Welcoming Shepherd’s 2026 Partner Advisors
We’re excited to announce Shepherd’s Partner Advisory Board members as we head into 2026.
Looking back on the past twelve months, we’re incredibly grateful for the partners who helped launch our inaugural PAB. The conversations, feedback, and candor shared throughout the year exceeded every expectation we had. This group didn’t just offer perspective,they directly shaped our products, informed our roadmap, and influenced how we show up for the market. Shepherd is meaningfully better because of their contributions.
As we move into 2026, the Partner Advisory Board enters its next chapter. We’re building on the strong foundation established by our current advisory group and welcoming some exciting new voices into the conversation. The year ahead will be a pivotal one for Shepherd as we continue to expand our construction suite of products—bringing multiple offerings together into a true one-stop shop, increasing speed and underwriting efficiency, and further evolving our differentiated pricing models designed to support tech-forward builders.
Our 2026 Partner Advisory Board will play a critical role as we push toward new heights. We’re thrilled to welcome three new partners:
Kevin Jaeger
Central Region Brokerage Leader, Aon Construction & Infrastructure Group
Aon
Kevin Jaeger is the Central Region Brokerage Leader within Aon’s Construction & Infrastructure Group, where he leads a team responsible for marketing and negotiating complex casualty insurance programs for construction clients and large-scale projects. He partners closely with insurance carriers to deliver best-in-class pricing, coverage terms, and tailored risk solutions aligned to each client’s unique exposure profile.
Kevin began his career at Aon Risk Services in St. Louis in 2010 and joined Aon’s Construction & Infrastructure practice in 2016. His expertise spans brokering, program design, and coverage analysis for large, complex casualty programs, including practice and project-specific insurance such as CCIPs, OCIPs, RCCIPs, ROCIPs, and joint ventures. He has extensive experience across major commercial and civil construction projects and is known for leveraging strong carrier relationships, data, and market insight to deliver optimal insurance outcomes for his clients.
Lisa Puliga
Executive Vice President, US Construction Casualty
Howden
Lisa serves as an Executive Vice President to lead the Owner/Developer Project team within the US Construction Casualty group. Based in New York City, she brings over 25 years of construction brokering experience leading teams who specialize in customized casualty solutions through the program design of coverages, risk management services and competitive financial structures to meet the needs of her clients. Prior to joining Howden, she was the National Project Placement Leader at Marsh responsible for construction casualty programs ranging to multi-billion dollar single and multi-site project portfolios in a variety of industry segments including but not limited to residential, industrial, manufacturing, healthcare, education, energy, and infrastructure. Her career tenure also encompasses construction practice programs for General Contractors / Construction Managers, heavy civil contractors, and specialty trades.
Andrea Rusche
Senior Vice President, Insurance
American Global
Andrea Rusche is Senior Vice President of Insurance for American Global’s Texas operations, where she leads the insurance team in serving clients throughout the state. In addition to her leadership role in Texas, Andrea is also responsible for driving operational growth across North Texas. Nationally, she serves as American Global’s Practice Leader for Captive Insurance and Alternative Risk Financing, providing strategic direction and expertise in these complex areas. She recently spearheaded the successful launch of a national general contractor group captive, directing underwriting structure, feasibility, risk allocation, and carrier alignment.
Previously, Andrea served as Senior Broker for the Southeast region, based out of the Dallas office. In that role, she partnered with clients, prospects, and colleagues to elevate both the strategic and technical dimensions of the brokering process. Drawing on her strong background in claims and large account underwriting, Andrea brings a unique perspective that helps clients navigate a dynamic and challenging insurance market. Her experience includes crafting non-traditional risk mitigation and financing strategies tailored to complex construction and commercial needs.
We’re excited to welcome these new partners alongside our returning Partner Advisors: Wendy Ash (Regional Leader, WTW), Adrian Pellen (MD Construction, NFP an Aon Company), Matt Salamone (SVP, Lockton), Nils Sorenson (SVP, Arthur J. Gallagher), and Matt Summers (Head of Construction/Surety, Newfront)
