The Zebra Adds Four Vice Presidents Amid $1B Valuation and Growth

Two internal promotions and two external hires add expertise, big-brand experience to poise the company for new era

AUSTIN, Texas - May 4, 2021 - The Zebra, the nation’s leading insurance comparison site, welcomes four new Vice Presidents to the company’s leadership team. Jenn Erwin serves as the Vice President of Operations (the first in this position at the company) and Nick Whitlock serves as the Vice President of Product & Marketing Design. Justin Ewasko has been promoted to Vice President of Engineering (Products) and Jason Kennedy has been promoted to Vice President of Engineering (Platform).

“I’m very careful in bringing new leaders to the table at The Zebra because I put a lot of trust and faith in their responsibility to elevate not only their respective departments, but our entire company. Jenn and Nick brought the passion and skills we need at this very moment in time and I’m so excited to see them add to our (literally) award-winning culture,” says Keith Melnick, CEO, The Zebra. “Jason and Justin are veterans of The Zebra and their work speaks for itself: I’m so proud of their growth and look forward to working even closer with them in these new roles.”

Jenn Erwin, Vice President of Operations

Prior to joining The Zebra, Jenn Erwin served as the Head of Strategy & Delivery at Atlassian. With an impressive career spanning two decades of work in product management, strategy and operations, she is a self-described “problem solver” whose sweet spot is working at companies at the inflection point of massive growth, where she can make the most impact. Jenn’s experience comes at a pivotal time as The Zebra reaches a $1B valuation and evolution from startup to tech company. 

“I’ve been at tech companies large and small. The Zebra’s current position as a company that’s just outgrown the startup title is undoubtedly the phase where I’m most fulfilled: executing on meaningful work to set us up for long-term success,” says Jenn Erwin, VP of Operations at The Zebra. 

Nick Whitlock, Vice President of Product & Marketing Design

Nick Whitlock is a multi-disciplinary design leader with over 15 years of experience and previously served as Studio Director & Head of Design - Merchandising, Health & Wellness, Stores Associate Experience at Walmart Labs. He has led global design teams in creating solutions across a diverse set of industries including healthcare, education, finance, and eCommerce for companies like Capital One, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and ThyssenKrupp. 

“The Zebra has made incredible strides in their mission to disrupt the insurance industry and match customers with the perfect policy for them. Together with the team, I plan to build on the incredible progress made so far, elevating our product experience and launching breakthrough marketing creative,” says Nick Whitlock, VP of Product & Marketing Design at The Zebra.

Justin Ewasko, Vice President of Engineering (Products)

Justin has been with The Zebra for 3 years, and in that time has led a variety of projects to deliver on key business and engineering goals. His primary focus has been on growing the engineering organization and supporting autonomy and efficient execution across teams to support the rapid growth of The Zebra.

"Throughout my career, I've been motivated by solving complex problems. I'm excited to work with my team to figure out how we continue to quickly deliver new functionality to our users while continuing to hold ourselves to high standards of technical excellence as we grow and scale. We have an amazingly talented engineering team, and I'm energized to keep developing the innovative ideas that support our long-term vision," says Justin Ewasko, Vice President of Engineering (Products). 

Jason Kennedy, Vice President of Engineering (Platform)

Jason Kennedy has been with The Zebra since July 2016, joining a small development team at the time as an Engineer with experience in software consulting. Throughout his tenure and a variety of roles, Jason has spearheaded internal efforts to improve developer efficiency and work towards continuous delivery. Now specifically overseeing the Platform and Quality engineering teams, he will support the scale The Zebra expects to see as they continue to grow.

"It has been really fun getting to scale both the technology and the people here at The Zebra. I look forward to continuing to create a world-class Engineering department, focusing on increasing diversity and building on top of our already award-winning inclusive environment," says Jason Kennedy, VP of Engineering (Platform).

Jenn, Nick, Justin and Jason join a diverse group of leaders at The Zebra and serve alongside executive team members: Keith Melnick (Chief Executive Officer), Martina Hahn (Chief Product Officer), Meetesh Karia (Chief Technology and Chief Data Officer), Jessica Scelzi (Chief Commercial Officer), Brett Little (Executive Vice President, Finance & Administration), Ryan Hartman (Senior Vice President of Paid Marketing), Manijeh Noori (Senior Vice President of Engineering) and Josh Waldrum (Senior Vice President of Organic Marketing).

About The Zebra

The Zebra is the nation's leading, independent insurance comparison site. With its dynamic, real-time quote comparison tool, consumers can identify insurance companies with the coverage, service level, and pricing to suit their unique needs. The Zebra compares multiple insurance companies and provides agent support and educational resources to ensure consumers are equipped to make the most informed decisions about their home and auto insurance. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, The Zebra has sought to bring transparency and simplicity to insurance shopping since 2012 — it's "insurance in black and white."