Hagerty gears up for global growth as an automotive lifestyle brand with expansion of senior leadership team

Jack Butcher promoted to President of Global Markets; Stuart Foster hired from Topgolf as President of Automotive Business

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Hagerty

Nov 18, 2020, 09:00 ET

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., Nov. 18, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hagerty today announced a major expansion of its senior leadership team to guide the company's growth as a global automotive lifestyle brand with the addition of Stuart Foster as President of Automotive & Affinity and the promotion of Jack Butcher to President of Global Markets.

"This is a watershed moment for Hagerty," said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty. "Jack and Stuart are two of the best and brightest leaders in business today, and together their impact is going to supercharge our mission to save driving and expand car culture."

In pursuit of its mission, Hagerty has created an expanding suite of automotive services and experiences for car lovers, including Hagerty Drivers Club, Hagerty Valuation Tools, Hagerty Drivers Club magazine, the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance, the California Mille, DriveShare, Hagerty Garage + Social and more. Hagerty is also the world's leading provider of specialty insurance and partners with 22 of the top 25 U.S. auto insurance companies to protect nearly 2 million vehicles.

At Hagerty, Foster will focus on the global vision, strategy, revenue and expense oversight of the automotive business segment. This includes overall enterprise membership and media strategies, the expansion of Hagerty Garage + Social, innovative event strategy, oversight of the company's Enthusiast Commerce Platform, and identification of emerging opportunities.

Foster comes to Hagerty from Topgolf, a global sports entertainment company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, where he was Chief Marketing Officer of U.S. venues. He led Topgolf's overall vision and strategy to grow awareness, drive venue visits and revenue as well as developing engagement and brand loyalty. Prior to joining Topgolf, he served as Vice President of Global Brand Marketing at Hilton where he was responsible for global positioning, strategy and marketing efforts for both the luxury and full-service portfolios of Hilton brands, including Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Conrad and Waldorf Astoria. Before that, Foster served in a number of senior leadership positions with the premium drinks company, Moet-Hennessy, in the U.S., Japan and France.

"The future for Hagerty is incredible. As a lifestyle brand, Hagerty will foster the car enthusiast's passion through a true community and marketplace full of meaningful experiences and value. My focus will be on bringing together these various automotive components of Hagerty, both existing and new, to leverage building the brand outside of insurance. The goal is to make Hagerty the one-stop, go-to platform for all things car enthusiasts need and want, whether they're looking for cool car events, top-notch media content or a place to consolidate vehicle information and gather with other car enthusiasts. That's both the challenge and the excitement of this role and the company's commitment to its next stages of growth."

In his new role, Butcher will lead Hagerty's insurance and risk services businesses in North America, the United Kingdom and Europe, with particular emphasis on continued international growth and building additional capabilities for clients and members.

"The Hagerty story has been an amazing and successful one," said Butcher. "Equally exciting, we will continue to grow our capabilities and our global presence by building upon our tradition of delivering what automobile enthusiasts' value and enjoy. I'm honored and it's going to be a blast."

For the past two years, Butcher has served as Hagerty's Senior Vice President of North American Regions, leading the buildout of the firm's regional distribution strategy.

Prior to joining Hagerty, Butcher served as a Managing Director at Marsh & McLennan, where he led a number of Marsh's businesses in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., New York and Chicago through periods of growth and operational performance improvements. During his tenure as Executive Vice President & COO at TransForce in Alexandria, Virginia, the company experienced early-stage capital raises and rapid organic as well as acquisition business growth.

About Hagerty
Hagerty is an automotive lifestyle brand. Our mission is keep driving alive for car lovers and drive positive change in the world. Hagerty is home to Hagerty Drivers Club, Hagerty DriveShare, Hagerty Valuation Tools, Hagerty Drivers Club magazine, Hagerty Media, MotorsportReg, Hagerty Garage + Social, the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance, the California Mille and more. Hagerty is the world's largest provider of specialty insurance for enthusiast vehicles and supports keeping car culture alive through youth programs, the Historic Vehicle Association (HVA), the RPM Foundation and more. For more information, call (800) 922-4050 or visit www.hagerty.com.