Who is Jake Tamarkin?

First things first: Is it Jake or Jacob?

My formal name is Jacob Edward Tamarkin, and that’s what you’ll see on the ballot. But my whole life, everyone but my teachers and bosses have called me Jake. And nowadays when I answer the phone, if I am greeted with “Can I speak with Jacob?” then I know I’m in trouble…so please call me Jake!

We spent our first couple of weeks in Andover living out of the Sonesta Suites over by River Rd. The kids were good sports about sharing this sofa bed!

From Brooklyn to Andover

We moved to Andover from Brooklyn, New York in 2017. My wife and I both grew up in Connecticut and lived in New York City for many years. We wanted to move to Andover because we saw an opportunity to offer our kids a better quality of life than we felt we could provide them in the big city. We were right!

Cute family, but how does your background qualify you for the School Committee?

I am the CEO and co-founder of Everyday Life Insurance, the premier life insurance platform for everyday people. Boasting the highest Google Reviews rating of any online life insurance distributor in America, Everyday Life is leveling the playing field for consumers with a virtual agent powered by predictive analytics and machine learning to provide the services of an unbiased independent life insurance agent to anyone at any time. We are backed by some great investors, including Techstars, Financial Health Network, Global Insurance Accelerator, Launchpad Ventures, Plug And Play Ventures and Zelkova Ventures.

Previously, I rose through the ranks at MetLife, EY, BNY Mellon and Foresters Financial. Across all of these jobs I helped large organizations do big things, including mergers, divestitures and other strategic initiatives.

Examples of things I am really good at:

  • Working with a diverse group of stakeholders to develop a shared vision and strategy to fulfill it.

  • Building a culture of respect, responsibility, learning and collaboration in service of our mission.

  • Reading a financial statement to understand how well an organization functions to achieve its objectives.

  • Pressure testing forecasts to understand where the risks are and develop plans to address.

  • Innovating solutions to vexing problems.

  • Leading organizations through periods of substantial change.