IMA Financial Group is entering its next chapter with a series of leadership appointments and structural changes designed to support scale, deepen specialty expertise, and preserve what chairman and CEO Rob Cohen (pictured) calls the firm’s core advantage: an independent, client-first culture.
The Denver-based brokerage, a top-20 US firm, recently named a new chief financial officer, elevated internal leaders, and split its fast-growing East Coast operations into two regions.
For Cohen, the changes are deliberately preparing IMA for its next phase. “We intentionally identified leaders who can drive our current priorities and lead through the next evolution of our strategic plan,” he told Insurance Business.
Some of that preparation involves outside expertise. The firm appointed Suzanne van Staveren as chief financial officer in January, bringing in a veteran executive from Edelman Financial Engines and Goldman Sachs.
But most of the leadership moves reflect internal elevation, a signal of IMA’s emphasis on developing talent from within. Cohen said the goal is to expand leadership capacity while preserving the firm’s employee-owned culture.
At the same time, the firm has decided to divide its East operations into Southeast and Northeast regions. The East Coast platform has grown rapidly since IMA entered the region five years ago with just 35 associates. Today, it employs roughly 600 associates across 10 locations.
“As we’ve scaled, our East Coast division reached a size that made realignment the right move,” Cohen said. “Organizing into two distinct regions allows us to respond more quickly to regional market dynamics and gain a deeper understanding of the needs of our local clients and communities.”
Under the new structure, Drew Pippin leads the Southeast region, overseeing offices across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, while Mike Bodack heads the newly formed Northeast region, covering offices from Connecticut through Pennsylvania. Additional market-level appointments in New York are intended to support further expansion and operational execution.
While geography matters, Cohen sees the firm’s biggest opportunity in specialization. He argues that deep sector expertise is no longer optional in a risk environment shaped by cybersecurity threats, regulatory complexity, and emerging technologies.
Cohen highlighted private equity as a key specialty growth area, as more middle-market companies incorporate PE into their capital structures. He also pointed to emerging sectors such as crypto, data centers, and AI infrastructure, where risk profiles are evolving quickly and standard solutions fall short.
To support this strategy, IMA recently unified its national industry practices and practice groups under a single leadership structure, led by Cooper Cohen as vice president of specialties.
For Cohen, specialization is a natural extension of IMA’s identity. “As businesses face increasingly complex risk landscapes, from cybersecurity threats to regulatory pressures, being an effective consultant requires thorough understanding of the specific challenges each sector faces,” he said. “Deep specialty expertise has always differentiated IMA in the marketplace and remains central to who we are.”
Cohen described the US insurance market as fundamentally strong, but increasingly demanding for both brokers and clients. The biggest shift, he said, is the rising importance of scale, not just for negotiating power, but for technology investment.
“The biggest challenge for both brokers and clients is managing the pace of change,” Cohen reflected. “Success depends on leveraging technology to deliver better insights, improve efficiency, and help clients navigate increasingly complex markets while achieving their risk management and business objectives.”
That pace is also reshaping the competitive landscape. Consolidation and private equity continue to pressure independent brokers, raising questions about whether firms can remain independent while funding the technology and talent required to compete.
Despite the significant challenges, Cohen is emphatic in his defense of the independent model. “Independent brokers are creative, innovative, scrappy, and deeply rooted in their communities,” he said. “We excel at managing the little things for clients, which leads to long-term relationships that remain the foundation of this business.
“The primary challenge we face is accessing the capital needed to invest in technology and attract top talent in an increasingly competitive market. Independents who embrace technology, invest in a strong tech stack and have a culture of innovation will continue to thrive. The market still values what independent brokers do best: putting clients first without competing priorities.”
Looking three to five years ahead, Cohen envisions an IMA that is larger, more specialized, and widely recognized as a technology leader, but still anchored in its core mission.
His agenda includes expanding specialty practices, strengthening geographic presence in targeted markets, and maintaining IMA’s reputation as a best place to work. Employee ownership remains central to the company’s identity, as does its commitment to community impact.
“We envision IMA as an even more formidable force in the market. We will always stay true to our values, and remain a best place to work thanks to our commitment to our people and our impact in the communities we serve,” Cohen said. “That’s the IMA we’re building toward.”
