Mark E. Freitas
President and Founder, Mark Edward Partners
Mark E. Freitas chairs the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Board of Directors’ Development Committee. He’s the founder of Mark Edward Partners, a boutique insurance brokerage firm dedicated to creating bespoke insurance and risk management programs for corporations, nonprofit organizations, families, and individuals. As its president and chief executive officer, he leads the firm's business strategy development and execution.
Prior to founding the firm in 2010, Freitas enjoyed a 25-year career at a Frank Crystal & Co. Under his leadership as president and chief operating officer, the company experienced an increase of over 30 percent in revenues from 2000 to 2009. This dramatic growth was a purely organic achievement, accomplished without acquisitions or the assumption of debt.
Over the course of his 30-year insurance industry career, Freitas developed and implemented a wide array of insurance products for various industry groups, most notably in the financial services community. Considered an industry expert, he has provided 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 dedicated philanthropist, Freitas established the Mark Edward Freitas Foundation in 2005 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.
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. He also served as a trustee of Sacred Heart University for eight years. In 2008, the University awarded him an honorary Doctorate for his exceptional record of success in business and in the larger community.
A graduate of the University of Connecticut, Freitas holds a Bachelor of Science from its School of Business. He has also completed various programs sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Working closely with his alma mater, 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. UConn's Mark Edward Freitas Ice Forum was dedicated and named in his honor in February 2005.