since 1995. Rich has also been a featured speaker at several national industry events, including those for LIMRA, PIMA, and the NFCA.

  • Casey Johnson

    DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

    Casey is a master storyteller and content marketing strategist with a decade of experience in B2B, B2C, and SaaS spaces. Her ability to understand target audiences and their pain points allows her to craft compelling narratives that resonate with potential customers. Whether it's a tech startup seeking to disrupt the market or a consumer brand looking to connect with a new generation of buyers, Casey knows how to create a captivating story that sparks interest and drives action.

    Some of Casey’s biggest career wins to date include successfully launching a boutique PR agency in Charleston, SC, publishing a viral blog post that garnered half a million views, and growing and managing a team of content creators who generated $13 million in revenue for clients in 2019.