Mark E. Freitas
President and Chief Executive Office
Mr. Freitas’s career in the insurance industry has spanned over 30 years. As President and Chief Executive Officer of Mark Edward Partners, Mr. Freitas leads the firm’s business strategy and development and is deeply involved with the firm’s development of cutting-edge products and programs not readily available in the insurance marketplace.
Mr. Freitas began his career as an underwriter in the Bank Division of American International Group, where he went on to become manager of Financial Institution Products. Following his time there, Mr. Freitas joined Frank Crystal & Company, where he subsequently became President and Chief Operating Officer. Under his leadership, the company experienced an increase of over 300% in revenues in the span of seven years, effectively transforming what was then a regional company into a national firm, ranking among the top 20 insurance brokerage firms in the United States.
Widely regarded as an industry expert, Mr. Freitas has developed and implemented an array of insurance products for various industry groups, most notably in the financial services community. Mr. Freitas has provided expert testimony to the United States Department of Labor in Washington, DC on fiduciary liability insurance and bonding related to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. He is a regular speaker at industry forums and is frequently cited in published articles.
A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Mr. Freitas holds a Bachelor of Science from its School of Business. He has also completed various programs conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Working closely with his alma mater, Mr. Freitas is a director of the UConn Foundation, a member of the Leadership Cabinet of the School of Business, and an inductee in its School of Business Hall of Fame. He established the Mark E. Freitas Endowment Fund at the School of Business and the Mark E. Freitas Athletic Scholarship Fund. The university’s hockey arena was dedicated and named “The Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum” in his honor in 2005.
A dedicated philanthropist, Mr. Freitas established the Mark Edward Freitas Foundation, now known as The Mark & Mary Freitas Foundation, to advance a number of causes, especially those that support children and adolescents who are physically, intellectually, and financially challenged. In the past several years, the foundation has provided generous assistance to numerous educational, religious, and cultural institutions.
Mr. Freitas sits on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. Mr. Freitas has been appointed to the board of The Palm Beach Police Foundation and, along with his wife Mary, serves as a Trustee of the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach. Mr. Freitas formerly served as a trustee of Sacred Heart University, which awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 2008 for his exceptional record of success in business and in the larger community.
