In 2003, Rick joined Fortegra as COO and was promoted to his current leadership role four years later. Since then, he has led the company through an IPO process, expanded internationally, and grown the organization to over $1 billion in gross annual sales and $1.5 billion in total assets.
Prior to Fortegra, Rick served as President and CEO of Volvo’s Global Insurance Group. A graduate of the University of Delaware, he also holds a J.D. from Delaware Law School.
Mark Rattner joined Fortegra in September 2016 as Executive Vice President & Chief Underwriting Officer for Credit and Specialty Lines. He previously worked for Houston International Insurance Group (HIIG) as Senior Vice President and started the Professional Liability Division. Mark attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and The College of Insurance, New York, NY.
Michael (Mike) Grasher re-joined Fortegra in October 2015 as EVP & Chief Financial Officer after serving two years as EVP & CFO of Amerisafe, Inc. He previously worked at Fortegra as SVP, Capital Markets and Investor Relations. Mike arrived at Fortegra from Piper Jaffray, Inc., as an Equity Analyst covering the property-casualty insurance industry and lead Analyst of the Fortegra IPO. He earned his B.S. from the University of Illinois and M.B.A. from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
Sanjay Vara is Executive Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer for Fortegra's warranty products. Since arriving in 2016, Sanjay has spearheaded the organization’s international growth by opening the company’s European subsidiary, Fortegra Europe Insurance Company Limited (FEIC Ltd.). Prior to his arrival at Fortegra, Sanjay headed up teams at ANV Lloyds syndicate 5820 and at AmTrust Europe. A graduate of the University of Kent, Sanjay’s leadership has proved critical to the expansion of programs underwritten through Fortegra, both in the domestic U.S. and international market.
Joe Lettween joined Fortegra in November 2022 as Chief Innovation, Data Science, and Technology Officer. He previously worked at Osso Capital as Principal, Head of Data & Analytics and Vista Equity Partners as Director, Vista Intelligence Group. Joe attended the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management and Syracuse University.
John Short joined Fortegra in 2007 as Senior Vice President and General Counsel and served in that role until 2011 when he was named Executive Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer and Governmental Affairs. Prior to joining Fortegra, he led the State regulatory and governmental affairs for Sprint Corporation and its spin-off Embarq Communications. John holds a J.D. from the College of William and Mary and a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from the University of Richmond.
Holly Bohn joined Fortegra in 2020 as the Executive Vice President of Marketing. She has over 20 years of Marketing, Brand Development, and Strategic Planning experience, both as a successful entrepreneur of a multi-million-dollar retail brand and later as a Division Vice President in consumer products. Holly is an advocate for female entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs and holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a focus in Finance from California State University, Chico.
Peter is the Chief Executive Officer of Smart AutoCare, a Fortegra company. Peter began his career at GE Capital developing his sales, marketing, and product development skills before joining Great American Insurance Company. He entered the automotive industry as an F&I agent and later became a master general agent for Premier Dealer Services. In 2004, Peter acquired a majority interest in Dealer Motor Services and Independent Dealer Group, and in 2008, he bought out the minority interest. Since 2004, Peter started Accelerated Service Enterprise, Ownershield, Freedom Protection Services and Freedom Insurance Company and expanded the companies' product lines. Smart AutoCare, formerly known as Accelerated Service International, designs, markets, and administers turnkey finance and insurance (“F&I”) products and reinsurance solutions to auto dealerships across the United States. Smart AutoCare’s best-in-class customer service, professional adjudication, comprehensive product offering, and proprietary technology solution make it one of the most respected F&I brands.
Joel Vaag currently leads Fortegra’s Specialty Program actuary group. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society with over 25 years of actuarial experience. Joel joined Fortegra in September 2019 after a three-year stint at Houston International Insurance Group (HIIG) where he served as the company’s Chief Actuary. Prior to HIIG, he worked as Principal and Consulting Actuary at Oliver Wyman Actuarial Consultants, Inc. and Milliman, Inc. Joel’s experience includes a broad array of pricing, reserving, and management experience, with focus in the professional liability, auto, general liability, and workers’ compensation lines of business. He earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Northern Arizona University and an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Arizona.
Janie Hartley joined Fortegra in 1995 when Fortegra acquired the Credit Insurance and Administrative business of Integon Life Insurance Corporation. She has served in several capacities, including financial reporting, reinsurance management, and account management, and is now responsible for overseeing the administrative operations team for all insurance, debt protection, warranty, automotive and F&I programs. Janie's specialty is increasing customer satisfaction levels while ensuring business processes follow the terms and conditions of all products and associated regulatory agencies. Prior to joining Fortegra, she managed the accounting operations for a trauma health care center. She oversaw the financial planning, reporting, accounts payable, and payroll division. Janie graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a B.S. in Accounting and a minor in Management Information Systems.
Howard Fishbein joined Fortegra in November 2018 as Senior Vice President of Claims. Howard previously worked at Houston International Insurance Group (HIIG) as Senior Vice President, Claims & Litigation, and was responsible for the in-house claims operation. He holds a J.D. from St. John’s School of Law and a B.S. in Accounting from Pennsylvania State University.
