Peter van Aartrijk

Peter van Aartrijk (“R-trike,” as in “bike”) is co-founder of Chromium, a San Francisco-based brand strategy firm with a specialty in financial services.

He started his career as a newspaper reporter, where he learned how to question the status quo. He has worked with insurance carriers, agents, brokers and related organizations – and believes the industry is ready for disruption and wants to help those who seek to innovate and create a new employee and customer experience.

Prior to forming Chromium in 2011 and insurance marketing firm Aartrijk in 1999, Peter served as VP, Communications for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America, a leading association of 300,000 members. There he developed a research-based groundwork for a consumer brand, Trusted Choice®.

Peter formerly held editorial positions with Best’s Review and National Underwriter. He served as Director of Media Relations for the Insurance Information Institute. He has written marketing-related pieces for Independent Agent for 25 years, and hosts a long-running podcast called “On Point” for Insurance Journal.

As a spokesperson for the insurance industry, he has appeared on CNN, CNBC, Fox, and network TV, and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, USA Today, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine and other national media.

Peter is a graduate of Rutgers University (English and Journalism). He is a faculty member of IIABA’s Virtual University and the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research, where he holds the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation. He is a member of the Insurance Marketing Communications Association (IMCA) and Agents Council for Technology (ACT), and is past president of the Insurance Media Association.

He is a board member of InVEST, a national high school education program dedicated to attracting new talent to internships and careers with independent insurance agencies.

He is co-founder of Channel Harvest Research (www.channelharvest.com), which conducts a major study of independent agents’ attitudes of insurance carriers.

He is co-author of The Powers: Ten Factors for Building an Exponentially More Powerful Brand, (www.thepowersbook.com), available now on Amazon.com and in bookstores in December 2018.

Peter coaches girls’ lacrosse at a local high school and has worked on homes for the less fortunate in West Virginia for the last 10 years.

He also has played ice hockey in a men’s beer league for as long as he was old enough to drink beer.