Leadership

Not Found

Shaun T. Olsson, CPCU

Senior Vice President

  • Shaun T. Olsson serves as President of Northern States Agency and Sr. Vice President of Ringwalt & Liesche/Pacific Gateway. Prior to joining the group in 2009, he worked for Universal Underwriters/Zurich as Regional Sales Manager in Denver, and as an Account Executive in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he began his insurance career.
  • In his spare time, Shaun enjoys playing golf, hanging out with his wife and two daughters, and rooting for the Oklahoma Sooners. In addition, he has been active in a variety of faith-based and industry related organizations in the communities in which he has lived, including the MN CPCU Society and the MN Valley Young Life Boards.
  • Shaun holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Tulsa and has earned the CPCU designation. He also has served as an adjunct professor in the Collins College of Business at the University of Tulsa and has attended the NAPSLO Executive Leadership School at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

See all staff

Not Found

Mike Gower

Director - Accounting & Information Technology

  • Born and raised in Altadena, CA.
  • He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Cal Poly, Pomona.
  • Mike joined the PGIA team in 2004. Prior to that, he spent five years in IT support for a large paper company (not Dunder Mifflin).
  • He enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids, camping, watching sci-fi, and playing board games (X-Wing, Dominion, Splendor, etc).

See all staff

Marketing

Not Found

Larry Uleman

Senior Marketing Representative

  • Larry is a California native, born and raised in and around the San Fernando Valley.
  • He graduated from California State University San Marcos with a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature and Writing Studies.
  • Larry started at PGIA in 2015. Before that, he worked in the insurance industry for 25 years.
  • He has two children. When work is done, you will find him at the beach surfing or hiking in the hills.

See all staff

Underwriting

Not Found

Brandon Kelley

Underwriting Supervisor

  • Brandon was born and raised in Southern California.
  • He graduated from California State University, Northridge with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.
  • He has been with PGIA since 2016. Prior to that, he worked at a local police department for three years as part of a college student program.
  • Brandon is a sports fan of all L.A. teams (Lakers, Rams, Dodgers, and Kings). He also enjoys spending time with his girlfriend and his pets: two puppies and a bearded dragon. His favorite hobbies include playing video games, playing basketball, building computers, and camping.

See all staff

Not Found

Paul Dezso

Senior Underwriter

  • From Canyon Country, CA.
  • Paul graduated from California State University, Northridge with a B.S. in Accountancy in May 2017. He is currently working on the CPCU designation.
  • He started at Pacific Gateway in June 2016 for a one-year underwriting internship and liked it so much that he returned to underwriting as a re-hire in August 2017.
  • Paul enjoys camping and fishing, distance running, rock and metal music, computer games, and studying history.

See all staff

Not Found

Andres Ramirez

Underwriter

  • Andres is from Gardena, CA.
  • He has a B.S in Business Administration, emphasis in Finance from California State University, Long Beach.
  • Andres joined PGIA in 2019.
  • He has five half-siblings (triplets included) and one full brother and a cat named Batman. In his free time, Andres enjoys kayaking, playing strategy/RPG games, and spending time with family and Batman.

See all staff

Not Found

Martin Zdimal

Underwriter

  • From Santa Clarita, CA.
  • Martin received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Cal Poly, Pomona and an associate degree in accounting.
  • He started with PGIA in 2019.
  • Martin enjoys hiking/camping with his German Shepherd, Harper, working on his cars and going off-roading, going to the gym, and watching football and hockey.

See all staff

Not Found

Ryan Hedeen

Underwriting Specialist

  • From Castle Rock, CO.
  • Graduated with a B.S. in Mathematics and a minor in Statistics from Colorado State University.
  • Ryan was a lifeguard and aquatics manager at the Castle Rock Community Recenter and DoorDash driver before joining our team in 2022.
  • Outside of work he enjoys spending time in the mountains, hiking during the summer and skiing during the winter. He also enjoys playing men’s volleyball in intramural leagues. His parents moved to Orlando, FL for retirement and he’s looking forward to visiting them during the winters to escape the cold of Colorado.

Customer Support

Not Found

Shannon Contreraz

Customer Support Supervisor

  • Born and raised in Ridgecrest, CA. Shannon has lived in SoCal her entire life.
  • She started with the company in 2001.
  • Shannon is married and has four children, two bonus kids, and one granddaughter. She enjoys camping, visiting the beach, pretty much anything outdoors when the weather is nice, reading, and crafting.

See all staff

Accounting

Not Found

Mike Gower

Director - Accounting & Information Technology

  • Born and raised in Altadena, CA.
  • He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Cal Poly, Pomona.
  • Mike joined the PGIA team in 2004. Prior to that, he spent five years in IT support for a large paper company (not Dunder Mifflin).
  • He enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids, camping, watching sci-fi, and playing board games (X-Wing, Dominion, Splendor, etc).

See all staff