Leadership Team

John is the Chief Executive Officer and one of the founding members of Jencap Group. Under his leadership, Jencap has grown from an idea to the fourth largest wholesaler in the country in less than six years. John’s strategic vision for Jencap guides the ongoing management of existing entities, along with all future M&A activity at the firm.

John has more than 35 years of insurance industry experience, the past 30 of which have been focused exclusively on the wholesale distribution space. Prior to Jencap, John was CEO and a founding member of Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance (WTCI), which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Jencap. Other roles he has held in the insurance industry include President and CEO of Crump Insurance Services, and President of BISYS Commercial Insurance Services following its acquisition of Tri-City Brokerage where he was also the President.

John is an active supporter of many industry associations and various charities nationwide; including but not limited to the Spencer Educational Foundation, Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, St. Baldrick’s Day and more.

Mark is the President of Jencap Group. Under his leadership, he works with the Jencap management team to develop strategic plans, drive overall growth initiatives, manage carrier and broker relationships, and work with affiliate company leaders to achieve an effective cross-selling practice.

Most recently, Mark was Chief Operating Officer of Jencap and President of its NIF Group division, a managing general agency and wholesale insurance brokerage where he served for over 30 years.

Mark began his insurance career in 1981 as a Property Facultative Broker at Willcox Baringer Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson and Higgins. Other roles he has held throughout his insurance industry tenure include Property Facultative Underwriter at Kaler Carney and Liffler; Underwriting Manager for Allstate Insurance Company; Assistant Vice President at Delany Management for both facultative and treaty reinsurance, on and off the New York Insurance Exchange; and Assistant Vice President at Danmar Associates.

Mark attended the College of Insurance Work-Study program from 1978-1982.

Kyle is a seasoned insurance finance executive with extensive experience leading financial strategy, operational finance, planning and analysis, and corporate transformation initiatives across specialty insurance organizations. As Chief Financial Officer, he oversees all aspects of the company’s finance function and works closely with the leadership team to execute growth strategies, optimize capital deployment, and drive shareholder value.

Prior to Jencap, Kyle held senior finance leadership positions at Argo Group, AIG, Plymouth Rock Assurance, and Liberty Mutual Insurance. Over the course of his career, he has developed deep expertise in insurance operations, financial planning and analysis, capital management, corporate planning, portfolio analytics, and strategic decision-making. He began his career in financial services with Morgan Stanley and UBS.

Kyle earned an MBA from the University of Rochester Simon School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Rochester. He is passionate about building high-performing teams, developing future leaders, and leveraging data-driven insights to create sustainable business growth.

Maria has over 20+ years of experience developing and implementing effective Human Resources strategies. While she started her career in recruiting for Financial Services organizations, she quickly transitioned into HR Partnering roles with Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. After completing the Strategic HR Management Program at Harvard Business School, she progressed to more strategic HR senior leadership roles with WTW, formal Willis Towers Watson, and Markel Corporation. Her most recent role was as SVP of People with NIP Group where she led the Human Resources organization and implemented many innovative HR strategies for the insurance intermediary. Maria earned a BS degree in Human Resources and Finance from Salve Regina University. When not leading people professionally, Maria enjoys spending time with her family, especially sailing and sailboat racing.

John LaCava is the President of Jencap Programs, where he is responsible for the disciplined growth, profitability, and governance of Jencap’s expanding program portfolio. In this role, he provides strategic leadership focused on scaling the business while maintaining underwriting excellence, operational rigor, and strong program oversight.

John has been an insurance professional since 1985 and brings extensive underwriting, operational, technical, and executive leadership experience to the organization. His corporate strategic planning and organizational leadership have been instrumental in executing agency acquisitions and expanding Jencap Program Administrators’ product portfolio.

Prior to co-founding Aran Insurance Services Group (now known as Jencap Program Administrators) in 2009, John held various C-level positions throughout his career, most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer of Jencap, along with Executive Vice President and Director for QBE North America.

John is active in his local community, supporting and coaching various youth sports teams. His charitable efforts include helping raise more than $2 million for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation in support of childhood cancer research.

John holds an MBA from Pace University’s Lubin Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Fordham University.

President, Jencap Brokerage Division

Joe Hayes is a highly respected insurance executive with nearly three decades of experience in casualty underwriting, wholesale brokerage, and specialty insurance leadership. Widely recognized for his expertise in complex casualty, construction, and real estate risks, Hayes has built a distinguished career defined by deep market relationships, strategic leadership, and a commitment to delivering innovative risk solutions.

Hayes began his career as an underwriter with Gen Re before advancing to Vice President at Crump Insurance, where he further developed his expertise in casualty underwriting and wholesale brokerage. In 2010, he joined Wholesale Trading Insurance Services (WTIS) as a Director, helping to expand the firm’s capabilities and reputation within the specialty casualty marketplace. Following WTIS’s transition to Jencap in 2021, Hayes played a pivotal role in the continued growth of the organization, most recently serving as National Casualty Practice Leader, where he was instrumental in strengthening carrier partnerships, expanding market access, and driving profitable growth across the casualty business.

As President of Jencap’s Brokerage Division, Hayes provides executive oversight of the company’s transactional brokerage operations, with responsibility for governance, strategic planning, and enterprise-wide brokerage execution. In this role, he is focused on advancing operational excellence, strengthening collaboration across business lines, and supporting Jencap’s continued growth strategy. His appointment reflects Jencap’s commitment to building a scalable leadership structure that positions the organization for long-term success while continuing to deliver exceptional value to clients, carrier partners, and colleagues nationwide.

Known for his industry expertise, entrepreneurial mindset, and unwavering commitment to service, Hayes remains a trusted leader whose influence continues to shape the future of Jencap’s brokerage platform.

Les is the Executive Vice President of Jencap. His role on the executive management team includes corporate development, business evaluation, integration, compliance and administrative management.

He was a member of the founding team of Wholesale Trading Co-Op Insurance Services, LLC, whose focus included the development of specialty market capabilities, programs, in-house facilities and administrative management. Prior to WTCI, Les was Executive Vice President of Crump Insurance Services, with duties comprising the firm’s national carrier relations and product development initiatives.

Before joining Crump’s legacy Tri-City operation in New York, he was a principal with an underwriting management and wholesale brokerage firm also located in New York.

Les was Chairman of the Surplus Line Association of CA, President of the Professional Insurance Wholesalers Association of New York State, an officer and Board Member of the Excess Line Association of New York, and has served on various committees of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices (now WSIA).

He holds a BA degree from the Pennsylvania State University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Sarah Gavlick is the Executive Vice President of Carrier Relations and Client Distribution at Jencap. In her role, she is focused on growing and enhancing relationships with Jencap’s strategic carrier partners and key retail broker clients.

Gavlick’s 30-year insurance career began at GenRe where she held various underwriting and leadership roles before moving to Markel where she spent the past 19 years. Over that time, she held leadership positions in their wholesale division including Regional President-Northeast and Chief Territory Officer- East. Gavlick has been active on the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation board and was a recipient of Insurance Business America’s Elite Women 2022 award.