Who We Are  |  Employee Spotlight Get to Know Us

Todd Rodgers, CTO

What brought you to Haven Technologies?

1. The opportunity to disrupt a complex, data-intensive industry—in this case to figure out how to really make life insurance available to people in a customer-centric, efficient, and easy way
2. The ability to build a team from the ground up, creating a supportive and inquisitive culture of respect and positive impact
3. Working with leading-edge technology to create a large-scale, industry-leading platform.

What is your proudest achievement during your time at Haven Technologies?

Several come to mind. First, the ability to be able to help create the technology for a customer to apply, be underwritten, and have their policy issued all on the same platform is a highlight. Also, seeing our company grow and truly become an entity that delivers huge value not just to our client and the industry but to every customer that goes through our process.

How would you describe your hiring philosophy? What traits do you look for when considering whether to add someone to the Haven Technologies team? Is there anything unexpected?

I weigh both technical ability and positive impact on team culture heavily. On the tech side, I’m generally less focused on specific language expertise and more interested in the ability to think through and solve problems, communicate ideas and thought processes clearly, and a broad expertise in various aspects of software development. On the culture side, I look for individuals who will reinforce our culture of building things that matter and mattering to each other.

Is it true you have a farm? Any favorite things to grow? Anything you’ve been hoping to grow but haven’t yet?

Farm is definitely an overstatement—technically when not in the city I do live in an old barn that is part of what used to be an apple farm. My wife and I do have a vegetable garden — it started as a way of teaching our kids, but we’ve gained an appreciation for what it takes to grow food using organic approaches, such as the importance of soil health and crop rotation. We’ve had successes with tomatoes, corn, okra, and we are continuing to expand and experiment with what grows best in our soil and climate.

If we were to take a peek at your Spotify account, what would be your most-streamed song?

Probably something by Dave Brubeck or Oscar Peterson. In general, I listen to jazz, blues, baroque, and techno (not all at the same time).

What books are on your nightstand right now?

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Pollan, Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine by Lightman, and I’m also rereading Neuromancer by Gibson for probably the eighth time…

Who would play you in Haven Technologies: The Movie?

No idea—in fact, sign me up for audio engineer or lighting designer. That’s what I used to do back in college and am far more comfortable backstage than onstage.

Meet Todd on LinkedIn >

Daniel Flax, Head of Product

What is your role at Haven technologies?

As the Head of Product at Haven Technologies, I lead our talented & dedicated global Product Team as we design, develop, and deliver our technology for clients.

Why is now the right moment for innovation in life insurance?

Life insurance is a long-term relationship with clients, and there are active policies that are over 100 years old! With that kind of time frame, clients have traditionally valued stability and predictability over the latest-and-greatest innovative solutions. But, as digital technology has enveloped such a large part of people’s lives, they’ve come to expect easy, available and ever-present tech-enabled solutions to their daily needs. This is a great forcing function for the life insurance industry – to not only modernize the back-office processing, but also the experience for both the carrier users and the insured client.

How do you stay ahead of industry changes?

The best way to stay ahead of changes in our industry is to keep your eyes trained on where other industries are going. For example, the consumer tech world has been ahead of the insurance industry when it comes to digital transformation for years. By paying attention to what’s happening there–and critically, what consumers have become accustomed to expecting–we can apply those lessons learned to digital innovation in life insurance. 

What motivates you, both professionally and personally?

Professionally, I’m inspired by the consumer tech world. I pay close attention to developments in how people live, work and travel, and I’m always looking to see how those same advancements can be applied to improve insurance challenges.

Personally, History, of course. I once climbed the Great Pyramid of Giza!

What are your hobbies?

I’ve always loved cold weather and one of the biggest reasons is how much I love snowboarding (and when I was younger, skiing). I’ve had the opportunity to travel with my board to some fun places. Recently, my kids have gotten into it and my daughter and I have even snuck away on occasion for some mid-week runs.

As a natural born engineer, I love to work with my hands and build things. In the last few years, I’ve picked up the hobby of blacksmithing. I go to a forge in Brooklyn, NY (of all places!) and make knives and blades. I recently completed a gift for a friend of a Damascus steel chef knife and am currently working on a set of steak knives for our home.

Meet Daniel on Linkedin >