Head of Wholesale Underwriting & Brand Launch

Shepherd; Fort Worth (TX); On-site; USD 350,000 - 425,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

Fertility benefits and family building

Unlimited PTO

Daily meals

Office locations: SF, NYC, Dallas, CHI

Professional development

401(k) plan

Dog-friendly office

Job summary

Shepherd is expanding its wholesale underwriting team across major U.S. markets, including Dallas–Fort Worth, NYC, SF, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, and LA.

The Head of Wholesale Underwriting will design the wholesale brand, set appetite and growth targets, and lead a cross‑functional team to scale the wholesale/channel strategy with strong broker relationships and executive leadership visibility. The role offers a base salary of $350k–$425k plus bonus and equity, reflecting 12+ years of wholesale

Qualifications

• 12+ years in wholesale and E&S P&C with leadership roles.
• Proven track record building or scaling wholesale business, product line, or channel.
• Deep relationships with national and regional wholesale brokers.
• Strong command of E&S business, wholesale channel dynamics, and compliance.
• Experience leading underwriting teams and audits.
• Executive presence to present strategy and results to leadership and partners.
• Travel willingness to meet brokers, partners, and team (~25%).
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience; construction accounting, finance, or law a plus.

Responsibilities

• Launch Shepherd's wholesale business and brand.
• Define wholesale strategy, including products, appetite, brokers, and growth targets by line.
• Work with Underwriting leadership to establish wholesale-exclusive classes and E&S products.
• Hire product underwriting leaders; develop guidelines, authority, and rating forms.
• Structure distribution with wholesale broker partners and agreements.
• Coordinate with capacity and reinsurance partners to back the program.
• Partner with Product, Engineering, and Data to design a wholesale submission-to-bind workflow.
• Own premium, profit, retention, and expenses for the wholesale business.
• Hire and grow a team of wholesale leaders, underwriters, and support staff.
• Collaborate with Corporate Underwriting to set authority and run audits; align with Claims, Actuarial, and Finance.

Skills

Wholesale underwriting

Leadership

Broker relationships

Executive presence

Strategic planning

Travel readiness

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Job description

Shepherd is expanding its wholesale underwriting team across major U.S. markets, including Dallas–Fort Worth, NYC, SF, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, and LA.

The Head of Wholesale Underwriting will design the wholesale brand, set appetite and growth targets, and lead a cross‑functional team to scale the wholesale/channel strategy with strong broker relationships and executive leadership visibility. The role offers a base salary of $350k–$425k plus bonus and equity, reflecting 12+ years of wholesale