Our Purpose

Driven by a passion for pets

Our purpose behind everything we do—what really drives our efforts—is ensuring better outcomes for pets because pets make us happy.

The Companion Protect story

Founded in 2015, Companion Protect is the byproduct of a leadership team who wanted to combine their deep knowledge and expertise of consumer insurance programs with a passion for animal welfare—all with the mission of enhancing and extending the lives of dogs and cats.

The founders of Companion Protect previously managed the largest consumer insurance program in the world for the wireless industry and major retailers. They, alongside many early associates, wrote the playbook on establishing and growing consumer insurance and warranty programs.

Companion Protect started out offering insurance products to pet parents via animal shelters and vet clinics, and the business has evolved to include some of the biggest names in insurance. Today, Companion Protect offers fully customizable wellness and insurance programs to insurers, retailers, benefits providers, affinity groups, and shelters—while staying true to the animal-centric vision and purpose.

Meet the team

Chuck Laue

CEO

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Chuck Laue

CEO

Chuck serves as the Chair and CEO of Companion Protect and has over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. After graduating from Eastern Illinois University, he began his career with Kemper
Insurance before joining Lockton Companies, Inc. in Kansas City. He then co-founded lock\line, served as its President, and later became President and Vice Chairman after its merger with Asurion. Chuck is a member of the board at The Humane Society of the United States and chairs the boards of Great Plains SPCA, the Humane Society Legislative Fund, 50by40, Stray Dog Institute and Stray Dog Capital. He is also a licensed property and casualty producer and holds the certification of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Risk Management (ARM).

Scott Anthony

Technology

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Scott Anthony

Technology

As Chief Technology Officer, Scott is responsible for leading Companion Protect’s enterprise technology platforms and solutions, including software engineering, platform development, data, analytics, and infrastructure. He brings over 25 years of experience in leading technology solutions for both large, multi-national corporations and startups. Prior to joining CP, he led all technology functions supporting the asset management and wealth management businesses of a large financial advisory group. Scott earned his degree in economics from Northwestern University.

Scott Hardgree

Revenue

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Scott Hardgree

Revenue

As Chief Revenue Officer of Companion Protect, Scott is responsible for business execution across technology, product, operations, and marketing—all with the goal of evolving the customer experience and product roadmap to drive results for customers and partners. Prior to joining Companion Protect, he served as a Senior Director and Vice President of Asurion. He has over 20 years of experience in the property and casualty insurance industry, with expertise in both product development and client solutions. Scott earned his bachelor’s degree from Saint Louis University.

Sarah Douglas

People

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Sarah Douglas

People

Sarah is a seasoned HR leader with a passion for driving organizational excellence through people-centric strategies. With over 20 years of experience in Human Resources, Sarah has a proven track record of implementing innovative initiatives that attract, develop, and retain top talent. As VP, Human Resources, her strategic approach to talent, engagement, and culture transformation leads to environments where employees feel valued, empowered, and inspired to achieve their full potential. Sarah’s commitment to fostering a culture of inclusivity, accountability and continuous learning underscores her dedication to building high-performing teams and driving sustained business success.

Kathryn Jung

Finance

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Kathryn Jung

Finance

Kathryn serves as Companion Protect’s Controller, leading the accounting department and managing all accounting matters — including the establishment of policies and procedures, financial reporting, internal controls, and cash flow. Previously, she worked as a Senior Manager in the Audit and Assurance practice of an international consulting firm, serving clients in the financial services industry. Kathryn, a licensed CPA, earned her undergraduate degree from Northern State University and her Master of Accounting from the University of Kansas. She was a founding and active member of the Pet Resource Center of Kansas City Young Professionals Board.

Casey Masters

Operations

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Casey Masters

Operations

As COO, Casey is responsible for leading the development and execution of the company’s long-term strategy. After earning a degree in Finance from Kansas State University, Casey began his insurance career in 1991 as a Financial Analyst at Lockton Companies — working with large national clients on the financial structure of their insurance programs. This role led the way for him to become a Co-Founder of lock\line, a startup within Lockton Companies, where he served as Director of Finance and eventually Senior Vice President of Client Services. Under his guidance and direction, lock\line grew to become the leader of wireless device protection programs and was acquired by DST Systems in 2002 and ultimately merged with Asurion in 2005.

Meghan Lehman

Marketing

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Meghan Lehman

Marketing

As Senior Director of Marketing, Meghan provides overall strategic direction for client-facing and business-to-business marketing. She is responsible for the marketing and communication efforts of the company, including brand and creative strategy, marketing campaign development and implementation, customer lifecycle management, digital communications, and leading the Client Marketing, Creative Services, and Digital Marketing departments. Prior to joining Companion Protect, she built and led internal marketing departments for several nonprofits, including Lawrence Humane Society (KS) and The Animal Foundation (NV). Meghan earned her Bachelor of Science in Communications from University of Miami.

Brennan Tucker

Legal

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Brennan Tucker

Legal

Brennan serves as the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Companion Protect. Prior to joining the company, he spent over 19 years as a corporate transactional attorney at Husch Blackwell LLP and 5 years as a sole practitioner advising entrepreneurs and venture capital investors. He received his undergraduate degree from Drury University and his Juris Doctorate from Duke University. Brennan is based in the Kansas City area and is involved in multiple area organizations, including Great Plains SPCA.

Betsy Vernon

Go-to-Market

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Betsy Vernon

Go-to-Market

As VP, Go-To-Market Strategy, Betsy is responsible for defining and delivering Companion Protect’s product roadmap—creating value for our partners and customers through features and experiences enabled through our propriety PALS Applications. Her previous roles include over 20 years of experience in product portfolio management and project management in the consumer insurance and telecommunications industries. Betsy attended Harvard University and has earned multiple certifications including PMP Portfolio Management (PfMP), Certified SCRUM Product Owner (CSPO), and Certified Professional Coach–Career Coaching. She is based in Tennessee and is an active member of multiple purpose-driven organizations in her area.

Chuck Laue

Chair

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Chuck Laue

Chair

Chuck serves as the Executive Chair of Companion Protect and has over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. After graduating from Eastern Illinois University, he began his career with Kemper
Insurance before joining Lockton Companies, Inc. In Kansas City. He then co-founded lock\line, served as its president, and later became president and vice chairman after its merger with Asurion. Chuck is a member of the board at The Humane Society of the United States and chairs the boards of Great Plains SPCA, the Humane Society Legislative Fund, 50by40, Stray Dog Institute and Stray Dog Capital. He is also a licensed property and casualty producer and holds the certification of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Risk Management (ARM).

John Dunphy

Director

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John Dunphy

Director

John is a board member of Companion Protect, as well as the Vice President, Regulatory Counsel of Asurion. Prior to joining Asurion and CP, he worked in private practice as outside regulatory counsel for numerous insurance companies, agents, and other industry participants. He was also employed as legal counsel to the Florida Department of Insurance. John earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida. Prior to law school, John worked as a commercial lines insurance underwriter, providing him with a unique business-focused perspective on insurance regulatory compliance issues.

Caren Fleit

Director

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Caren Fleit

Director

Board member Caren is passionate about advocating for animal welfare and protection. In addition to serving on Companion Protect’s board, she is involved with numerous other values-driven organizations, including the Humane Society of the United States, Animal Care Centers of NYC, Catskill Animal Sanctuary, and Best Friends Animals Society. Aside from her organizational involvement, Caren is a Managing Director at Korn Ferry, a leading talent management and organizational consulting firm.

Aaron Jacoby

Director

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Aaron Jacoby

Director

Mr. Jacoby is the Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Finance for Old Republic International Corporation (ORI) and joined ORI in 2019 to focus on investor relations, corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, enterprise risk management and corporate finance initiatives such as capital market activity.

Prior to joining Old Republic, Aaron spent 18 years at RLI Corp., a publicly traded insurer, where he led a similar combination of strategic responsibilities. He previously served in audit and consulting roles with Ernst & Young and PwC. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University as well as a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Illinois and is a Certified Public Accountant

Dennis Langwell

Director

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Dennis Langwell

Director

Dennis J. Langwell has served on our Board of Directors since April 2023. He retired in 2021 from Liberty Mutual Group Inc., a holding company of Liberty Mutual Insurance Operations (“Liberty Mutual”), a global provider of insurance products and services, where he most recently served as Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations. Mr. Langwell joined Liberty Mutual in 1997 and served in various leadership roles during his tenure, including as President — Global Risk Solutions from 2018 to 2021 and as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 2003 to 2018. Mr. Langwell previously worked in finance and reporting roles for Liberty Mutual and other insurance companies and began his career at KPMG (Peat Marwick). Mr. Langwell currently serves on the board of Safety Insurance Group, Inc., and as a member of the board of trustees at Providence College and the USS Constitution Museum. Mr. Langwell received a Bachelor of Science degree (magna cum laude) in Accounting from Providence College. He is a former certified public accountant.

We believe Mr. Langwell’s qualifications to serve on our Board of Directors include his executive leadership experience at Liberty Mutual, his knowledge of the property and casualty industry, and his financial and accounting expertise.

Sanjiv Parikh

Director

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Sanjiv Parikh

Director

Sanjiv is the Managing Partner of Avanta Ventures where he drives venture capital investments, incubation / acceleration and corporate development. Avanta Ventures, the venture arm of CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA insurer, is developing a portfolio of disruptive growth assets across InsurTech, Mobility, and Insurance Adjacencies (fintech, cyber, IoT, blockchain, etc.)

Sanjiv has 25+ years of driving growth for corporations across the entire spectrum of corporate growth, spanning acquisitions, business development, evangelism, incubations, investments, licensing, operations, partnerships, sales, spinouts, and strategy. Sanjiv has strong operating experience having built and grown companies from the ground up as well as a solid technology foundation.

Prior to joining Avanta Ventures, Sanjiv led acquisitions, business development, and investments for SK Telecom in the Americas across Cloud Infrastructure, IoT, Media & Content and Analytics. At SK Telecom Sanjiv developed a Cloud TV offering helping it grow to over 17 million subscribers as well as serving on the Boards of several startups and venture funds. Previously, Sanjiv advised on software strategy for Ciena Corporation vis a vis SDN, NFV and Cloud Computing. Before Ciena, Sanjiv was Senior Vice President of Business Development at Sentilla Corporation where he helped turn-around and sell Sentilla to Ericsson. Formerly, Sanjiv was Corporate Vice President of Investments and Corporate Development for HTC and Managing Director of Corporate Ventures at Hewlett Packard. Prior to HP, Sanjiv was at Microsoft on the predecessor team to Microsoft Ventures, accountable for Microsoft’s engagement with the innovation community globally. Sanjiv has a deep career history with large corporations, but also helped launch RightWorks Corporation; an enterprise software startup sold to Internet Capital Group for $1.25 B.

Sanjiv is well versed in leveraging innovation to drive corporate growth. Sanjiv has driven engagements across AI, analytics, cloud computing, content, entertainment, finance, gaming, healthcare, infrastructure, insurance, mobility, music, networking, payments, software, telecom and video among others for consumers, enterprises and providers. Sanjiv brings a proactive, holistic, systematic and analytical approach to accelerating corporate growth.

Sanjiv holds a Mechanical Engineering degree with a minor in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

On a personal note, Sanjiv is an avid sailor, having been sailing for over 40 years both competitively and for leisure. Sanjiv has sailed off the coasts of California, Maine, Maryland, Florida, and in the Mediterranean off the coasts of France, Italy and Greece.

Dmitriy Smolyar

Director

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Dmitriy Smolyar

Director

Dmitriy is currently Senior Vice President & Group Head of Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) at Liberty Mutual Insurance where he leads Liberty Mutual’s corporate M&A team and oversees global M&A efforts including the assessment, valuation, due diligence, structuring and negotiations of potential M&A transactions.

Dmitriy has served in various M&A and corporate finance leadership roles over the past 15 years at Liberty Mutual Insurance, where he has managed the execution of several strategic U.S. and international acquisitions and divestitures across personal, specialty and commercial insurance lines for the company. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Bryant University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

Debbie Brackeen

Observer

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Debbie Brackeen

Observer

Debbie Brackeen is the executive vice president, and chief strategy & innovation officer for CSAA Insurance Group, which has offered automobile, homeowners and other personal lines of insurance to AAA members through AAA clubs for more than 100 years. CSAA Insurance Group has been rated A or better by A.M. Best for 90 years and is one of the top property and casualty personal lines insurers in the United States.

Ms. Brackeen leads the company’s organization in strategy, partnerships, innovation and venture investing. She has more than 25 years of experience and senior leadership at innovative high-tech companies, including Apple, Sun, HP, eBay, two venture-backed startups. Prior to joining CSAA IG, served as the global head of innovation at Citigroup.

Ms. Brackeen is currently serving as board observer to Kin Insurance, a member of the advisory board for The Institutes RiskStream Collaborative, and as a board director for the non-profits Legacy Youth Leadership and Thirst Project. She previously served as director and past chair of the Silicon Valley Forum, an adviser to the Astia Technology Committee, and adviser on the corporate board of the National Venture Capital Association.

Ms. Brackeen holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University. She has completed executive education programs at the Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, INSEAD, and Stanford Law School.

Protect the lives of pets everywhere with pet wellness and insurance