Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mr. Hankey completed his BA and post-graduate work at the University of Southern California in 1965. Possessing a keen understanding of finance, by age 27 Mr. Hankey became Vice President of a major investment banking firm, which would later become part of USB Paine Weber.

With a family history in the automobile business, Mr. Hankey acquired Midway Ford in 1972 and the dealership’s business flourished. During the 1980s, the organization acquired additional dealerships to its growing portfolio and established a firm foothold in the financial services industry. Today, financial services comprise a major part of the organization’s success.

Mr. Hankey believes that focus and execution are the keys to success. “We strive to grow revenue every year by at least 20%,” he explains, “and keep our profit as a percentage of revenue above industry averages.”

With the advent of the Internet, Mr. Hankey has swiftly incorporated technology into every aspect of the Hankey Group of companies.

Amit Shah is the President for Knight Insurance Group and Chief Operating Officer for the Hankey group and serves on the Board of Directors on all the major companies of the Hankey Group. Mr. Shah’s primary responsibility is to grow the group’s net income by adopting best practices and taking a leadership role in building, implementing and overseeing all of the systems, processes, workflows and procedures across each of the companies and managing risk. Mr. Shah plays a critical role in helping to shape and guide the future growth and development of the group. Mr. Shah also helps run the HG 401k fund for the whole group.

Prior to working at the Hankey Group, Mr. Shah worked for Westlake Financial Services, a technology based finance company in the role of Senior Vice President of Servicing overseeing the Customer Service, Collections, Remarketing, Recovery, Bankruptcy and Consumer Litigation Departments. Mr. Shah offers a successful track record in driving process improvements, creating
efficiencies and motivating teams to create dynamic products that meet market demand and revenue targets. He demonstrates strong leadership and communication abilities combined with a personal commitment to inclusiveness and team empowerment.

Mr. Shah earned an Executive M.B.A. degree from the University of Southern California, a M.S. degree in Computer Engineering from Syracuse University and a B.E. degree in Electronics Engineering from Mumbai University.

John M. Rygh is General Counsel for the Knight Insurance Group. He is a licensed attorney and has been authorized to practice law before all California Courts since 1986. Mr. Rygh was a principle and equity partner in an insurance defense litigation firm and has represented insureds and insurance companies throughout his career. After 24 years in private practice Mr. Rygh became Managing Counsel for the Southwest Region for Fidelity National Financial, a Fortune 500 company with the largest market share in the title insurance industry. Mr. Rygh joined the Knight Insurance Group as General Counsel in November of 2012 where he oversees corporate matters, regulatory compliance, and litigation.

Jackie Leung is the Chief Financial Officer for Knight Insurance Group. Ms. Leung joined Knight Insurance Group in April 2006. She is a CPA and member of the associate of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Ms. Leung is responsible for all accounting functions including financial reporting, payroll, budgeting, financial planning and enterprise risk management. Ms. Leung often collaborates with different teams to streamline and improve accounting and operational processes. She has a major in accounting and graduated from University of Southern California.

Scott Bartley is the Senior Underwriter at Knight Insurance Group. Scott has enjoyed a successful career of over 35 years in commercial underwriting, risk management, insurance purchasing, analytical thinking, strategic planning, decision making, and profit optimization, across the US & UK markets.

Throughout his career and in his current role Scott’s endeavor is to assist in conceptualization, development, and enhancement of underwriting strategies and procedures, foster long-term profitable relationships with producers and customers and direct all efforts towards generation of immediate & long-lasting results in any environment.

Mike Pepitone is the Manager in the Underwriting Department at Knight Insurance Group. He has held various commercial underwriting Practice Leadership positions at major Property & Casualty insurance companies during his 40 years in the insurance industry, including 12 years as Senior Risk Manager at a Reinsurance Group, followed by serving as Liaison for Government Affairs at a regional Property & Casualty Insurer, and later as Special Risk Manager at a Casualty Underwriting Group. He has expertise in casualty underwriting operations and extensive knowledge of Home Office Enterprise Underwriting Risk Management.

Kelly Nicolas is the Program Manager at Knight Insurance Group and has been with the company since 2017. She has a B.S. in Business Management from California State University, Northridge and a background in business operations and marketing.

Jenny Lemus-Aguilar is the Regulatory Compliance Manager at Knight Insurance Group. Jenny joined the company in 2001 when it was solely a producer agency and third-party administrator of claims and has witnessed the company’s growth to becoming a carrier and reinsurer. She began her career in insurance as a Claim’s Customer Service Representative and later became the Customer Service Manager. In 2006, she formed a compliance team and developed protocols to ensure overall compliance in a highly regulated industry. Jenny advises Knight Insurance Group companies and external partners of regulatory changes in the industry and develops compliance initiatives to meet statutory requirements. Jenny holds a BS in Business Management.

Adi Samanta is the Risk Manager of the Group. Adi monitors program profitability, estimates actuarial reserves, reviews rate adequacy, and creates reports to track internal and external performance of adjuster and underwriters. Adi has also worked for Westlake Financial Services, a technology-based finance company as a Senior Risk Analyst where he ran statistical analysis to enhance the company’s underwriting algorithm and reduce charge-off rates. He also built analytical reports to analyze efficiency within the Flooring Department and implemented improvements to operational processes at Westlake. Prior to working at the Hankey group, Adi worked at Deloitte Consulting in the Strategy and Operations practice creating business plans and financial models for several media and technology companies.

Adi holds MBA from the University of Southern California and B.S. in Business and Economics from Purdue University.

Jason Zhao is a data-driven insurance professional with a solid background in Math, Modeling and Actuarial Science. Jason is a strong proponent of using data analytics for pricing and underwriting strategies. Jason joined Knight Insurance group in 2016 and has helped the company to build a data focused analytical team and develop various models and dashboards to oversee program performances. Jason holds a M.S from the University of Southern California with a major in Mathematical Finance.