
Agero Strengthens Insurance and Automotive Leadership Following Urgently Acquisition
Agero, a leading white-label provider of digital driver assistance services and software for automotive and auto insurance companies, has announced the appointment of Ben Zatlin as Chief Client Officer, Insurance, and Harrison Russell as Chief Client Officer, Automotive. The leadership changes take effect immediately and represent another important step in the company’s integration following its acquisition of Urgently in April 2026.
The appointments establish dedicated leadership structures for Agero’s insurance and automotive businesses, allowing the company to more closely align its commercial strategies, product development priorities and operational capabilities with the distinct requirements of each market. Through the new structure, Agero intends to respond more rapidly to changing customer expectations while accelerating innovation across roadside assistance, accident management, claims and broader mobility services.
The move comes at a time when both insurance carriers and automotive companies are undergoing significant changes in the way they interact with customers. Increasing digitalization, evolving mobility models, connected vehicles and growing expectations for seamless service are reshaping the roadside and automotive assistance industries. Agero’s new leadership structure is designed to help the company address these developments with more focused client strategies and dedicated market expertise.
“Our insurance and automotive clients are navigating significant changes in how they serve their customers, and Agero continues to invest in delivering more bespoke and dedicated experiences,” said Dave Ferrick, CEO of Agero. “Ben and Harrison bring extensive industry expertise, strong client relationships, and a relentless focus on innovation. Their leadership builds on the combined strengths of Agero and Urgently to advance what’s next for our clients.”
Dedicated Leadership for the Insurance Business
As Chief Client Officer, Insurance, Ben Zatlin will take responsibility for a broad range of functions supporting Agero’s insurance customers. His responsibilities will include strategic accounts, account management, business development, product, engineering, strategic alliances and operational excellence.
In this role, Zatlin will focus on strengthening Agero’s relationships with insurance carriers while also identifying new opportunities in accident management, collision services and the broader claims ecosystem. His mandate brings commercial, technological and operational responsibilities together under one leadership structure, with the goal of creating more integrated solutions for insurance clients.
Insurance companies increasingly seek ways to simplify the policyholder experience following roadside incidents and accidents. Rather than treating roadside assistance, accident management and claims as separate interactions, insurers are exploring connected service models that can support customers throughout the entire incident journey.
Agero believes its combination of technology, operational capabilities and established insurance relationships gives it an opportunity to help carriers build those more connected experiences.
Zatlin has been with Agero since 2019 and has held leadership positions across the company’s roadside assistance and accident management operations. During his tenure, he played a key role in the migration of Agero’s dispatch operations to the Swoop platform. He subsequently contributed to the modernization of Agero’s accident management business.
His experience also includes leadership of Agero’s Insurance Advisory Board and involvement in developing strategic partnerships across the claims ecosystem. That background positions him to connect Agero’s existing insurance expertise with new opportunities emerging across claims, collision and accident management.
“Insurance carriers are looking for new ways to create more seamless experiences for policyholders across roadside, accident management, and claims,” Zatlin said. “Agero has a unique opportunity to build on its trusted carrier relationships and connect technology, operations, and industry partners in more integrated ways. I couldn’t be more excited to lead this team and help our clients deliver even greater value to their policyholders.”
Expanding Opportunities Across Claims and Accident Management
The insurance industry is increasingly focused on improving the customer experience after an accident. Delays, fragmented communication and multiple service providers can create frustration for policyholders at a time when they may already be dealing with vehicle damage, safety concerns and uncertainty about the claims process.
Agero’s expanded focus on accident management and collision creates an opportunity to connect roadside assistance with subsequent services. By bringing technology and operational resources together, the company aims to help insurers improve coordination and create smoother transitions between roadside events and claims-related processes.
Zatlin’s new role places these priorities at the center of Agero’s insurance strategy. His responsibilities across product, engineering and operations could also enable the company to work more closely with insurers when developing solutions tailored to their specific business requirements.
Strategic partnerships will remain another important part of that effort. By working with organizations throughout the claims ecosystem, Agero can potentially expand the range of services available to insurance customers while helping carriers create more integrated policyholder journeys.
Harrison Russell to Lead Automotive Client Strategy
Agero has also appointed Harrison Russell as Chief Client Officer, Automotive. Russell will oversee account management, business development, automotive products and emerging markets.
His responsibilities will extend across Agero’s automotive customer base, including original equipment manufacturers, dealerships, rental companies, fleets and mobility businesses. The role also encompasses both established automotive programs and emerging technologies, including autonomous vehicles.
Russell brings significant experience from Urgently, the mobility assistance company acquired by Agero earlier in 2026. He joined Agero through that transaction after spending approximately a decade helping develop Urgently from a technology startup into a global mobility assistance platform.
Before the acquisition, Russell most recently led Urgently’s partnerships group, where he worked closely with major automotive brands. His experience building relationships with vehicle manufacturers gives him a strong foundation for leading Agero’s automotive client strategy as the combined company moves forward.
Russell has already begun making an impact following the integration. During his first weeks with Agero, he helped close a multi-year contract extension with a global luxury vehicle manufacturer. The agreement represented the first contract signed following the merger of Agero and Urgently.
“Bringing Agero and Urgently together has created a powerful foundation to combine complementary technology, capabilities, and experience to deliver even greater value for automotive clients,” Russell said. “We have exceptional relationships with many of the world’s leading vehicle brands, and I’m thrilled to build on them as we help usher in the next era of automotive mobility.”
Supporting the Evolution of Automotive Mobility
The automotive industry is changing rapidly as connected vehicles, electric vehicles, advanced driver assistance systems, autonomous technology and new mobility models reshape the relationship between drivers, vehicles and service providers.
For automakers, roadside assistance is increasingly becoming part of a broader digital ownership experience. Drivers expect services to be accessible through digital channels and integrated into the technologies they already use. Vehicle manufacturers, meanwhile, are looking for ways to strengthen customer relationships beyond the initial vehicle purchase.
Agero’s automotive leadership structure is designed to address these evolving requirements by bringing client management, business development and product responsibilities closer together.
The company’s customer base spans traditional automotive manufacturers as well as businesses operating in rental, fleet and mobility services. This diverse customer base gives Agero exposure to multiple areas of transportation that are being transformed by technology.
The inclusion of emerging markets in Russell’s responsibilities is particularly significant as the automotive industry explores autonomous vehicles and other new mobility technologies. These technologies could create new requirements for roadside and driver assistance services, particularly as vehicles become increasingly connected and automated.
Building on the Agero-Urgently Combination
The leadership appointments follow Agero’s acquisition of Urgently in April 2026. The transaction brought together two companies with complementary technology, operational capabilities, industry relationships and expertise in digital roadside and mobility assistance.
The integration provides Agero with an opportunity to expand its capabilities across both the insurance and automotive sectors. The company’s latest organizational changes indicate that it is moving toward a more market-specific operating model while continuing to combine the strengths of both organizations.
Rather than managing insurance and automotive customers through a single generalized structure, Agero is creating dedicated leadership for each market. This approach is intended to ensure that product development and client strategies reflect the different priorities of insurers and automotive companies.
For insurance carriers, the focus is expected to include roadside assistance, accident management, collision and claims-related services. For automotive companies, priorities include manufacturer programs, dealer relationships, rental and fleet services, mobility solutions and emerging vehicle technologies.
Accelerating Product Innovation
Technology is central to Agero’s strategy. Digital driver assistance platforms can help companies coordinate service requests, dispatch operations, customer communications and other elements of roadside support.
The integration of product and operational capabilities into the new leadership structure could help Agero identify market needs and translate them into product improvements more efficiently.
For insurers, this could mean developing solutions that connect roadside events with accident management and claims processes. For automotive customers, it could involve creating more integrated mobility assistance experiences that work alongside connected vehicle technologies and manufacturer platforms.
As customer expectations continue to evolve, speed will remain an important competitive factor. Automotive and insurance companies increasingly expect technology partners to respond quickly to new requirements and changing consumer behavior.
Agero’s new leadership structure is intended to support that responsiveness by putting experienced industry executives in charge of dedicated market strategies.
Strengthening Client Relationships
Another key objective of the appointments is to deepen Agero’s relationships with existing customers while identifying opportunities for growth.
Both Zatlin and Russell bring extensive experience working with clients and industry partners. Their backgrounds provide knowledge of the specific challenges facing insurance carriers and automotive manufacturers, respectively.
For Agero, that expertise could be especially valuable as the company continues integrating Urgently’s capabilities. Maintaining strong relationships during a major corporate integration can help ensure continuity for customers while also creating opportunities to introduce new services.
The appointments also demonstrate Agero’s emphasis on combining commercial and operational expertise. Rather than separating client relationships from product and service development, the company is bringing these areas closer together.
Agero’s latest leadership appointments mark a significant milestone in the company’s post-acquisition development. By appointing dedicated chief client officers for insurance and automotive, the company is creating a clearer organizational focus around two of its most important markets.
Ben Zatlin will lead the insurance business with an emphasis on strategic accounts, accident management, collision, claims partnerships and integrated policyholder experiences. Harrison Russell will lead the automotive business across OEMs, dealerships, rental companies, fleets and emerging mobility markets.
Together, the appointments are expected to help Agero strengthen customer relationships, accelerate product development and improve coordination across its growing technology and operational capabilities.
The integration of Agero and Urgently also creates a broader platform from which the company can pursue innovation in digital roadside assistance and mobility. As vehicles become more connected and customers expect increasingly seamless digital experiences, the role of assistance providers is likely to expand beyond traditional roadside services.
Agero’s new leadership structure positions the company to respond to that shift with dedicated strategies for the insurance and automotive industries. By combining industry expertise, technology, partnerships and operational capabilities, Agero aims to help its clients deliver more connected and differentiated experiences to drivers and policyholders.
The company’s next phase will therefore focus not only on integrating the capabilities gained through the Urgently acquisition but also on turning those combined strengths into new products, stronger partnerships and improved customer experiences. With Zatlin and Russell leading the insurance and automotive businesses respectively, Agero is signaling its intention to remain focused on market-specific innovation while building a broader platform for the future of digital driver assistance and mobility.
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