Meet the Innovators Powering Claimdeck
Our team at ClaimDeck comprises experts from diverse backgrounds, bringing a wealth of experience and insights to every client engagement.
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April Willers
President
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Andrew Antone
Senior Sales Executive
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Carrie Crockett
Project Manager
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Chris Dempsey
LEAD ENGINEER
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Scott Francis
Consultant, Business Development
Canada -
Lauren Gonzalez
Associate Product Manager
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Dwayne Hermes
TEAM MEMBER
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Jenna Kane
Customer Success Tech Ops Lead
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Ann Lambert
Director, Customer Success
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Michelle Lauffer
Customer Success Associate
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Janet Oduor
Director, People Operations
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Penny Petersen
Head of Product
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Lisa Schrader
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
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Aaron Schuett
Vice President of Customer Success
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Rebecca Side
Director, Business Development,
Lloyd’s and London Market -
Emina Taslaman
Controller
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Tim Violet
Director, Business Development, North America
Andrew Antone
Senior Sales Executive
Andrew Antone is an accomplished Account Executive with a robust history of driving revenue growth and building strong client relationships across various industries. He has excelled in enterprise-level SaaS sales and international account management, leveraging sophisticated sales strategies, effective lead generation, and a deep understanding of market trends to exceed quotas and foster client loyalty.
His expertise includes managing complex sales cycles, developing strategic partnerships, and applying multiple sales methodologies, including Challenger, Sandler, and Zebrifi. Andrew’s versatile experience spans technology, higher education, and consulting, contributing to his strong leadership in sales and business development.
Carrie Crockett
Project Manager
Carrie Crockett, an experienced software development professional, joins ClaimDeck with a dedication to ensuring customer success. With over nine years of experience in software development and delivery, she leads cross-functional teams in delivering tailored solutions that align with customer needs.
Grounded in Agile methodologies, she holds certifications as a Scrum Product Owner and ScrumMaster, underscoring her dedication to driving continuous improvement and fostering innovation. Carrie is committed to providing exceptional service and contributing to the success of ClaimDeck and its valued customers.
Chris Dempsey
Lead Engineer
Chris Dempsey serves as Lead Engineer at ClaimDeck, bringing more than 20 years of strategic engineering leadership and enterprise-scale delivery experience. He has led complex initiatives across large organizations, scaled platforms to support more than 100,000 users, and built operational frameworks that drive predictability, performance, and sustainable growth. Chris combines deep technical expertise with disciplined execution to ensure ClaimDeck’s platform evolves with both rigor and scalability.
At ClaimDeck, Chris is focused on strengthening operational foundations and securing institutional knowledge as the company continues to grow. He is leading the development of a data-driven delivery model while advancing AI-enabled engineering standards that enhance efficiency, consistency, and innovation. His work ensures that ClaimDeck’s technology not only supports today’s clients but is built to scale intelligently for the future.
scott francis
Consultant, Business Development - Canada
Scott Francis is an independent consultant spearheading ClaimDeck's development in Canada. With over fifty years of comprehensive experience in the insurance industry, Scott brings invaluable insights to the table. His background spans various roles, from independent adjuster to successful entrepreneur, positioning him as a trusted authority in the field.
In his new capacity, Scott is excited to leverage his expertise to introduce and implement ClaimDeck's litigation management platform across the Canadian market. He views this technology as essential for the future of claims operations and is eager to collaborate with the team to showcase its value to Canadian entities.
Lauren Gonzalez
Associate Product Manager
Lauren Gonzalez is a seasoned project management professional with a strong background in stakeholder collaboration, business analysis, and technology integration. As a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), she brings expertise in agile methodologies, AI-driven workflows, and process optimization.
With a track record of managing complex initiatives and driving organizational efficiency, Lauren moved from the Customer Success Team to the Product Team. She focuses on product roadmapping, prioritization, and translating customer and business needs into clear product requirements. Acting as a bridge between customers, engineering, and internal stakeholders, she brings a practical, outcomes-driven approach to building and evolving the platform. Her proficiency in tools like Trello, Asana, and Figma supports fast iteration, alignment, and delivery.
Dwayne Hermes
TEAM MEMBER
Over the past 35 years, Dwayne has founded and led two law firms in the insurance defense field that have provided over $200M in litigation services and represented most of the major insurance carriers in the U.S. and Lloyd's market in London. He has been President of an international organization with over 3000 attorneys.
Throughout his career Dwayne has formed and fostered strong relationships that have helped inform and influence the business development of ClaimDeck.
In 2015 he founded Hermes Law to modernize the way in which law firms operate and the way in which legal services are delivered. The processes, reports, and analytics that drive and make-up the platform today are rooted back to when Dwayne first made Partner in 1990. As Partner, Dwayne envisioned a set of tools, through technology, that could elevate the way in which he could oversee the work being done by numerous attorneys on his book of business, and enable strong consistency in quality and approach to handling and reporting on the litigation they handled.
This vision, and ongoing iteration, evolved into client-facing documents and user-friendly processes; in essence, the inception of ClaimDeck.
Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell
Selected to Best Lawyers® – The Best Lawyers In America©, consistently throughout his career.
Selected to the Texas Super Lawyers list – Super Lawyers Magazine, consistently throughout his career.
Founder of the Non-Profit organization ‘Proistemi Project’
Named Texas Lawyer’s Innovator of the Year for 2022
JENNA KANE
Customer Success Tech Ops Lead
Jenna Kane serves as the Customer Success Tech Ops Lead at ClaimDeck, where she focuses on support escalations, clarity of system logic, and in-app guidance to help customers confidently navigate complex workflows. She partners across teams to identify trends, reduce friction, and design scalable processes that strengthen adoption across accounts.
Her background spans training, business analysis, product collaboration, and customer-facing technical operations. Jenna brings a systems-oriented mindset and strong attention to nuance, enjoying the challenge of translating complex concepts into clear, sustainable improvements that support long-term customer success.
Ann Lambert
Director, Customer Success
Ann is the driving force behind ClaimDeck's Customer Success team, leveraging over 20 years of experience to deliver excellent support to ClaimDeck users. Her expertise spans implementing strategies that have significantly enhanced customer loyalty and business expansion.
Ann's deep understanding of ClaimDeck and its impact on its users makes her an invaluable resource. Her role extends beyond leadership, embodying a commitment to excellence and innovation in every client interaction.
Michelle Lauffer
Customer Success Associate
Michelle Lauffer brings over 15 years of experience supporting complex systems and customer operations across education, financial services, and legal technology. As a Customer Success Associate at ClaimDeck, she partners with users to drive adoption, streamline workflows, and ensure teams get measurable value from the platform. Her focus is simple: remove friction, clarify complexity, and help customers feel confident using the tools that power their work.
Throughout her career, Michelle has built scalable processes, led outcome-driven trainings, and delivered high-touch support in compliance-heavy environments. Known for her clear communication, proactive follow-through, and meticulous documentation, she approaches customer success with equal parts strategy and empathy. She believes great customer experience is built on trust, accountability, and translating real-world challenges into actionable solutions.
Janet Oduor
Director, People Operations
With over 15 years of experience in human resources, recruiting, team support, and administration, Janet serves as the Director of People Operations for ClaimDeck. She brings a diverse skill set to managing HR operations and fostering organizational growth.
Known for her hands-on approach and dedication to employees’ well-being and engagement, Janet is focused on enhancing PeopleOps processes and supporting a positive workplace culture to drive ClaimDeck's success.
Penny Petersen
Head of Product
Penny Petersen brings over eight years of expertise in product management to her role at ClaimDeck. With a strong focus on UX design, data analytics, and customer-centric solutions, she has a proven track record of developing products that solve complex user challenges and enhance business operations.
Previously at Travelers, Penny led the design and development of an embedded insurance platform that streamlined workflows and significantly elevated product quality. Passionate about building purpose-driven product strategies, she keeps the customer at the heart of every decision from discovery to launch.
Her leadership and strategic mindset will play a key role in driving the continued evolution of ClaimDeck’s platform, delivering innovative solutions that create real value for clients.
Lisa Schrader
Executive Assistant
Lisa Schrader brings over 20 years of experience in fast-paced, dynamic environments to her role as Executive Assistant at ClaimDeck. With a proven ability to manage complex responsibilities across diverse industries, she excels in providing seamless support to senior executives and managing multiple priorities across organizations.
Her expertise spans scheduling, travel coordination, presentation creation, and special project oversight—all with a focus on enhancing operational efficiency. Lisa’s ability to support multiple teams and initiatives makes her an invaluable asset to ClaimDeck as the company continues to grow and innovate.
Aaron Schuett
Vice President of Customer Success
Aaron Schuett brings over 15 years of leadership experience in customer success and experience operations across highly regulated industries, including legal, government, technology, and insurance. As a seasoned SaaS executive, Aaron has a proven track record of scaling global teams, optimizing support and training functions, and delivering measurable results.
Throughout his career, Aaron has consistently driven customer engagement and satisfaction—achieving Net Promoter Scores (NPS) above +50 and increasing feature adoption and ROI for enterprise platforms. His leadership is grounded in data-driven strategy, operational excellence, and a deep understanding of customer needs.
REBECCA SIDE
Director, Business Development - Lloyd’s and London Market
With 17 years’ of experience in the insurance industry, Rebecca has previously worked for the Global Claims Management Company ‘Crawford and Company’ and Lloyd's Managing General Agent ‘Woodbrook’. Rebecca’s experience covers many aspects of the insurance industry including TPA Management/review, Claims handling, Litigation Management, Underwriting and Compliance.
Performing a Client facing role throughout her career, Rebecca has recognized the opportunity for ClaimDeck to solve a seemingly overwhelming number of issues faced by our clients when handling claims in Litigation.
Emina Taslaman
Controller
With over 10 years of experience in accounting and financial management, Emina serves as the Controller for ClaimDeck. She brings a wealth of expertise in managing financial operations and driving strategic planning.
Known for her ability to streamline processes and implement effective financial strategies, Emina is focused on establishing a strong financial foundation to support ClaimDeck’s long-term success.
TIM VIOLET
Director, Business Development, North America
Tim Violet, esteemed former Executive Director of The Harmonie Group, brings over two decades of industry expertise to ClaimDeck. With a wealth of experience spanning both the US and Canadian markets, Tim is uniquely positioned to drive ClaimDeck's expansion and influence across North America.
His passion for technology-driven solutions and deep industry insights make him a valuable addition to the team, marking an exciting milestone in ClaimDeck's journey of innovation.
APRIL WILLERS
PRESIDENT
For the last 20 years, April has infused innovation into operations while driving customer experience, optimization, and growth. She has consistently focused on building and inspiring a collaborative team culture by rolling up her sleeves and engaging in every aspect of the business, from customer service to insights and analytics, where every decision and process is directly linked to the customer and scalable growth.
Throughout her executive operations career, at the intersection of servant leadership, innovation, strategy, operational optimization, and customer obsession, she has helped multi-billion-dollar companies grow strategically and financially across diverse industries. She has also propelled startups into high-growth businesses, attracting equity investment. Most recently, at Hermes Law, she led firm partners and team members in developing and executing a strategy to drive meaningful, sustainable growth and profitability.
The common thread across each milestone is her commitment to building, nurturing, and inspiring purpose-driven, innovative teams that achieve success for customers, the company, and team members’ professional development. As President of ClaimDeck, she continues to leverage the synergies of her career experience to drive the rigor of a seamless, efficient platform while fostering a collaborative and engaging culture that delivers innovation and growth for team members, clients, and the broader community.
Andrea Hermes
Acknowledgement
ClaimDeck acknowledges and expresses appreciation to Andrea Hermes for her role in the founding of ClaimDeck and the conceptualization of integrating workflows and continuous process improvement into the DNA of ClaimDeck.