I own insurance distribution initiatives from the first planning session to the last adoption metric.
Most initiatives have separate owners for the technology and the field. I work across both to make sure the investment actually delivers.
Results from past engagements
90% CRM adoption across a 12,000-person field organization
30% increase in sales close rates for new agents
Scaled from $50M to $120M+ ARR under sustained competitive pressure
Who I work with.
The organizations I work with are launching initiatives that require new technology or processes and their business results depend on the field force actually adopting it.
That's harder than it sounds. These initiatives often stall, because the technology gets built, the training gets done, the rollout happens and six months later adoption is dismal and the business outcomes aren't there. This usually happens because the initiative over indexed on what the home office wanted, and missed the mark on what agents really need and how they actually work.
The leaders I work with have either watched this happen before and are determined to make sure it doesn't happen this time.
What I do.
Not as a consultant who hands you a plan and walks away, but as a senior operator who stays until the work is done and the results are delivered.
Outsiders in this space consistently lose sight of the end user — they design for the home office, not the agent. I've seen enough of these initiatives stall to know where to look first and what it actually takes to move the field.
I'm deep enough across digital product management, marketing, analytics, and sales infrastructure to stay hands-on through execution — not directing from a distance, but in the work itself.
For larger engagements, I bring in the right people for the work — but I remain the senior operator accountable for the outcome.
Where to start.
Two ways to start, depending on what your organization needs.
The Framing Sprint
For organizations that need to get crisp on what they're building before they build it.
You know the opportunity is real. What's less clear is exactly what you're trying to accomplish, how you'll know if it's working, and what it will take to get there. The Framing Sprint produces that clarity.
Working directly with you, I'll take your initiative from a high-level idea to a structured plan, covering the business case, the success metrics, the stakeholder landscape, the resources required, the MVP and phasing, and the sequencing of work that follows. The output is The Framing Blueprint: a document crisp enough to take into a board meeting, align your team around, and use as the foundation for execution.
The Leadership Framing Sprint
For organizations that need their leadership team aligned before execution begins.
Same rigor, same deliverable as The Framing Sprint, but done with your full leadership team rather than one-on-one. The Leadership Framing Sprint takes your team through the framing work together, building the shared understanding and alignment that makes execution dramatically faster and less painful.
The output is the same The Framing Blueprint, but owned collectively by the people who will have to execute it.
The Framing Blueprint gives you a complete picture of what you're building, why it creates value, and what it will take to execute — crisp enough to align your board, your leadership team, and the people who will have to deliver it.
Not sure which is right for your situation? That's a good question for our first conversation. Schedule a 30-minute call →
The work, in practice.
The industries vary, but the challenge is the same: building a capability the organization has never had and owning it through to results.
Who I am.
I'm Ross Cohen, based in New York. I spent nearly a decade at New York Life as COO of Field Productivity, where I built the digital operating infrastructure for a 12,000-person agent and financial advisor organization — from a field force running largely without meaningful digital support to a modern, integrated six-platform ecosystem adopted across the full organization.
Before that, I ran the P&L and growth for Capital One's Secured Card launch and served as VP of Marketing & Analytics at Frontpoint Security. I've also built and exited two businesses alongside full-time executive roles — both from scratch, both profitable, both sold.
I trained as a lawyer at Harvard before moving into business, which shapes how I think about regulatory environments, contract structures, and risk. I earned my MBA at Wharton.
Let's talk.
I work with a small number of clients at a time, typically just two or three, so that each engagement gets the focused senior attention it requires.
If your organization is facing the kind of inflection point this site describes, I'd welcome a conversation.
Here's what that looks like: a 30-minute call where I'll ask you about the situation you're navigating, share an honest perspective on whether and how I can help, and give you something useful to think about regardless of whether we work together. No pitch, no follow-up sequence.