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Peer Fund / Dealmaker·Insurance Brokerage

David Donnini

Managing Director, Head of Business & Consumer Services at GTCR

Chicago, Illinois

DD
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Why they matter

Donnini ran GTCR's two-cycle ownership of AssuredPartners through its record $13.45B sale, making him the sharpest available voice on insurance brokerage and MGA roll-up economics.

Background

David A. Donnini is Managing Director and Head of Business & Consumer Services at GTCR, which he joined in 1991 after starting his career at Bain & Company. He holds a BA in economics summa cum laude from Yale University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, and has spent over three decades building GTCR's largest sector vertical through buy-and-build platforms in insurance distribution, security services, and consumer subscription businesses.

Notable deals

  • 2024
    Led GTCR's sale of AssuredPartners, an insurance brokerage GTCR built and re-invested in twice, to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for $13.45 billion in cash - the largest-ever sale of a U.S. insurance broker to a strategic acquiror
  • 2023
    Commented on GTCR's completed acquisition of ADT's commercial fire and security segment, subsequently rebranded as Everon, where he remains an active board director
  • 2021
    Named Chairman of the Board of Vivid Seats following its de-SPAC merger and public listing

Call-prep brief

Background

  • Joined GTCR in 1991 after Bain & Company; BA summa cum laude (economics) from Yale, MBA from Stanford GSB (Arjay Miller Scholar).
  • Managing Director and Head of Business & Consumer Services - GTCR's largest sector vertical - giving him 30+ years of cross-cycle pattern recognition on services roll-ups.

Current focus

  • Chairman of Vivid Seats' public board; active director on AssuredPartners, Consumer Cellular, Everon, Park Place Technologies, Sotera, itel, Senske Services, and PPC Flex.
  • Just closed GTCR's second exit of AssuredPartners (sale to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., $13.45B, announced Dec 2024) - the largest-ever sale of a U.S. insurance broker to a strategic.

What he cares about

  • Buy-and-build economics in fragmented, recurring-revenue services businesses (insurance distribution, security/fire safety, consumer subscription).
  • Long-term platform building over quick flips - GTCR held AssuredPartners across two separate ownership cycles (2011-2015, 2019-2025).

Recent moves

  • The AssuredPartners exit frees significant capital and attention for new insurance distribution/MGA platforms.
  • Built Everon (formerly ADT Commercial) into an independent company since GTCR's 2023 carve-out from ADT.

Sensitivities

  • May be bound by non-competes or informal cooling-off norms before backing a direct AssuredPartners competitor.
  • Speaks for GTCR institutionally on the record - expect measured, on-message answers.

Questions to ask

  1. What underwriting-capacity and E&O trends are reshaping MGA valuations post-AssuredPartners?
  2. Which brokerage/MGA sub-segments still have multiple-arbitrage runway versus being fully priced?
  3. What did two full ownership cycles of the same asset teach him about exit timing and buyer selection?

Outreach draft

Subject
Insurance brokerage consolidation - quick call?
Hi David, Congratulations on closing the AssuredPartners sale to Gallagher - a landmark exit for insurance distribution. We're evaluating opportunities in insurance brokerage and MGAs and would value your perspective on where consolidation goes next: which segments still have runway, how underwriting-capacity constraints are shaping deal structures, and what two ownership cycles of AssuredPartners taught you about exit timing. Would you have 20 minutes for a call in the coming weeks? Happy to work around your schedule. Best, [Name]

Linked companies

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