Paul Guyardo Named CEO of Petplan
Direct-to-consumer media & retail veteran sees explosive growth potential in the subscription-based pet health insurance industry
Jan 23, 2019, 10:00 ET
PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 23, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Petplan announced today that Paul Guyardo will join the company as President & Chief Executive Officer, effective January 28, 2019. Guyardo was tapped to drive massive growth for Petplan – a leading player in North America's $1 billion pet health insurance subscription business. He will report to Petplan's Chairman Vernon W. Hill, II.
"Health insurance for pets is a big business in Europe but has yet to take off in the U.S. and Canada," said Mr. Hill. "Given Paul's incredible track record, he is the perfect person to introduce Petplan to millions of pet-loving homes across North America."
"Only 1 percent of the 185 million dogs and cats are insured in North America," added Guyardo. "Petplan is well-positioned to be the brand of choice given its higher-level of coverage and customer service."
Most recently, Guyardo served as the Chief Commercial Officer for Discovery Communications. He quadrupled subscribers of Eurosport Player (a Discovery European sports OTT service) from 250,000 to nearly 1 million within one year and introduced nine TV streaming apps that are now viewed over 1 billion minutes per month.
Prior to Discovery, Guyardo was Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer at DIRECTV. During his 10-year run, Guyardo grew subscribers from 15 million to 20 million, increased revenue from $12 billion to $25 billion, reduced churn to the lowest level in the industry, and developed award-winning advertising that garnered 12 Cannes Lions.
Prior to joining DIRECTV, Guyardo was Chief Marketing Officer for Kmart Corporation and Executive Vice President of Television & Marketing at HSN. During his eight-year tenure at HSN, revenue grew by nearly 50 percent.
Guyardo currently serves on the Boards of NutriSystem and Edelman Financial Engines as well as the Northwestern University National Advisory Council for the School of Communication. He and his wife Vickie have two children and are proud pet parents of Huncho, a 1-year-old Shichon.
ABOUT PETPLAN
Petplan is a leading subscription service provider of pet health insurance in the United States and Canada. For nearly 15 years, Petplan has set the gold standard for pet health insurance coverage as the first pet health insurance provider to offer a "Covered for Life" option and cover pets of any age without broad exclusions for hereditary and chronic conditions.
Petplan policies are administered by Fetch Insurance Services, LLC (Fetch Insurance Agency, LLC in Michigan), d/b/a Petplan (Petplan Insurance Agency, LLC in California) and underwritten by XL Specialty Insurance Company in the U.S. and XL Specialty Insurance Company – Canadian Branch in Canada. Coverage may not be available in all jurisdictions. For more information about Petplan pet health insurance, visit GoPetplan.com.
CONTACT
Steph Fanelli
[email protected]
484-213-5968 (mobile)
SOURCE Petplan
