Peter Gunder

Advisor, American Family Insurance

Peter Gunder served in multiple senior executive capacities at American Family Insurance from 2008 to 2020. His roles included executive vice president, chief business development officer, and chief investment officer. The American Family Insurance Group is the seventh largest homeowner insurer and ninth largest auto insurer (by premiums) in the United States.

Peter was responsible for leading teams to manage American Family’s invested assets (as of year-end 2020, total assets were $34B). Peter created and led AmFam’s acquisition teams beginning in 2012, co-founded American Family Ventures in 2010, built the Data Science and Analytics Laboratory in 2014, and was founding president of American Family’s Institute for Corporate and Social Impact, AmFam’s social impact venture fund in 2018.

During Peter’s tenure total revenue climbed from approximately $6 to $12.9B (2020) annually while capital (member’s equity) went from under $6B to $10.6B (year-end 2020).

As of first quarter 2020, American Family Ventures became the fourth most active “insurtech” corporate venture capital investor in the world and first in the United States. As of August 2020, AFV has invested $172M in 65 startups, with 16 successful exits, including an IPO and acquisitions by Google, Amazon, and Apple.

Prior to joining American Family, Peter co-founded Cardinal Investment Advisors in 2001. Today, Cardinal serves over 50 insurance companies, with general account assets more than $241B, making it the largest insurance investment consulting firm in North America.

He is a Chartered Financial Analyst®. Peter earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (now Booth School of Business).

Currently, Peter serves on National Guardian Life Insurance Company’s board of directors. He is board chair of RoofMarketplace, a Milwaukee “insurtech” startup, and is an executive committee and board member of Clearcover Insurance Company, an AmFam “spinout” auto insurer.

He is executive-in-residence at Columbia University’s SPS (School of Professional Studies) Master’s degree program in insurance management in New York, and has been a guest lecturer at UCLA, Marquette University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.