Board of directors /
conseil d’administration

Marykate Townsend, CMGA, CAIB – CAMGA President

Manager & Senior Underwriter
Pacific Marine Underwriting Managers Ltd

MaryKate is the Senior Underwriter and Manager of Pacific Marine Underwriting Managers Eastern Canadian Region. It is her passion to help brokers across Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario build a profitable pleasure craft book of business. MK, as she is known, represented, and advocated for brokers as a board of director for the London Insurance Brokers Association (LIBA) including the role of President. She is well known in the ON broker channel and is also connected with the greater community where she is an advocate for life jacket legislation and drowning prevention. Always keen to learn and continue her education, MK is currently working towards obtaining her CMGA designation. Her experience and dedication to the insurance industry will bring a wide breadth of knowledge to help promote the mandate of the CAMGA. Marykate recently became one fo the first to graduate the CMGA designation, an Insurance Institute run course specifically designed for the MGA industry in Canada.

MICHAEL LOUGH, FCIP, CRM – CAMGA Chair

Vice President of Community Services
Intact Public Entities

Michael’s insurance career began in the early 1990’s. His focus is to develop relationships with specialized brokers across Canada and create new opportunities with specialty organizations and targeted associations. Michael and his team of experts specialize in creating new and unique solutions for brokers and clients by providing the best risk solutions available enabling Intact Public Entities to be an innovator and pioneer in the insurance industry.

KENT PITKIN

CAMGA Vice-President
APRIL

Kent joined the insurance industry in 2005 starting off as a summer student and working his way through the insurance industry, with a focus on learning and development through experience.   Currently the Vice President of APRIL Canada Inc. with a wide range of experience in underwriting, sales and business development, systems development, development of market relationships and product development in relation to Primary Insurance, Reinsurance, and MGA markets.  These experiences will be an asset to assisting in promoting, enhancing, and bolstering the MGA community through education and action.

Mo Kaur

President & COO
Premier Group

After graduating with a Bsc first class honours in Mathematical Studies, Mo was brave enough to select insurance to be her chosen career path. Kicking off in 1989 as a graduate management trainee with the Royal Insurance in London, UK. Today holding over 33 years of Underwriting / Industry experience (North America & UK) in all lines of Insurance – Property, Casualty and Specialty, with leading Insurance Carrier’s and MGA’s. Execution orientated and a confident compelling communicator currently serving as the President & COO, PREMIER, overseeing the execution of the company strategy and profitability management.  With an established foundation in Product/Business Development, Marketing, Claims, Operations, Accounting and knowledge of both Canadian/Lloyds UK Regulatory Compliance, Mo hopes to provide some valuable insights to assist this ever evolving MGA community.

JOHN A. BARCLAY

President & Chief Executive Officer
Three Holdings Inc.

John has spent over 25 years in the insurance industry and has held a diverse range of roles and responsibilities, in both retail broker and underwriting businesses. John’s role at Three Holdings focuses on the execution of the company strategy and performance management for the group with an active role in Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Development.

Denise Yeng

Director, Carrier Relations
Specialty Program Group Canada

Denise began her insurance career in 2006 as a personal lines underwriter, then moving into business development. Throughout the years, she has cultivated her marketing and business operations acumen having worked progressively senior positions in Business Development for domestic insurers. Today she is part of the executive management team at Specialty Program Group Canada (SPGC) as Director, Carrier Relations where she leads day to day oversight on carrier and capacity management supporting 3 SPGC MGA brands: Cansure, Beacon, and i3 Underwriting. Outside of her day-to-day responsibilities, she has also contributed her personal time on the board of directors of the WICC BC Chapter for 4 years as Communications Chair, as well as Vice Chair on the revived YIPBC board in its inaugural year in 2019. Denise has also been previously recognized by the Insurance Brokers Association of BC as a recipient of the Rising Star award in 2019.

STEVE MASNYK

Managing Director
CAMGA

Steve has been a government and public affairs professional for more than 20 years. He has worked for a large Canadian bank, a foreign government, several government elected representatives. He worked for 12 years at the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada and started his own government relations firm SkyBridge Strategies, which represents segments of the insurance industry with governments. He was appointed Managing Director of CAMGA in October 2020