Leadership team

President and CEO

Kathleen O. Zortman

Kathleen O. Zortman joined American Modern as President and CEO in March 2026, bringing more than 30 years of executive leadership in the property and casualty insurance industry. In this role, she sets the overall vision and strategy for the organization while building a collaborative, innovation-driven, and results-focused culture that serves both customers and employees. A strategic and visionary leader, Kathleen has a proven track record of driving profitability, transformation, and sustainable growth across globally recognized insurance providers.

Prior to joining American Modern, Kathleen served as President & CEO of AIG’s Private Client Group, where she reduced catastrophic exposure, delivered consistent profitability, and led its transition into an independent Managing General Agent. She has also held senior executive roles at Chubb, Allianz, and QBE.

She graduated magna cum laude with a Master of Business Administration from Suffolk University in Boston, and holds a

Bachelor of Science in finance and marketing from Boston College.

Strategic Human Resource Business Partner

Sarah Farmer

Sarah is a results-driven HR leader with long-standing career at Munich Re. In her current role as Strategic Human Resource Business Partner for American Modern, Sarah advises the company’s C-suite and other top leaders on people topics such as workforce planning, development of top talent, and organizational change initiatives. Sarah has a strong foundation in strategic business partnering and talent acquisition, and she excels at delivering high-impact solutions that drive organizational growth, improve business outcomes, and foster a culture of innovation and excellence. Her expertise on critical people topics such as succession planning, executive recruiting and hiring, and career development makes her a trusted advisor to American Modern’s Executive Management Board in all matters concerning human resources and the employee experience.

Sarah’s unique blend of HR business acumen and leadership expertise has served her in many of her roles at Munich Re, including Head of HR and Global Coordinator, Digital Partners, and Head of Human Resources, Globality Health. She holds a Master of Education, Human Resource Development from Xavier University and is a certified Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR). She is also former Chair of the Education Commission at St. Veronica Catholic School in Cincinnati, Ohio. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys living a healthy lifestyle and spending time with husband Jim, daughters Teagan and McKenna, and their dog Oliver.

General Counsel and Corporate Counsel

Trey Griffith

Trey joined American Modern’s legal team in 2001, becoming Chief Legal Officer in 2013. Trey is a business-oriented general counsel with a proven 20-year track record of successfully bringing together a diverse team of lawyers and compliance personnel to represent the disparate legal and compliance needs of American Modern .

Prior to joining American Modern, Trey represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil litigation matters involving professional negligence, medical malpractice, products liability, and personal injury, managing all aspects of cases, mediation, and arbitration from inception through completion. Trey holds a BBA in Accounting from University of Cincinnati and a JD from Northern Kentucky University’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law.

Before going to college, Trey served in the U.S. Navy. Stationed aboard the U.S.S. Leftwich during the Gulf War in 1991, Trey participated in the first tactical Tomahawk cruise missile strikes in history. As a result of his service, Trey was awarded the Combat Action Ribbon, Navy Unit Commendation medal, and various campaign and service medals. He was honorably discharged.

Chief Financial Officer

René Gobonya

René joined American Modern in 2013 as Chief Financial Officer and is currently responsible for overseeing the accounting, reserving, finance, portfolio management and reinsurance as well as the financial compliance teams for the organization. René is the past Deputy Head of Group Controlling at Munich Re, as well as Head of Financial Planning and Analysis and also Head of Group Capital Management. Prior to that he held positions in the Primary Insurance space as the Global Controller for Winterthur’s large industrial business, Regional CFO and Managing Director for the Central and Eastern European region. During this period he has set up green field insurance operations in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Austria as well as a Representative Office in Poland to service local and global large industrial clients.

René earned his undergraduate degree and a Master in Economics from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. He is married with two children and speaks six languages.

Chief Digital and Operating Officer

Eric Hunziker

As Chief Digital and Operating Officer, Eric oversees American Modern’s IT, Business Operations, Producer Management, Operations Consulting, Enterprise Project Management Office teams, as well as strategic business and digital transformation projects for American Modern. Throughout his career at the company, Eric has demonstrated exceptional strategic, operational, and digital leadership, combined with a strong track record of transformation and people leadership. These skills, as well as Eric’s deep institutional knowledge, makes him the right person to lead American Modern’s digital and operational strategy into the future.

Eric’s career progression at American Modern is indicative of the organization’s commitment to helping employees grow their careers. Since joining the company in 1994 as a Claims Adjuster, Eric quickly progressed into higher-level roles not only within the Claims division, but also within the Producer Management department, where he led critical transformation efforts through the implementation of innovative solutions to improve efficiency and quality.

Eric holds a B.S. in Management from Purdue University and an M.B.A. from Indiana Wesleyan University, as well as several industry designations, including Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU). Eric represents American Modern as a member of the Clermont County Chamber of Commerce and served as Board Chair in 2022. Eric is an avid runner and participates in several races each year. He is married and has three daughters.

Chief Underwriting Officer

Kamalesh "Kam" Jha

Kam joined American Modern in 2020, with more than 20 years of experience in technology and insurance. As Chief Underwriting Officer, he is responsible for the execution of the organization’s product, pricing, underwriting and data analytics strategy. He brings in-depth experience in personal lines, specialty insurance space and is skilled at bridging the gap between market insurance needs and technology solutions.

Prior to joining the company, Kam held several executive roles at various insurance organizations. He has a proven track record of driving results through delivery of innovative solutions, building high performance teams and effective cross-functional collaboration and has led the development of various next generation insurance products, including Auto, Homeowners, Telematics and Flood.

Kam holds a Bachelor of Technology degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Varanasi, India, as well as an MBA in Marketing and Product Management from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Chief Sales and Marketing Officer

Kevin Morreale

Kevin oversees the Sales and Marketing Division which includes Specialty Clients, Customer Service and Customer Experience. He is responsible for both the profit and growth for all personal line products and programs which are sold through multiple channels of distribution.

With over 30 years of experience with American Modern, Kevin’s career progression is indicative of the organization’s long-standing commitment to associate personal development. Starting out as a watercraft product manager in 1991, Kevin has since held multiple roles in Product, Sales, Strategy Business Development and more. He became CSMO in 2015. In addition to this role, Kevin previously served as the Executive Sponsor for American Modern’s MOSAIC ERG, the employee resource group dedicated to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Prior to joining American Modern, Kevin worked as a marine underwriter for a large managing general agency. Kevin earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Canisius College in his home town of Buffalo, New York.