Executive Team

Sean Smith is President and Chief Executive Officer at AP Keenan, succeeding company founder and Chairman John Keenan in 2000. Under Sean’s leadership, the company has grown steadily, tripling annual revenues and building AP Keenan’s P&C pools to become some of the largest in the country. He has fostered innovation to stay ahead of market conditions and is now leading AP Keenan into nationwide expansion since becoming part of AssuredPartners in March 2017.

Sean has more than 35 years of operational, technical and marketing experience in the insurance consulting and brokerage business. He began his career at Prudential Insurance Company where he developed and negotiated their first preferred provider organization. He then served as a Major Accounts Manager for Anthem Blue Cross, where he handled large commercial and school clients. Sean served on the boards of both the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and World Presidents’ Organization (WPO).

Sean has received recognition throughout his career for both philanthropic and industry contributions including, Business Insurance “Millennium Heirs to the Industry,” LA Business Journal Health Care Leadership award, Peace Over Violence humanitarian award, Los Angeles Team Mentoring “Keystone Award.” As CEO of AP Keenan, Sean continues to expand the corporate social responsibility initiative that is core to the culture including initiating company-wide service days, middle school mentoring programs, and free programs that promote positive change and safety in schools.

Connect with Sean on LinkedIn.

David Seres is the Chief Operating Officer in the Torrance office. He is responsible for Finance, Human Capital, Information Technology, facilities and Captive Insurance Risk.

David has been with AP Keenan since 1999. He had most recently worked for Ernst & Young LLP in Dallas and Los Angeles for a total of five years. Subsequent experience also included work in the accounting department of a major company in the petroleum industry.

David graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, and is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute.

Connect with David on LinkedIn.

Tara Schilling, President, Claims Operations, is in charge of developing and managing all TPA Operations which includes claims administration for property & liability, workers’ compensation, medical benefit claims, and disability claims. Tara works closely with employers to design integrated claim management strategies and interventions that facilitate employer control of medical management, litigation, and disability issues and to minimize the adverse costs of claims cost drivers. Tara also develops managed care providers and claim payer outcomes. Also, she oversees our cost containment programs, Partnership for Review and Integration of Medical Expenses (PRIME) and Partnership for Review and Integration of Defense Expenses (PRIDE) and Regency Investigations.

Before joining AP Keenan in 1990, Tara worked for various third party administrators and insurance carriers where she was responsible for designing and implementing effective procedures and workflow, developing quality control, and creating outcome management reports.

Tara has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal Studies and is certified by the Department of Industrial Relations, Self-Insurance Plans as a Workers’ Compensation Administrator. She has also completed many technical and managerial courses pertinent to claims administration and is an active participant in various industry committees.

John Scatterday, President, Employee Benefits, oversees the sales, retention, and servicing of employee benefits and financial services products for all clients. John is further accountable for ensuring AP Keenan is investing in appropriate new product development, services, and technology initiatives to ensure AP Keenan’s programs and services are meeting the diverse needs of AP Keenan’s customers.

John began his career in the employee benefits business in 1984 gaining broad industry experience through carrier, technology, brokerage, and consulting positions. John advanced through sales and management positions at The Unum Group eventually becoming their National Practice Leader. After sixteen years at Unum, in 2000, John joined BenefitPoint, a California startup, focused on simplifying the RFP and renewal processes in the employee benefits industry. John served as BenefitPoint’s Vice President of Sales and Marketing until he joined AP Keenan in 2002.

John is an industry veteran with demonstrated success in employee benefits operations, product development, sales, service management, and technology. John received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Wittenberg University, Springfield Ohio in 1984.

Connect with John on LinkedIn.

John Stephens, President, Property & Casualty, has been in the insurance and risk management industry for more than 20 years. John began his career with Arthur J. Gallagher & Co, the third-largest insurance broker in the U.S. as part of their National College Internship Program and joined AP Keenan in 1998.

John oversees the Property & Casualty distribution and leads the corporate design and marketing of AP Keenan’s proprietary Property & Casualty programs working with the global reinsurance marketplace. Additionally, John has hosted several risk management symposiums and has been a featured speaker for several public agency organizations, including:

• California Association of Joint Powers Authorities (CAJPA)
• California Coalition on Workers’ Compensation (CCWC)
• California School Board Association (CSBA)
• Community College Internal Auditors (CCIA)
• California Association for School Business Officials (CASBO)

John has both Fire & Casualty as well as Life & Health licenses in the State of California. John graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California Lutheran University.

Connect with John on LinkedIn.

Dan Keenan, Senior Vice President, works closely with public agencies and P Keenan benefit consultants to design and implement retirement programs. His expertise lies in designing, marketing and implementing retirement plans and pension programs that fit public agencies’ unique needs. He has been instrumental in executing qualified early retirement plans, qualified defined benefit plans and specialized individual life insurance programs.

Dan joined AP Keenan in 1983, working first in the Personnel Services Department. He moved to Retirement Planning in 1984 when the first early retirement plans were implemented and was instrumental in improving the implementation of early retirement plans by negotiating with carriers to obtain a guaranteed annuity product as well as improving the counseling and enrollment process.

Dan graduated from California State University, Long Beach receiving a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources. He earned his Life Underwriters Training Counsel Fellow (LUTCF) in 1993 and his Certificate of Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) designation in 2013.

Connect with Dan on LinkedIn.

Jenise Tomasello, Senior Vice President, is responsible for the overall service delivery and administration functions of the field customer service teams.  Her responsibilities include overseeing the development and implementation of best practices that will enhance customer services throughout our organization. In addition, she maintains executive oversight of Benefit Underwriting and Actuarial Services, Product Development, Client Services and Marketing Departments.

One of our most experienced AP Keenan employees, Jenise joined Keenan & Associates in 1980 as a Service Representative, and has subsequently advanced into various management positions in the Schools Division and Corporate. Jenise has led a project to re-engineer the company’s employee benefits service delivery model to maintain efficiency and keep our customers’ costs more affordable. She is responsible for executive management of training on AP Keenan products and services, and for meeting and event coordination. She has extensive technical expertise in group benefits and organizational management.

Connect with Jenise on LinkedIn.