I'm excited to welcome Rod Barlow as Spark's Chief Technology Officer.

Rod joins us at a pivotal moment. Spark has always set the standard for what Medicare broker software can do — and the next frontier is bigger. AI is reimagining how brokers, carriers, and agencies work together to deliver for the beneficiary. Platforms that offer true visibility, quality assurance, and member engagement will transform how Americans navigate healthcare and achieve better outcomes. 

With his experience in building technology that is both innovative and intuitive, Rod is the person to lead us there.

Spark’s AI ambitions

Today, more than 10,000 agents use Spark to grow faster and work more efficiently. AI opens up an entirely new dimension of what's possible.

It can keep every broker's book up to date, automatically identify revenue opportunities, and prioritize the clients who need attention most. It can help agents guide enrollment decisions in real time, with plan fit and compliance checks built into the workflow. And it can give carriers and agencies earlier visibility into quality and compliance, tracking an app all the way from submission to enrollment and long-term engagement.

Technology connecting brokers, carriers, and agencies will power the next era of Medicare distribution. Executing this vision requires leadership and experience that can match the ambition.

That’s why we’re thrilled to bring Rod on board. 

Rod’s technology leadership 

Rod brings more than 20 years of experience, building and leading high-velocity product and engineering teams. Most recently, as CTO at Sidecar Health, a health plan valued at $1B+, he led the charge to uplevel its technology with AI, developing automated claims processing that transformed the company's unit economics.

Rod’s executive leadership roles at leading consumer companies, including Ticketmaster, Aspiration and Beautycounter, gives him deep experience for growing platforms used by millions of people. At Ticketmaster, he built out a 200-person engineering team and scaled the platform to 70 million monthly users. He knows what it takes to build technology people want to use, and he's bringing that bar to how we build for agents.

This combination of AI-native technology and consumer-grade standards is what the next generation of healthcare navigation tools require. At Spark, we've built a platform that 10,000+ Medicare agents rely on to run their business. Rod will help us scale it for the next 10,000 agents, carrier partners, and beneficiaries.

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