Pop Group brings new C-suite leader to spearhead growth

Pop Group Holdings has hired a new chief operations and finance officer to drive its expansion in the M&A and specialty insurance market. The new executive will oversee key areas such as fundraising, capital structure, and strategic investments, positioning the company for its next stage of growth.

Sergei Korol joins the firm as chief operations and finance officer, based in Singapore. He will work closely with partners and associates across the group’s operating brands including specialist M&A and financial lines MGA Fusion Specialty, and dedicated specialty insurtech and M&A Tech platform io.insure, to drive profitability and revenue globally.

Korol has held senior roles at global insurance firms including Chubb, MetLife, and AIG, and brings with him over two decades of experience in the financial services and insurance industry. He recently worked at Grab Financial Group where he was responsible for the creation of the company’'s first financial segment team for its fintech division.

The hire follows Pop’s first external strategic minority investment from private equity fund Direct Capital.

Killian McDermott, co-founder and co-CEO of Pop, said: “We are delighted to have Sergei join the POP team, as we continue to build on the strong growth momentum we have achieved over the past years, and to deliver on our promises in the markets we operate in. With Sergei’s expertise in leading finance and operations functions, we are confident that we can further build efficiencies across Fusion and io.insure, that drive top quality services with high-impact results that will benefit our ecosystem partners, including customers, brokers, advisors and insurers..” Killian McDermott, co-founder and co-CEO of POP said.

David Rogers, co-founder and co-CEO of PopOP added: “Sergei joins us at an exciting, opportune time, as we continue to grow our global footprint to deliver industry leading M&A tech and InsurTech solutions to key markets across Asia Pacific, US, the UK and Europe. With his guidance, we will build greater synergies across borders and teams, and fulfil our promise of being an organisation with real purpose and sustainability, differentiated by our expert people and cutting-edge innovations.”

Korol commented: “I am excited to be going back to my native industry and to have the opportunity to help Killian and David build and expand their pioneering company. Having grown up in insurance, and more recently ventured into the tech world, I believe that technology driven modernisation is the key to the industry’s continued relevance and that is best driven by those who know the industry well. In this respect, POP has a unique track record of bringing together insurance capabilities and emerging technology driven ideas.”

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