Ethos Employee Spotlight: Nichole Myers
When have you felt most fulfilled in your career?
I am most fulfilled in my work when I am building a solution that solves real world problems. A life insurance benefit can change the trajectory of a person’s life after the loss of a loved one. While I have had the honor of holding a number of really incredible industry roles focused on data and technology, nothing motivates me more than the stories of the beneficiaries we serve in their time of need.
Why did you join Ethos?
Prior to Ethos I was with a major reinsurer, reporting to a leader who inspired me daily and really enjoying my work. But I was feeling increasingly detached from the front line fight closing the middle market protection gap. The role at Ethos came up and I immediately knew I had a tough decision to make.
I have long believed that a tight integration of sales and underwriting was the best way to change the paradigm. The chance to work at a digital distributor, with proprietary technology which also valued the power of underwriting was too good to be true. With the wide variety of experiences I had in insurance, it felt like the role I had been training for my entire career.
What do you want others to know about Ethos?
Don’t worry about us, we’re thriving :)
Start ups are like stars forming. It’s messy, hot, dirty work happening under a ton of pressure. People, structures and challenges come and go quickly. That creates misconceptions about what’s actually happening inside our walls and where we are headed.
In this rapidly evolving environment, nothing stays the same for long. Who we were last year is entirely different from who we are now. The current team at Ethos is the right team to get the job done. We are stacked with talented people, who will run through walls to get the job done. I’m absolutely enamored to work side by side with tough, talented people.
Who has been your greatest motivator/ mentor, and how have they impacted you professionally?
I have been truly blessed to have a number of mentors in my career. Including my current Executive Coach, Devin Singh. For that reason, I’ll answer this slightly differently. The person who made the most impact in my career was a Chief Underwriter by the name of Carlo Fusco. He’s the reason why I am where I am today.
My insurance career started when my friend convinced me to accept a role in a Metlife call center. I was working as a mental health counselor and really needed a change. It didn’t take long to progress into an entry level case management role. Carlo and I were usually one of a few people left in the office after 4:30 pm and we would often chat. One evening he asked about my future career plans. At the time my intention was to track into a sales role based on nudging from an RVP who I dealt with regularly. He stared at me for a few, very long seconds and said “Absolutely not, you’re going to be an underwriter”. As they say, the rest is history.
Carlo’s door was always open. He was and is a role model of a leader and talented underwriter. He always took the time to answer questions, no matter how big and little. To this day, when I’m stuck on an issue, I hear his voice saying “You’re an underwriter, make a decision”.
Nichole Myers joined Ethos in April 2022 as Chief Underwriter. When Nichole isn’t working to put insurance in the hands of the people who need it most, she enjoys cooking, crafting whiskey cocktails and taking dance classes.
