Katie Blakeley

About Katie Blakeley

I am a talented and accomplished CEO with direct experience in building teams who love to win and have a passion for aggressive growth. I was part of the team that founded PetFirst Pet Insurance in 2004. In the early days of PetFirst, I was focused on marketing and business development. In 2013 I stepped into the CEO role and refocused our team on delivering efficiency and scalability. We had a great product and an exceptional team, and it was time to ramp things up. Along with shoring up our business processes and supporting technology, I set out to further expand and strengthen our leadership team. By 2019 our growth trajectory was quite impressive. It was time to ready PetFirst for a sales process. Our ideal buyer would be a strategic partner, which could help further accelerate our growth and position us as a leader in the pet insurance industry. That ideal buyer was MetLife. I led a small team through the diligence process and negotiation of the purchase agreement in the fall of 2019. The deal was announced in December 2019 and closed in January 2020. The full PetFirst team joined the MetLife organization in 2020, and I assumed the role of Vice President, Pet Insurance. I led the team through the integration of our team, processes and technology to ensure friction was minimized and value was optimized. Under my leadership, we rebranded as MetLife Pet Insurance and launched a best-in-class product fully underwritten by MetLife. Today I’m helping leaders of organizations who are navigating change make better, smarter decisions to ensure long-term success for their teams, their customers and their business as a whole.

Experience

1. Chairperson of the Board

   Pumpkin

   May 2023 — Present

Education

• Marshall University

  Bachelor of Arts, Journalism and Mass Communication

  1999 — 2003