Management

Kieran A. Sweeney - President & CEO
Kieran Sweeney began his insurance career in 1987 at Lloyd's of London. Since then he has held a variety of executive roles managing insurance, reinsurance and general agency businesses. Before establishing Align, Mr. Sweeney was president and chief executive officer of Arrowhead General Insurance Agency (“Arrowhead”) in San Diego, California. Arrowhead is one of the largest general insurance agencies in the U.S., writing nearly $1 billion of personal and commercial lines premiums annually.

Mr. Sweeney joined Willis Faber, Plc at Lloyd's of London in 1987, where he worked as a broker and claims manager in the Construction Risks Division. 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 as vice president of Legal and Audit, president of Pan Atlantic Investors Limited and senior vice president and general manager of U.S. Capital Insurance Company. Mr. Sweeney graduated from University College Galway, Ireland in 1987 with a B.Sc. in Biochemistry & Immunology.

Jerry Batcheller - Chief Operating Officer
Jerry Batcheller began his insurance career in 1988 at Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, Inc. and held positions of increasing importance over 21 years with the company, ultimately becoming Chief Operating Officer, overseeing the operations of a nearly $1 billion in annual written premium business. Mr. Batcheller joined Align in April of 2008 to lead the Commercial Lines Division, which specializes in Public Transportation and niche Commercial programs.

John Johnson - Senior Vice President, Property
John Johnson joined Align in June of 2008, as Senior Vice President of Business Development to help expand Align’s current business. John has over nineteen years of insurance and management experience. Prior to joining Align, he spent five years managing catastrophe programs at ICAT Managers, most recently as the interim Chief Underwriting Officer/Regional Executive Officer for the Earthquake states and Hawaii.

Prior to joining ICAT Managers, Mr. Johnson was a Vice President, Program Manager with Bank of America where he was responsible for the Personal Lines Property Insurance programs for bank customers, including profitability, product development and integration. Before Bank of America, Mr. Johnson worked at Arrowhead General Insurance Agency Inc., as Vice President, Alternative Distribution. Responsibilities at Arrowhead included managing underwriting profitability, product development and marketing for company’s property business. Mr. Johnson graduated from the University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business with a B.A. in finance.

Frank Dunne - Senior Vice President, Specialty Program
Frank Dunne joined Align in July of 2007 to start and manage the Company's Specialty Program Division. He came from American Safety Insurance Company where he managed a profitable $100 million-plus portfolio of specialty E&S business. Prior to American Safety, Mr. Dunne was the Casualty Department Manager at United Capitol Insurance Company. He was a senior underwriter at Lexington Insurance Company for several years after spending five years as a wholesale broker with Heath Insurance Brokers and Crouse and Associates in San Francisco, California. Mr. Dunne started his insurance career at Fireman's Fund in 1988 after graduating from St. Mary's College with a B.A. in Philosophy in May of 1987.

Rod Eldred - Senior Vice President, Workers Compensation & Commercial Auto Divisions
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.