iA American’s Executive Leadership

Kristen Gruber

President

Kristen is a highly respected F&I leader with three decades of industry experience, most of which have been spent in the Dealer Services niche. Her background spans many sides of the Dealer Services distribution channel, from insurance company to administrator to broker. Kristen joined iA American in 2014 as President of Dealers Assurance Company (DAC). Under her leadership, DAC achieved its first “A” rating from A.M. Best in 2020, after 34 years with an “A-” rating. Kristen was named President of iA American in January 2020. Early in her career, she spent 13 formative years with Great American Insurance Company in various management roles, including underwriting, product development, and data analytics. Kristen completed her Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation, earned her business degree from St. Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana, and her MBA from Thomas More University in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.

Mylène Rioux

Chief Financial Officer

Mylène joined iA American’s parent company, iA Financial Group, in 2008 and held various management positions prior to becoming iA American’s Chief Financial Officer in 2023. Mylène is known for her collaborative leadership style and brings with her a depth of financial management experience, including accounting, actuarial, capital management, pricing, and mergers and acquisitions functions. Mylène holds a Canadian bachelor’s degree in Actuarial Sciences, is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (FICA), and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA).

Doug Guziec

Chief Operating Officer

Prior to joining iA American in 2017, Doug led strategy and business development for Rent-A-Center, Inc., along with Vizient, a privately held healthcare services firm. Doug also has experience with consulting firms Booz & Company and Bain & Company, and the Strategic Planning/M&A group at JPMorgan Chase. Achieving top honors as a Palmer Scholar, Doug received his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with majors in finance and strategic management. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Southern Methodist University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a degree in Mathematics.

John Lutman

Chief Revenue Officer

A seasoned automotive professional, John joined iA American in 2012, and has over 25 years of experience in the industry. Prior to his current role, he served as Senior Vice President of Sales, Senior Vice President – Head of Agent Channel, and National Sales Director for Agent and Dealer Development. Prior to his time with iA American, John served in a variety of roles such as General Manager, Controller, and CFO of major dealerships in the Washington D.C./Baltimore Areas. In addition, he served as an Account Executive within a general agency where he trained, coached, and developed business managers, and provided turnkey reinsurance management financial plans for dealerships and their principals. John is a graduate of Howard Community College, with a degree in Business Administration. He also completed the NADA Dealer Academy.

Preston J. Haglin

Vice President of Emerging Businesses and Innovation

Preston has a demonstrated history of growing teams, revenue, and EBITDA in the media and automotive sectors. He joined iA American in 2017 as Head of our Direct-to-Consumer Division before transitioning to his current role. Prior to iA American, Preston was Head of Operations for KingStar Ventures, Chief Operating Officer for Media Properties Holdings, President of Lead Generation Technologies, and Director of Marketplace Operations for LeadPoint. He has a MA in Mathematics from Villanova University, and a BA in Physics from Colgate University.

Frank Klaus

Chief Senior Advisor

Frank started his career in the automobile industry in 1980 selling vehicles at a local Oklahoma dealership. Due to his hard work and business dedication, he quickly worked his way up to the position of General Manager. In 1987, Frank decided to expand his experience by joining General Financial Systems, a California-based administration company. While working for General, Frank learned the reinsurance business and traveled across the country forming and managing Producer Owned Reinsurance Companies (PORCs). At the time, Frank was one of the few experts in this area, and is a nationally known reinsurance expert. He formed First Dealer Resources (FDR) in 1989 to provide superior aftermarket products and training to dealers in Oklahoma and surrounding states. Prior to its acquisition by iA American in 2014, FDR had become one of the largest independent general agencies in the country. Frank also has equity ownership of three Oklahoma-based franchised dealerships.

Ryan Smith

Chief Strategy Officer

Ryan is a seasoned marketer and strategist with over 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and consulting. He joined iA American in 2017 after five years with the NetSpend division of TSYS. While there, Ryan led the Marketing Operations group, focusing on the operational aspects of sending personalized communications to millions of cardholders. Prior to Marketing Operations, he was Director of Retention Marketing, responsible for all communications to current cardholders for two of NetSpend's four divisions. Before NetSpend, Ryan honed his marketing skills at Dell, Blockbuster, and IBM. As Chief Strategy Officer, Ryan coordinates and drives our go-to-market strategy across all departments. He holds an MBA in Marketing from the University of Texas – McCombs School of Business, and a BA in Business from Southwestern University.

Katy Agnor

Chief Information Officer

Katy Agnor joined iA American in 2017 as the company's CIO, bringing with her more than 25 years of software development and IT operations experience. She has held key software development roles at NetSpend, MessageOne, Excite, Acuity, and Onebox. Katy is a passionate champion of Lean-Agile practices, focusing software delivery on customer value by creating an environment that welcomes change, promotes constant learning, respects people, and empowers self-organizing and self-managing teams. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Michael Perrett

Vice President & Chief Legal Counsel

Michael is a seasoned attorney who has been practicing law for over 25 years. After 13 years with an F&I benefits administrator, having served as General Counsel the last 10 years, he joined iA American in 2023. Prior to his legal career in automotive, Michael served as counsel for several publicly traded companies in the information technology space. He holds a law degree from the University of Alabama School of Law.