# Chris Ashton

> Chris Ashton is the British co-founder and former co-CEO of the North American business originally branded Petplan and now known as Fetch Pet Insurance. An Oxford geography graduate and former Royal Marines officer, he built the company with his wife Natasha after their Wharton MBAs. His later activities include a Bobi board role and a St Edmund Hall fellowship.

- **Role:** Board member at Bobi; St Edmund Fellow at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford
- **Organizations:** Fetch Pet Insurance (formerly Petplan North America), Bobi, St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, Royal Marines
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** BA and MA in Geography, St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, MBA in Entrepreneurial Studies, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- **Known for:** Co-founded the business now known as Fetch Pet Insurance., Joint recipient of the 2013 EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in Greater Philadelphia’s Retail & Consumer Products category., Named to the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2016 Most Admired CEOs list, according to his LinkedIn profile.

## Career timeline

- **1995** — Completed Royal Marines Young Officer training and earned his green beret.
- **2001** — Moved to the United States with Natasha to attend Wharton.
- **2003** — Completed his MBA and co-founded Fetch Inc., the business developed as Petplan in North America.
- **2006** — Petplan began its commercial launch; contemporaneous accounts use 2006 for the operating business.
- **2011** — Petplan debuted at number 123 on the Inc. 500.
- **2013** — Chris and Natasha received a Greater Philadelphia EY Entrepreneur of the Year award.
- **2019** — Warburg Pincus acquired Petplan; Paul Guyardo was CEO at acquisition.
- **2025** — Became a St Edmund Fellow; completed a Wharton AI leadership certificate.
- **2026** — Listed alongside Natasha for March 31 Venture Lab virtual entrepreneur sessions.

## Achievements

- Co-founded the business now known as Fetch Pet Insurance.
- Joint recipient of the 2013 EY Entrepreneur of the Year award in Greater Philadelphia’s Retail & Consumer Products category.
- Named to the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2016 Most Admired CEOs list, according to his LinkedIn profile.
- Elected St Edmund Fellow in 2025.

## Latest updates

- **2025-02** — LinkedIn lists a Leading an AI-Powered Future certificate from Wharton.
- **2025-10** — LinkedIn dates his St Edmund Fellowship to October 2025.
- **2026-03** — Penn Venture Lab scheduled virtual sessions with Chris and Natasha on March 31.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisashtonmalvernpa

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/chris-ashton
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11