Sapiens, a SaaS-based smart insurance software solutions company, has appointed experienced insurtech sales leader Kellen Petersen as executive vice president of sales, Americas.
He will be based in Washington, D.C., and report to Sapiens Chief Revenue Officer James Hannay.
In his new role, Peterson will lead sales across the Americas, with responsibility for revenue growth and go-to-market execution as the company expands the insurance company’s AI strategy.
He will be responsible for developing regional sales strategies and leading unified sales and pre-sales organizations, ensuring strong coordination from pipeline creation to deal closing.
The executive brings more than 15 years of property insurance and enterprise technology experience and strength to the company, as well as a proven track record of building high-performing sales organizations.
Most recently, Petersen served as executive vice president and global head of sales for KatRisk. During his tenure, he oversaw the entire sales cycle from pre-sales to closing, focusing on net new business, customer retention and new product launches, while also successfully integrating three acquisitions.
His previous leadership roles include Vice President, Risk Data Solutions at Swiss Re, where he drove new revenue growth in the U.S. and Canada. He also held senior sales leadership positions at National General Insurance Company, a division of Allstate.
Commenting on his appointment, Peterson said: “North American insurance companies are under real pressure to modernize their core business and not just tack AI on to legacy systems. Most vendors sell point solutions.
“Sapiens is one of the few companies that can re-architect the insurance company’s end-to-end platform and tiered agent capabilities on that foundation. It’s a different conversation and one I want to have.”
