Executive Team
Bill Haack
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Bill is a founder of Zywave and has served as Chairman and CEO since the company’s inception in 1995. Bill also served as Chairman and CEO of Frank F. Haack & Associates, where during his 30-year tenure the firm grew to be the largest independent insurance brokerage in Wisconsin. Today, Bill is instrumental in ensuring Zywave’s mission to provide best-in-class software solutions to its clients.
In addition to his extensive insurance brokerage industry experience, Bill supports a variety of local, state and national organizations. Bill also served as a board member for Assurex Global and Intersure.
Acknowledging his leadership capabilities, Bill was named a regional finalist for the 2004 and 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Bill is a graduate of Southern Methodist University.
Jim Emling
President and Chief Operating Officer
As President and COO of Zywave, Jim is responsible for the overall strategic direction and vision of Zywave’s product family, as well as how the company positions itself in the marketplace.
Jim was one of Zywave’s original employees, overseeing every product release in the company’s history. He also created the company’s core operational structures and workflows, including training and customer support. Prior to Zywave, Jim was CIO of Frank F. Haack & Associates.
Jim graduated summa cum laude with honors from the University of Wisconsin - Madison with degrees in computer science and accounting. He holds a master’s of business administration degree in strategic marketing from Marquette University, where he also graduated summa cum laude with academic distinction.
Dave O'Brien
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
Dave is Executive Vice President and CMO, directing sales operations of the company.
Dave’s career in sales began in the 1980s with MetLife as a large group representative working with national brokerage operations on groups with 1,000 or more employees. In 1992, he joined Frank F. Haack and Associates, where he helped the firm create new technology tools for use with its clients that also changed the sales process. In 1997, Dave spearheaded a new business model for the firm, bringing in outside brokers to help fund the growing technology: that initiative evolved into a stand-alone company, Zywave. Today, he continues to lead Zywave’s sales and marketing efforts to help clients succeed in today’s marketplace.
Dave graduated from the University of Iowa with a major in marketing and a minor in communications.
Kimberly Capelle
Executive Vice President
Kimberly is Executive Vice President, responsible for overseeing Zywave’s Creative Services, Customer Support, IT, Product Development, Professional Services, Project Management and Quality Assurance functions within the company.
Kimberly joined Zywave in 2007 with a background in software development and project management. In her tenure with Zywave, she has held various roles in the product development and professional services divisions where she was instrumental in guiding development projects, improving overall development processes and implementing company-wide organizational changes.
Kimberly graduated magna cum laude with an MIS degree from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and is an accredited PMI Project Management Professional.
Joel Themmen
Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
As Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Joel oversees the software engineering, quality assurance and user-interface design functions at Zywave. Under his leadership, these teams are responsible for the creation and delivery of complex software solutions, ensuring efficient and intuitive end-user experiences.
Prior to his appointment to the Zywave executive team in November 2011, Joel served as Chief Development Officer of EISI, based in Winnipeg, Canada. During his 13-year career in software development at EISI, Joel held several development and management roles, including chief architect of key components for the NaviPlan financial planning software platform.
Joel is a graduate of the University of Manitoba, holding bachelor of science degrees in math and computer science (with honors) and a bachelor of arts in education. He has also completed the required course work for a master's degree in computer science. In 1998, Joel received a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) award for his post-graduate studies in computer science.
Joe Gibson
Chief Financial Officer
Joe joined Zywave as CFO in May 2010 and is responsible for directing the finance and accounting operations, including treasury operations, strategic business planning and corporate development activities.
Joe brings with him over 20 years of progressive experience including financial planning and analysis, SEC reporting and acquisition integration. Prior to Zywave, Joe was Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller at Fiserv, Inc. and had previously served as Group Chief Financial Officer for Fiserv’s Insurance Group. Earlier in his career, Joe was an Audit Manager with Deloitte & Touche LLP serving large, multi-national clients.
Joe earned a bachelor of business administration degree with a double major in accounting and finance from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee and is a certified public accountant. He was also featured in Treasury & Risk Management magazine’s “40 under 40” article in November 2006.