A Conversation with Megan Martyn, EverPeak® VP of Sales & Distribution
At EverPeak, we believe in endurance. Few embody that better than Megan Martyn, Vice President of Sales & Distribution, who brings over a decade of cross-functional carrier, MGA, and agency experience to our growing team. Megan's career is a study in adapting without losing your footing.
We sat down with Megan to talk about resilience, workers' comp strategy, and what "stability" really means for the agencies and policyholders who count on EverPeak.
Q: Success in this industry often comes down to endurance. What's the one skill that's helped you navigate your career?
Resilience. Having spent most of my career in sales and distribution, I've learned to celebrate the highs without drifting from the habits that got us there — and to use the lows to quietly lay the groundwork for the next win. This business is full of things you can't control: carrier changes, appetite shifts, competitor moves. I try to stay anchored to fundamentals and focus on bouncing back and adapting, rather than living in the wins or losses of the past.
Q: EverPeak is built for businesses that don't quit. What's the hardest problem you're solving right now to give our customers the stability they can't find elsewhere?
We’re solving for the right balance between breadth and focus. Rather than trying to be 'everything to everyone,' we are evolving to service a specialized marketplace program dedicated to hard-to-place segments of the industry. By targeting these specific microsegments, we fuel efficient, purposeful growth and highlight our ability to take on tough, complex risks.
At the same time, we are keeping a dependable generalist option in place for agencies that have a limited number of work comp markets. This dual approach matters because it allows us to meet unique, demanding situations without diluting our underwriting standards. The result we are striving to deliver is faster, clearer yes/no decisions and fewer mid-process surprises. If you’ve ever worked as a producer under a deadline, you know how crucial that clarity is.
Q: Is there a specific growth or efficiency metric from the EverPeak launch you'd like to be associated with?
I want to be associated with growth in our specialty vertical divisions and their expansion to solve all hard-to-place needs in the marketplace. This directly aligns with EverPeak’s mission of protecting America's hardest-working businesses. By launching or refining specialty verticals—like staffing, cannabis, and manufacturing—we create a dedicated marketplace for hard-to-place workers' comp, rather than just marketing one point of access via a single carrier relationship.
I want these verticals to grow to represent sizable segments of the segment they represent, scaling countrywide. Eventually, we envision expanding this marketplace approach into other commercial lines. For these programs, growth isn't just a financial metric; the more we grow, the more we prove we are successfully solving a critical market gap.
Q: Which professional milestone are you most proud of — one that required real heavy lifting?
I joined in early 2023, right after the Risk Exchange acquisition, in the middle of a merger, when systems, processes, and data were all in flux. As Head of Sales, I triaged and rebuilt the foundation: reprioritizing short- and long-term needs, resetting incentives, KPIs, roles, goals, distribution strategy, and territories. We stood up an MVP strategy within two months. That back-to-basics heavy lift helped steer the organization through disruption and delivered one of our best new-business years in 2024.
Q: What was your very first job, and what's the one lesson from it you still use today?
I was a waitress at a diner in my home state of Ohio, starting at thirteen. That job taught me to read people quickly. A few seconds of eye contact and body language tells you if a customer wants small talk, speed, or space. It built a habit I still rely on: meet people where they are, not where you want them to be.
Q: What's the most "un-insurance" thing you've ever done?
I'm an avid traveler, just not really a thrill-seeker. My most adrenaline-filled trip was whitewater rafting the Gauley River in West Virginia…waterfalls, Class VI rapids, the whole thing. Unforgettable. Also, a once-and-done.
Q: What was the exact moment you knew you wanted to be part of the EverPeak journey?
It was during the town hall in Omaha. John and Kathy spoke with such honesty and realism about the road ahead, and it deepened my loyalty on the spot. Kathy’s perspective, grounded in her financial expertise as the former CFO of Pinnacol, particularly resonated with me. I spent the first 10 years of my career in public accounting, auditing, and financial consulting, which gave me a deep appreciation for the art and science of managing a company's finances to profitability. Sometimes we get so caught up in the mission, the purpose, and the people that we lose sight of the bottom line. But we are a business; we serve a critical need in the marketplace, and we must also generate profit. Profitability is a key measure of success in every industry and a crucial milestone for EverPeak, because it is ultimately what allows a business to stand the test of time.
Beyond that financial realism and leadership alignment, what really excites me is the structural advantage of what we are building. Bringing EverPeak, Method, and Attune together under the Pinnacol umbrella fixes a broken dynamic in the market. Historically, agents have had to choose between a fast, digital tech platform or an underwriter with the grit to handle hard-to-place risks. This merger eliminates that trade-off. We get to take Attune’s highly efficient digital distribution engine, combine it with the specialized, tough-risk underwriting DNA of Method and EverPeak, and anchor the entire thing to Pinnacol.
That parent backing brings capital stability, decades of data, and a proven culture of excellence—reflected in Pinnacol's market-leading customer and employee satisfaction scores. We aren't just bolting companies together; we are building a sustainable, profitable infrastructure where speed, complex underwriting, and a phenomenal customer experience can finally coexist.
