Biography
Kristen Nunery is the founder and CEO of illumend, the AI-powered insurance compliance platform
(backed by myCOI) that empowers businesses to eliminate risk, simplify compliance and build stronger
partnerships with confidence. She sets illumend’s strategic vision, leads product innovation, and
champions a customer-first approach that transforms insurance compliance from a reactive obligation
into proactive risk intelligence.
Kristen’s work in risk management is rooted in personal experience. After witnessing firsthand how
underinsurance and missed requirements can create devastating downstream consequences, she set out
to build a better system—one focused on prevention, clarity and trust. That journey led to the creation
of myCOI and, most recently, to illumend: a next-generation platform that applies AI to uncover gaps in
coverage, surface blind spots across third-party relationships and guide organizations before issues
escalate into claims.
With more than 16 years of experience in insurance compliance and risk oversight, Kristen brings a
pragmatic, future-focused perspective to the industry. She is a vocal advocate for the evolution of
insurance advisors into true risk advisors, and for the shift from paper-based processes to applied,
predictive tools that help prevent loss before it occurs.
A serial entrepreneur, Kristen started her first business while still in college and later built a successful
residential real estate investment portfolio. She brings a competitive, growth-oriented mindset honed
from years as an athlete and her active involvement in leadership organizations such as the Indiana
Chapter of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization). Through YPO, she also completed an executive
education program that helped inspire the creation of illumend. Kristen serves on the Indianapolis Zoo
Advisory Council, aligning her entrepreneurial spirit with her passion for innovation with conservation
and community engagement. Kristen graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from the School of Communications at Northern Arizona University, where she also received commercial photography training. Kristen also attended Miami University. A lifelong sports enthusiast, she has played flag football, basketball and volleyball. She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, with her family.
