Highly Experienced Team
Mike Nelson
Chairman, Founder & Visionary
Mike Nelson is the Chairman and Founder of QuantivRisk, Inc., a risk management, and technology company. QuantivRisk provides technology for insurance companies, law enforcement and other organizations that have to adapt to the technological advancements impacting the transportation sector.
Mike is a self-described mobility nerd, trial attorney, and strategist. He draws on his lifelong experience in the mobility sector. Many professionals claim to understand these unusual risks. But few, if any, have the 40 years of experience Mike has enjoyed as an automotive mechanic, strategist, business owner, insurance industry leader, regulatory attorney, and litigator. He is also an active member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and serves on SAE’s Event Data Recorder committee (J1698) and SAE’s Advanced Driving System Data Logger Working Group Task Force (J3197).
The foundation of Mike’s professional life is built upon his 29 years as a commercial litigator and regulatory attorney. Mike’s litigation experience includes class action, multidistrict litigation, trial, and appellate work. He has litigated matters in most states in the United States and is licensed in five jurisdictions and admitted to practice in 20 U.S. district and circuit courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. Mike began his professional career in 1981 with Met Life Auto & Home where he started as a claims adjuster trainee and departed Met in 1992 as its regional claim leader for the mid-Atlantic region.
Mike was appointed to and currently serves on the RAND Corporation’s Institute for Civil Justice Board of Advisors. Mike also practices law, at the boutique law firm he recently founded, Nelson Niehaus LLC (nelson.legal), with offices in New York, Cleveland and Washington, D.C.
John Pettit
Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Pettit is an entrepreneurial executive with over 20 years of experience leading and growing innovative technology companies. He is a catalyst in creating high-performing world-class technology management and product development teams in both start-up and scaled growth stage companies. He currently serves as the CEO of Quantiv Risk and is on the advisory boards of technology firms Federato, IntellAgents, a FatBrain company, and is a mentor with the InsurTech New York Incubator.
Prior to his position with QuantivRisk , he was Sapiens International’s Chief of North American Strategy and Head of North American Property & Casualty Insurance Software. Previously he was founder and CEO of Adaptik Corporation, a startup insurance technology firm that he grew and eventually sold to Sapiens.
Before to founding Adaptik, Mr. Pettit founded and served as Vice President for the Insurance Software Products Division of MTW Corporation. Mr. Pettit was a Consultant with Coopers and Lybrand’s Financial Services Practice and an Underwriting Officer at Chubb Insurance Companies. He holds a master’s degree in business administration from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Hobart College.
Jim Korcykoski, Head of Product Development
Stephanie Niehaus, General Counsel
Stephanie has two decades of experience as a practicing lawyer and trusted counselor. Prior to partnering with Mike Nelson to form Nelson Niehaus LLC, Stephanie was a partner in an international law firm in its Cleveland and New York offices. She has considerable trial experience and routinely provides strategic risk avoidance and management advice to clients across industries. Stephanie has a keen interest in the legal implications of emerging technologies and frequently presents and writes on the topic. As General Counsel to QuantivRisk, Stephanie provides both legal counsel and her subject matter expertise to the business.
Stephanie is a graduate of Georgetown University and Notre Dame Law School. She is admitted to practice in three states and multiple federal districts and appellate courts. She currently resides with her two children and a rescue dog in coastal Connecticut, but she will never give up her Cleveland area code.
Dave Bano, President
Dave is an insurance claims and business operations expert. His role is to bring QuantivRisk’s fact-based efficient analysis process to the industry to provide a timely, accurate platform for decision-making.
Dave has served as the Chief Claims Officer of Nationwide Insurance and has led the introduction and development of the Pennsylvania Insurance Fraud Authority, served for years on the NICB Board of Governors, and was a senior member of the International Chief Claims Officers Roundtable. He brings a wealth of experience, professional relationships, and operational creativity to QuantivRisk. In addition, Dave collects and rebuilds classic muscle cars, a lifetime automotive enthusiast currently working on a 1969 Shelby GT-500 “barn find.”
Eugene Lee, Co-Founder & Chief Analytics Officer
Eugene oversees analytics and product development at QuantivRisk, leveraging the ever-increasing flow of data from today’s ADAS-enabled products (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems). He was most recently the CEO and co-founder of the fintech asset manager & robo-analytics firm, Digital Mosaic Capital, where he oversaw product development and trading across micro-lending platforms.
Prior, Eugene was at Neuberger Berman where he produced tactical overlay strategies for the firm’s $3 billion multi-manager portfolio. He also oversaw portfolio construction and macro research for the firm’s $200 million Emerging Market Debt systematic portfolio.
Eugene was also an algorithmic trader for Lehman Asset Management and managed data and model support team for the quant credit startup KMV (acquired by Moody’s Analytics). Eugene holds an MS in Financial Engineering and a BA in Economics from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and is a CFA charter holder.
Joseph Stroman, VP of Engineering
Joseph runs technology and product engineering at QuantivRisk and carries over 10 years of experience in engineering and DevOps. He was most recently lead engineer at the time-tracking analytics firm Cartwheel. Before joining Cartwheel, Joseph was a release engineer for the open-source app platform Xamarin. Following their acquisition, Joe moved back into the start-up world. Joseph holds a BA in Neuroscience from Boston University.
Geoff Smith, Head of OEM Product Operations
With more than 25 years of experience in the automotive and telematics space, Geoff has provided business development, program, and product management services for a number of Telecommunications, Telematics Service Providers, and Automotive companies. Most recently, as Vice President of Program and Account Management at Verizon Connect and Hughes Telematics, he was the chief architect and designer of the Mercedes-Benz “mbrace” connected vehicle service, making him a key member of the Verizon Connect/Hughes Telematics executive team that built a global enterprise from start-up to industry leader. Geoff previously spent over 17 years with Mercedes-Benz USA where he was responsible for launching the “Tele Aid” connected vehicle program and was a key stakeholder in launching several car-line products such as the S-Class, “smart,” B-Class and GLK. As a Telematics subject matter expert, he represented Mercedes-Benz and DaimlerChrysler as the leader of the cross-company Digital Transition Coalition for telematics policy at the FCC regarding E911 and Analog Sunset.
Geoff resides in the Hudson Valley with his wife Maryellen and their dog Titus, a Rhodesian Ridgeback. In his spare time, Geoff is an avid bicyclist and a bit of a Peleton devotee.