SPECIAL REPORT
YOUNG GUNS 2019
JJ BITTKER Manager of strategic initiatives BURNS & WILCOX CANADA Age: 28
JJ Bittker started his insurance career as a marketing specialist with H.W. Kaufman Group, the parent company of Burns & Wilcox Canada, where he quickly became known for helping to drive business through various marketing initiatives. In 2015, Bittker transferred to the Burns & Wilcox office in Toronto to assist with the overall growth of Burns & Wilcox Canada, and he was recently promoted to manager of strategic initiatives. One of his proudest accomplishments has been helping to create an innovative dashboard that showcases Burns & Wilcox Canada’s retail clients’ business with the firm, which is now used by producers throughout the US and Canada. Bittker is also invested in the expansion of the company’s commercial ocean marine practice and provides marketing support to the corporate team and other Kaufman Group companies. Since moving to Toronto in 2015, Bittker has been an active member and sponsor of the Young Insurance Professionals of Toronto. In 2016, he graduated from the Kaufman Emerging Leaders Program, and he was selected for the prestigious Kaufman Advanced Management Program in 2018.
FUN FACT Bittker helped lead the Burns & Wilcox teams to three Toronto intramural championship titles in 2018 for volleyball, flag football and soccer.
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ADAM THOMSON Account executive TOOLE PEET INSURANCE Age: 32
At Toole Peet Insurance, Adam Thomson has been a leader in building and implementing online commercial programs and applications for individual, provincial and national groups, including a recent online program for a mall development that allowed the firm to obtain the majority of the market share of the building in just over eight weeks. Thomson was also responsible for expanding and marketing Toole Peet’s existing real estate program, RealProSure, in British Columbia and New Brunswick. “I’m continually looking for different ways we can change the insurance-buying experience for our clients,” he says. “I feel the market and public are ready for different, non-traditional processes, as well as refreshing ways of looking at insurance all together. This is an exciting time for insurance, as it seems we’re on the verge of distributors entering the marketplace. I’m a big believer that there are always opportunities – it’s just knowing how to recognize and seize them.”
BRETT KANUKA Director of marketing CMB INSURANCE BROKERS Age: 32
Over the past seven years, Brett Kanuka has worked his way up from data entry clerk to director of marketing at CMB Insurance Brokers; he also became part owner of the firm last year. During this time, he has also built a book of business worth more than $1 million in commission income, with a focus on the transportation and oil & gas industries. Dedicated to mentoring new producers to promote the growth of his firm and the industry as a whole, Kanuka is currently working with his third generation of newbies to help them learn the job, the industry and how to become a successful producer. Outside of insurance, Kanuka is involved with several community sports, including softball, hockey, squash and dodgeball.