Leadership Team

John Fees, Co-Founder & CEO

Co-founder and CEO of Next Generation Insurance Group (NGI), John Fees is a proven entrepreneur and a thought leader in affinity and collegiate marketing. For more than 16 years, Fees has specialized in collegiate marketing and media, affinity and partnership marketing and financial services, all of which makes him a savvy and dedicated leader for Next Generation Insurance Group, established in 2008.

Fees is adept at creating innovative affinity marketing solutions that support consumer activity via the internet and direct-to-consumer channels, and his strategies have proven to be ground-breaking. In fact, his success in this arena has led to the sale of two prior businesses ventures, Y2M and Members Connect, to Fortune 500 companies.

In 2000, Fees co-founded Y2M: Youth Media and Marketing Networks, which owned and operated College Publisher, the nation's largest online network of college newspapers with commercial rights to print, online and email editions. In 2006, Fees completed the acquisition of Y2M by Viacom's MTV Networks' mtvU.

Additionally, in 1999, Fees co-founded Members Connect, which became the largest affinity partnership marketing company in the North American education finance market. The company was sold in 2004 to Collegiate Funding Services (NADAQ: CFSI), where Fees served as an executive officer. He was instrumental in the growth and success of that company which was subsequently sold to JPMorgan Chase.

Fees' dynamic career also includes service as Executive Vice President of Chase Educational Finance where he led partnership and internet marketing business units.

Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures he served as Senior Vice President for First USA Partners (Affinity Partners International) where he was responsible for creating affinity credit card partnerships in the collegiate and affinity market. In addition, he was Membership Marketing Vice President at Student Advantage, the nations' largest student membership organization, as well as the Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Arizona State University Alumni Association.

Fees is a graduate of Arizona State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in History and holds a Master in Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. He is a member of the Professional Insurance Marketing Association, the Spitzer Center for Ethics and a board member for the Foundation for Blind Children. With his wife Melissa, Fees currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona with their five children. He has a keen interest in media, current affairs, Arizona history, private equity investing and almost anything entrepreneurial in nature. He enjoys cooking and photography and is a recreational tennis player and golfer.

Bill Suneson, Co-Founder & President

Co-founder and president of Next Generation Insurance Group (NGI), Bill Suneson is one of the nation's foremost affinity sales and marketing leaders. He brings nearly 20 years of sales and business development experience to NGI and has a track record of forging profitable affinity marketing strategies for Fortune 500 brands and start-up companies alike.

A seasoned marketing veteran, Suneson helped propel new ventures and prominent brands into partnership marketing leaders. He hired, mentored and influenced the performance of national sales and relationship management teams and also successfully developed over 250 major partnerships which permitted exclusive access to partner's brands, members and/or customers.

Before co-founding Next Generation Insurance Group, Suneson served as Senior Vice President at JPMorgan Chase, where he led the student-lending industry's top affinity marketing business. He was an active member of their extended leadership team, contributing to the success of one of the largest student loan businesses in the nation.

Prior to JPMorgan, Suneson was the sales leader and a senior management team member for Members Connect, which became the largest affinity marketing company for student loans in the United States. Because of its growth and success, during its fifth year, the firm was sold to Collegiate Funding Services and subsequently became part of JPMorgan Chase.

Additionally, Suneson served as Vice President at Affinity Marketing Group where he contributed to the creation of Affinity Insurance Agency and led sales efforts for client partners including GMAC Insurance, Liberty Mutual, and other leading consumer brands. Early in his career, he worked as an insurance agent developing niche workers' compensation programs and worksite marketing initiatives.

Suneson maintains a national license to sell Property/Casualty and Life/Health Insurance and holds an Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI) designation. He is a member of the Professional Insurance Marketing Association and Inter-Company Marketing Group.

Suneson is a graduate of Marquette University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree and competed as an NCAA Division I tennis player. He grew up in Fall River, Mass. and currently resides in Bridgewater, Mass. with his wife and two children. He enjoys spending time with his family and is a passionate Red Sox fan.

Jean-Marie Lovett, President, MassDrive Direct Auto Insurance

President of MassDrive.com Direct Auto Insurance, Jean-Marie is a seasoned operations and marketing executive with more than 12 years of experience. She has an extensive background in marketing, product development, and quality assurance. With a successful track record launching new consumer products, she has proven herself instrumental in shaping and growing businesses both large and small throughout her career.

As president of MassDrive.com, Jean-Marie is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations and tactical marketing efforts. As leader of the account management team, she directs and supports company objectives and evaluates processes to determine efficiency, results and growth targets. Her goal is to turn MassDrive into one of the largest, most reputable insurance companies in Massachusetts.

Before joining MassDrive, Lovett served as Vice President, Marketing and Operations for JP Morgan Chase in the Education Finance division. There she managed the marketing channels and operations for all student loan partnerships, including nearly 200 affinity groups, as well as the largest internal partner - Chase's retail bank branches. Lovett established a winning track record at Chase, creating substantial growth within departments under her direction.

Prior to JP Morgan Chase, Lovett was Director of Product Marketing for Abridge, Inc. As part of the senior management team, Lovett led the product development process including marketing, quality assurance and software user interface design.

Earlier in her career, Lovett was a Senior Innovations Manager for consumer products at BellSouth Telecommunications. She led multiple product launches and market trials including VoIP and personal emergency response systems.

Lovett is a graduate of Colgate University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors, and holds a Master of Business Administration from the Kenan Flagler Business School at UNC, Chapel Hill. She is a member of the Massachusetts Associate of Insurance Agents (MAIA). Lovett resides in Roslindale, Mass. and is married with two children.

Paul Pennelli, Vice President, Online and Affiliate Marketing

A veteran of Internet starts-ups and big media, Paul Pennelli brings a wealth of online and partnership marketing, media, and product development experience to NGI Group. Most recently, Pennelli was the Senior Director of Marketing at ReputationDefender in Redwood City, Calif., where he built the company's first Internet direct-to-consumer marketing campaigns, marketing operations, and creative development, and managed its high-value channel partnerships with Internet affiliates, top financial institutions, and membership marketing organizations.

Prior to ReputationDefender, Pennelli worked extensively in college marketing. An early-stage employee of Y2M Networks in Boston, Pennelli led the partnership growth for the company's College Publisher business; he expanded the network from a handful of college-focused Internet properties to over 500 and integrated a competitive network into College Publisher's existing partnership base. While at Y2M, Pennelli was instrumental in the sale and transition of College Publisher to its present owner, MTV Networks. At MTV, Pennelli held the role of Director of Affiliate Relations at mtvU and served on the channel's executive strategy team.

Pennelli is a graduate of Fairfield University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. He resides in Northern California with his wife.