Association of Insurance and Financial Analysts:
40th Annual Conference
March 1-3, 2015
Naples Grande Beach Resort, Naples, Florida
AIFA 2015 Officers
Sean Dargan
President
Macquarie
Kai Pan
Vice President
Morgan Stanley
Erik Bass
Secretary
Citi
Charles Sebaski
Treasurer
BMO Capital Markets
AIFA 2015 Organizers & Board Members:
Will Allen
KBW
Eric Berg
RBC Capital Markets
Jimmy Bhullar
JP Morgan
Randy Binner
FBR
Jay Cohen
BofA Merrill Lynch
Craig Elkind
Dan Farrell
Sterne Agee
Jay Gelb
Barclays Capital
Michelle Giordano
Neuberger Berman
Bob Glasspiegel
Janney
John Hall
Wells Fargo
Alison Jacobowitz
BofA Merrill Lynch
Yaron Kinar
Deutsche Bank
Ryan Krueger
KBW
Amit Kumar
Macquarie
Brian Meredith
UBS Securities
Vinay Misquith
Evercore
Mike Nannizzi
Goldman Sachs
Paul Newsome
Sandler O’Neil
Brian Rohman
Boston Partners
Meyer Shields
KBW
Josh Stirling
Bernstein
Susan SpivakBernstein
Argo Group
Seth Weiss
BofA Merrill Lynch
C
50+ Companies Scheduled to Attend!
Admiral (ADM-LN)
Aegon Transamerica (AEG)
Aflac (AFL)
American International Group (AIG)
Alleghany (Y)
Allied World (AWH)
Ambac (AMBC)
AM Best
American Equity (AEL)
American Financial Group (AFG)
Ameriprise (AMP)
AmTrust Financial (AFSI)
Arch Capital (ACGL)
Argo Group (AGII)
Axis Capital (AXS)
Beazley (BEZ-LN)
Brown & Brown (BRO)
Catlin (CGL)
CNA Financial (CNA)
CNO Financial (CNO)
Deloitte
Donegal Group (DGICA)
EMC Insurance (EMCI)
Endurance (ENH)
Everest Re (RE)
Employers Holdings, Inc. (EIG)
Federated National (FNHC)
Fitch
Genworth (GNW)
Greenlight Re (GLRE)
Hannover Re (HNR1-XE)
The Hanover Group (THG)
The Hartford (HIG)
Horace Mann Educators (HMN)
IBM (IBM)
Intact Financial (IFC-TO)
Jefferies
JLT (JLT)
JP Morgan (JPM)
Kemper Corp (KMPR)
Lancashire (LRE-LN)
Lincoln Financial Group (LNC)
Maiden Holdings (MHLD)
Marsh & McLennan (MMC)
MGIC Investment Corp (MTG)
Montpelier Re (MRH)
Moody’s (MCO)
National General (NGHC)
The Navigators Group (NAVG)
Partner Re (PRE)
Primerica (PRI)
Principal Financial Group (PFG)
Prudential Financial, Inc. (PRU)
Radian Group (RDN)
RenaissanceRe (RNR)
Reinsurance Group of America (RGA)
RLI Corp (RLI)
S&P
Selective Insurance Group (SIGI)
StanCorp (SFG)
SwissRe (SREN)
Third Point Re (TPRE)
Towers Watson (TW)
Travelers (TRV)
United Fire Group (UFCS)
Unum (UNM)
Validus Holdings (VR)
Willis Group (WSH)
XL Group (XL)
Any questions contact:
Kai Pan
Morgan Stanley
212.761.8711 (Kai.Pan@morganstanley.com)
Erik Bass
Citi
212.816.5257 (Erik.bass@citi.com)
Sunday March 1, 2015
12:00PM-5:00PM
Acacia 1 Foyer
Registration: Weston & Associates
(1x1 Meetings location available at registration)
12:00PM
Hotel Lobby
Golf Outing
Sponsored by: Arch Capital Group
Coordinator: Erik Bass & Quentin McMillan
(Shuttle back-forth for golfers)
2:00PM - 4:00PM
Tennis Pro Shop
Tennis Outing
Coordinator: Will Allen & Bob Glasspiegel
7:00PM
Sunset Veranda
WELCOME RECEPTION & DINNER
Sponsored by: Argo & Endurance Specialty
Coordinator: Susan Spivak-Bernstein
Monday March 2, 2015
ALL DAY
Acacia 1 Foyer
Individual Company Sponsored Meetings
See Weston Associates for schedule
7:00AM –8:00AM
Orchid Ballroom
BREAKFAST: Sponsored by Renaissance Re
Welcome – Sean Dargan & Kai Pan
8:00AM – 9:00AM
Royal IV & V
State of Life Insurance Panel
Moderators: Michelle Giordano & Jimmy Bhullar
AM Best – Andrew Edelsberg, VP, Life & Health
CNO – Edward Bonach, CEO
Jefferies – Marty Dolan, Managing Director
Primerica – Glenn Williams, President
9:00AM –10:00AM
Royal IV & V
State of P&C Insurance Panel
Moderators: Craig Elkind & Brian Meredith
Arch Capital – Dinos Iordanou, Chairman, President and CEO
Marsh & McLennan – Dan Glaser, President and CEO
The Hartford – Doug Elliott, President
10:00AM –11:00AM
Royal IV & V
Life Panel: Individual Life
Moderators: Erik Bass
Aegon/Transamerica – Scott Ham, CEO, Transamerica Life & Protection
Lincoln National – Mike Burns, SVP, Life Solutions
11:00AM – 12:00PM
Royal IV & V
Life Panel: The Future of Retirement –
Moderators: Eric Berg
Genetics Expert – Brandon Mulholland, Albert Einstein College of
Medicine
Principal Financial – Tim Minard, Head of US Distribution
Soleares Research – Steve McDonnell, President
Wells Fargo – Joseph Ready, EVP, Director of Wells Fargo Institutional
Retirement and Trust
12:00PM – 1:30PM
Orchid Ballroom
LUNCH: Sponsored by Radian
1:30PM – 2:30PM
Royal IV & V
P&C Panel: Global Reinsurance – Future of Global Reinsurance
Moderator: Jay Gelb
Everest Re - Dominic Addesso, President and CEO
Hannover Re - Ulrich Wallin, Chairman and CEO
Swiss Re - J. Eric Smith, CEO, Swiss Re Americas
2:30PM – 3:30PM
Royal IV & V
rd
st
P&C Panel: From 3 Party to 1 Party – What’s the Next Stop for
Alternative Capital?
Moderators: Alison Jacobowitz & Amit Kumar
Greenlight Re – Bart Hedges, CEO
Third Point Re – John Berger, Chairman and CEO
Validus – Lixin Zeng, CEO AlphaCat
3:30PM – 4:30PM
Royal IV & V
P&C Panel: Lloyd’s
Moderators: Will Allen & Mike Nannizzi
Beazley – Dan Jones, Head of US Specialty
Catlin – Paul Jardine, Chief Operating Officer
Chaucer – Bob Stuchberry, CEO
Lancashire – Jonny Creagh-Coen, Head of Investor Relations
4:30PM – 5:30PM
Royal IV & V
Mortgage Insurance
Moderators: Sean Dargan
Genworth – Rohit Gupta, President and CEO, Genworth U.S. Mortgage
Insurance
MGIC – Patrick Sinks, President and Chief Operating Officer
Radian – Derek Brummer, Chief Risk Officer
6:00PM – 8:00PM
Orchid Foyer & Ballroom
COCKTAILS & DINNER: Sponsored by Travelers
Guest Speaker: Joe Theismann, World Champion Quarterback,
Broadcaster & Entrepreneur
8:00PM – 10:00PM
Sunset Veranda
AIFA Nightcap: Sponsored by The Hartford
Tuesday March 3, 2014
ALL DAY
Acacia 1 Foyer
Individual Company Sponsored Meetings
See Weston Associates for schedule
7:00AM – 8:00AM
Orchid Ballroom
BREAKFAST: Sponsored by Validus
8:00AM - 9:00AM
Royal IV & V
Insurance M&A
Moderator: Jay Cohen & Kai Pan
Jefferies – Marty Dolan, Managing Director
JP Morgan – Eric Goldstein, Managing Director, Insurance M&A
Renaissance Re – Aditya Dutt, President, Renaissance Underwriting
Managers Ltd.
Towers Watson – Sean McDermott, Director
9:00AM – 10:00AM
Royal IV & V
Data & Analytics
Moderators: Charles Sebaski
AIG – Murli Buluswar, Chief Science Officer
Deloitte – John Lucker, Principal
IBM – Kim Minor, Global Insurance Marketing Manager, Big Data &
Analytics
XL – Kimberly Holmes, SVP Head of Strategic Analytics
10:00AM – 11:00AM
Royal IV & V
Life Panel: Group & Voluntary Benefits
Moderators: Brian Rohman & Ryan Krueger
Unum – Michael Simonds, President and CEO, Unum US
Reliance Standard – Christopher Fazzini, EVP, Sales & Marketing
11:00AM – 12:00PM
Royal IV & V
P&C Panel: Personal Lines
Moderators: Josh Stirling
Admiral – Andrew Rose, CEO, President, Chairman - comparenow.com
Kemper – Denise Lynch, Property & Casualty Group Executive
National General – Michael Weiner, Chief Financial Officer
12:00PM – 1:30PM
Orchid Ballroom
Lunch: Sponsored by Montpelier Re
Ratings Panel
Moderator: Paul Newsome
AM Best – Jennifer Marshall, AVP, Property & Casualty
S&P – Kevin Ahern, Managing Director and Analytics Manager
Fitch – Julie Burke, Managing Director
Moody’s – Robert Riegel, Managing Director
1:30PM – 2:30PM
Royal IV & V
P&C Panel: Insurance Brokers
Moderator: Dan Farrell & Meyer Shields
Brown & Brown – R. Andrew Watts, Chief Financial Officer
JLT – David Flandro, Global Head of Strategic Advisory, JLT Re
2:30PM – 3:30PM
Royal IV & V
Investment Portfolio – Fighting Deflation
Moderator: Randy Binner
American Equity – Jeffrey Lorenzen, CFA, Chief Investment Officer
CNO – Eric R. Johnson, President, 40/86 Advisors Inc.,
Prudential Financial – Scott Sleyster, Chief Investment Officer
3:30PM – 4:30PM
Royal IV & V
P&C Panel: Commercial & Specialty Insurance
Moderator: Vinay Misquith
Arch Capital – Mark Lyons, Chief Financial Officer
Argo – Jay Bullock, Chief Financial Officer
CNA Financial – D. Craig Mense, Chief Financial Officer
RLI – Craig W. Kliethermes, Executive Vice President (Operations)
5:30PM – 8:00PM
TBD
COCKTAILS & DINNER
Biographies
Guest Speaker
Joe Theismann, World Champion Quarterback, Broadcaster and Entrepreneur
Losing his successful football career at 35 to a serious injury, Joe Theismann learned firsthand how to think,
analyze and reinvent in the face of adversity and change.
The most successful quarterback in the history of the Washington Redskins, Joe Theismann is also a worldclass entrepreneur whose positive, high-energy presentations provide audiences with strategies for
handling trying circumstances and dealing with unforeseen change.
Theismann always goes the extra mile to inspire your team to excellence, showing how passion, leadership
and teamwork all combine to create a comprehensive game plan for success. A successful businessman
who currently serves on the board of directors of Johnny Rocket’s Group, he always challenges audiences
to recognize the potential that lies within—as individuals and as members of a team.
Voted the NFL’s Most Valuable Player, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and twice named
both the Pro Bowl’s Most Valuable Player and the NFL’s Man of the Year, Theismann led his team to the
Super Bowl XVII championship.
Known for his long-standing community service efforts, Theismann currently sits on the corporate board of
the St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Theismann was an Emmy award-winning analyst for two decades on
ESPN’s critically acclaimed, Sunday Night NFL broadcast and is currently an analyst for the NFL Network
Panel Speakers
Dominic Addesso, President and CEO, Everest Re
Dominic Addesso, CPA, is President, Chief Executive Officer, Director of Everest Re Group, Ltd. He serves
as a director of the Company since September 19, 2012, became Chief Executive Officer of Everest Re on
January 1, 2014. He became President of the Company, Everest Holdings and Everest Re on June 16,
2011 and served as Chief Financial Officer of those companies from 2009 through the second quarter of
2012. From 2008 until he joined the Company in May 2009, Mr. Addesso was President of Regional Clients
of Munich Reinsurance America, Inc. From 2001 to 2009, he served as President of Direct Treaty, Munich
Reinsurance America, Inc. with profit and loss responsibility for direct treaty business covering all lines
including surety, political risk and marine. From 1999 through 2001, he served in various underwriting and
financial operations roles. From 1982 to 1995, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer of Selective Insurance Group, Inc. Prior to that, Mr. Addesso worked in public accounting for KPMG.
Kevin Ahern, Managing Director, Financial Services Ratings, S&P
Kevin Ahern is a Managing Director in Standard & Poor’s Financial Services Ratings Group and is the
Analytical Manager of North American Property & Casualty Insurance segment. This team is responsible
for analyzing property & casualty insurance companies, maintaining analytical quality and global
comparability, advancing ratings criteria development, and providing industry commentary and outlooks.
Prior to this position Kevin was the analytical manager for life/health & mortgage/title insurance segment
responsible for analyzing life, mortgage /title and health insurance companies. Previously, Kevin was a
senior analyst responsible for large and mid-sized life insurance groups in the United States.
Prior to joining Standard & Poor’s in 1997, Kevin was an analyst with A.M. Best Company, where he
analyzed and managed a portfolio of life insurance companies in the United States and Canada. Kevin
was previously employed at The Prudential, where he handled various financial management functions
specializing in GAAP and statutory financial statement analyses.
Kevin is a graduate of Rowan University with a B.S. in Business Administration.
John R. Berger, Chairman, CEO and Chief Underwriting Officer, Third Point Re
Mr. Berger is our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Underwriting Officer and has served in this
position since December 22, 2011. Mr. Berger is an insurance industry veteran with over thirty years of
experience, the majority of which was spent as the principal executive officer of three successful
reinsurance companies. Mr. Berger served as Chief Executive Officer, Reinsurance and Vice Chairman of
the Board of Alterra Capital Holdings Limited (previously known as Max Capital Group Ltd.) from May 2010.
He also served as Chairman of Alterra Reinsurance Limited (previously known as Harbor Point Re Limited),
Chief Executive Officer of Alterra Capital Services Inc. (previously known as Harbor Point Services, Inc.),
and a Director of Alterra Agency Limited (Harbor Point Agency Limited), New Point III Limited and New
Point Re III Limited. From August 1998 to December 2005, he was the Chief Executive Officer and
President of Chubb Re, Inc. From November 1983 to August 1998, he held various positions at F&G Re
including Chief Executive Officer and President. Following the acquisition of USF&G by The St. Paul
Companies in April 1998 until August 1998, he served as President of the North American Treaty operation
of St. Paul Re and President of F&G Re. Prior to 1983, Mr. Berger was an Underwriter at General Re and
Prudential Reinsurance. Mr. Berger is a Member of the Board of Directors of the Reinsurance Association
of America. He earned an undergraduate degree in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA from
Rutgers University.
Edward J. Bonach, Chief Executive Officer, CNO Financial Group
Ed Bonach (60) was appointed chief executive officer and a director of CNO Financial Group in October
2011. He serves as a member of the Executive Committee and the Investment Committee. Bonach formerly
served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of CNO from May 2007 through September
2011. His areas of responsibility included actuarial, accounting, controlling, risk management, treasury, tax,
facilities and investor relations. This role included partnering with the CEO in strategically repositioning and
leading the organization.
Bonach joined CNO from National Life Group, where he served as executive vice president and chief
financial officer. Before joining National Life in 2002, he was with Allianz Life for 23 years, where he worked
in Germany for three years; his positions with Allianz included president, Reinsurance Division and chief
financial officer. His more than 25 years of c-suite experience includes numerous M&A and capital markets
transactions, managing a variety of stakeholders, including activist shareholders.
Bonach holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) in mathematics from St. John's University in
Collegeville, Minnesota. He is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), a member of the American
Academy of Actuaries (MAAA) and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA).
Other outside involvement includes Board Member, Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce; Board
Member, Indiana Sports Corporation (ISC); Board Member, Boy Scouts of America-Crossroads of America
Council; Board of Trustees Member, Marian University and Director, Western Golf Association.
Derek Brummer, Chief Risk Officer, Radian
Derek Brummer is the chief risk officer of Radian Group Inc. In this role, Mr. Brummer is responsible for all
aspects of the credit risk management strategy and framework, as well as evaluating credit policy, for
Radian and its subsidiaries.
Mr. Brummer joined Radian in 2002 and has served as chief risk officer and general counsel for Radian
Asset Assurance Inc., where he managed all risk and legal matters for the financial guaranty company and
its insured portfolio. Mr. Brummer led all risk management strategy, overseeing portfolio surveillance,
reserving, quantitative analytics and modeling, and directing restructurings and workouts. He also played a
key role in developing and structuring new product lines and overseeing various underwriting committees.
Prior to joining Radian, Mr. Brummer was a corporate associate at Allen & Overy; and Cravath, Swaine &
Moore, both in New York.
Mr. Brummer holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and a J.D. from New
York University School of Law.
Jay Bullock, CFO, Argo Group
Jay joined Argo Group in 2008 from Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., where he was Senior Managing Director and
head of Bear Stearns' Insurance Investment Banking Group. Focusing on the property and casualty and life
insurance sector for more than 20 years, he advised companies on acquisitions, mergers and sales, as well
as all forms of public and private financings and restructurings. While at Bear Stearns, Mr. Bullock was an
advisor to Argonaut Group, Argo Group's predecessor company, on a number of transactions. Prior to
joining Bear Stearns in 2000, Mr. Bullock was a Managing Director at First Union Securities.
Murli Buluswar, Senior Vice President and Chief Science Officer, AIG
Murli Buluswar is the Chief Science Officer, reporting to Peter Hancock, President and CEO of AIG. Mr.
Buluswar is responsible for building and leading the newly created Science Team, whose mission it is to
help the business achieve a competitive advantage by infusing consistent science-driven innovation. He is
tasked with establishing a world-class research and development function, focusing on data to support
decisions in how AIG can adapt strategies for better business results and more value delivered for the
customer. He is coordinating the division’s existing analytics teams, building additional capabilities in these
areas and forging strategic links with scientists in academia in relevant disciplines.
Prior to joining AIG, Mr. Buluswar was Vice President of Enterprise Customer Experience at Farmers
Insurance, responsible for defining and executing a complete customer experience vision with the goal of
improving voice of the customer metrics and defined financial measures. His preceding role as Vice
President of Insight and Innovation (I&I) at Farmers Insurance enabled him to establish the Internal
Analytics Consulting Group to identify and drive new opportunities for the business.
Mr. Buluswar was also Vice President of Financial Analysis and Strategic Planning for Answer Financial;
Business Unit Manager and Product Manager, Strategic Alliances for Progressive Corporation; and Senior
Statistician and Business Analyst for Capital One. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Bluffton University, an
M.S. in Statistics and Economics from Auburn University and an M.B.A. in Marketing and Finance from the
University of Chicago. He is regularly invited to speak at insurance and other industry conferences and is
actively involved with the Los Angeles-based Harmony Project, an initiative to help inner city children
achieve purpose through free music instruction.
Julie A. Burke CPA, CFA Managing Director, Fitch Ratings
Julie A. Burke is a managing director in Fitch Ratings’ North American insurance rating group. She
oversees insurance ratings and analytical staff in the life, property/casualty, health, title insurance sectors,
as well as insurance brokers and insurance securitization activities. She is a member of the insurance rating
committee. Previously, Julie was a member of the corporate finance criteria committee of Fitch’s corporate
finance credit policy board, as well as former chair of the accounting & consistency committee. In addition,
she has represented Fitch as a member of FASB’s User Advisory Council (UAC). Julie was previously the
life insurance sector head for the region. She has covered the life insurance industry for Fitch and its
predecessor company since 1991. She is a frequent speaker at insurance industry events and a contributor
to various insurance publications. Julie was a senior vice president and head of insurance analysis and
research at Duff Credit Rating’s (DCR), which she joined in 1991 as an assistant vice president. Before
joining DCR, Julie was a high-yield credit analyst with the Duff & Phelps Investment Research Co. for five
years. Prior to that, Julie was with American National Bank & Trustee Co. of Chicago, a then-subsidiary of
First Chicago (now JP Morgan-Chase). Julie received her BS in finance from Northern Illinois University and
an MBA in accounting and international business from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School
of Management. She is a member of the CFA Institute, the CFA Society of Chicago, the Illinois CPA Society
and the Association of Insurance and Financial Analysts. Julie is a certified public accountant and holds the
Chartered Financial Analyst designation.
Michael J. Burns, Senior Vice President, Lincoln Financial Group
Michael J. Burns currently serves as senior vice president of the Life Solutions business of Lincoln Financial
Group. In this role, Burns oversees product development, underwriting, new business operations, and
financial management for Lincoln’s individual Life Insurance products. Burns’ leadership has fostered a
culture of innovation which consistently positions Lincoln at the forefront of the industry in product design
and process enhancements.
Burns came to Lincoln Financial through the merger with Jefferson Pilot in April of 2006, assuming
responsibility for the integration, management and development of the company’s post-merger Life
Insurance and Lincoln MoneyGuard® Solutions portfolio, creating the foundation for Lincoln’s
comprehensive product suite as it exists today. Prior to the merger, Burns led the management of Jefferson
Pilot’s Life portfolio, implementing product design and pricing strategies that helped establish the company
as a leader in the Guaranteed UL market.
Burns began his career as an actuarial student at Mass Mutual, and today he has more than 25 years of
insurance-industry experience in product development, pricing, strategic positioning and product
management. Following his experience at Mass Mutual, Burns worked for Connecticut Mutual, before
joining AIG Life in 1994. At AIG Life, Burns helped lead the development of the company’s first U.S. retail
Variable Universal Life product, and entry into the Guaranteed UL market, making AIG Life an early entrant
into this space.
Burns graduated from Boston College with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. He is a fellow of the Society
of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and currently serves on the Board of the
Greater Greensboro Metro Y.M.C.A.
Jonny Creagh-Coen, Head of Investor Relations, Lancashire
Jonny Creagh-Coen joined Lancashire in June 2008 and is responsible for the group’s investor relations.
Jonny has extensive experience in the insurance industry specializing in the international property and
casualty arena at Sedgwick, Minet and latterly as an Executive Director at HLF Group. He is a founding
member of Execution Limited originally working within the sales and sales trading team as an Equity Sales
Trader
Marty Dolan, Global Head of Insurance Investment Banking, Jefferies
Marty has been an Insurance banker for more than 20 years, and has worked extensively in Europe, the
US, Asia, Bermuda, and the US. He has been centrally involved in each of the major industry crises, most
notably he led the restructuring of Lloyd's of London, the recapitalization of Bermuda following the 2001 and
2005 WTC and Katrina losses, and was a lead senior insurance banker during the restructuring of AIG.
Marty has completed more than 100 financing and advisory transactions working in all sub-sectors of
insurance.
Aditya Dutt, President, Renaissance Underwriting Managers, Ltd., SVP, RenaissanceRe Holdings
Ltd.
Aditya Dutt oversees Renaissance Underwriting Managers, Ltd. and RenaissanceRe Ventures Ltd. He was
appointed to the Company’s Executive Committee in 2010. Mr. Dutt is responsible for structuring and
managing RenaissanceRe’s catastrophe joint ventures, including DaVinci Re and Top Layer Re. He also
directs RenaissanceRe’s portfolio of strategic investments and insurance-linked securities. Mr. Dutt joined
the Company in 2008.
Previously, he was an Executive Director in Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking division in New York and
Hong Kong, responsible for executing strategic transactions including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures
and capital-raising for the insurance and reinsurance industry. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Mr. Dutt was with
Salomon Brothers in the corporate finance and fixed income departments in Hong Kong. Mr. Dutt holds a
Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from Dartmouth College. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of
Essent Group Ltd. (NYSE: ESNT).
Andrew Edelsberg, CPA, FLMI, Vice President, Health & Employee Benefits, A.M. Best Company
Andrew Edelsberg is a Vice President in the Life/Health Ratings Division of the A.M. Best Company, an
independent global full-service credit rating organization dedicated to serving the insurance industry.
Andrew manages an analytical team that provides rating coverage for a diverse group of domestic
life/health insurers. His team’s portfolio includes the major players in the traditional health and managed
care arena, both publicly-traded and not-for-profit insurers, as well as writers of group life and annuity,
disability income, individual life and annuity, credit life, dental, long-term care, supplemental health and
related financial services products. A.M. Best’s population of rated companies covers nearly the entire
U.S. life/health insurance industry, including a majority of the top health insurance organizations.
Prior to joining A.M. Best in December 1999, Andrew was an Associate Analyst in the Life Insurance
Group at Moody’s Investors Service. Previously, he was employed as an actuarial analyst at Penn Mutual
Life Insurance Company and worked on insurance company audits (mostly of life insurers) while at the
public accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand.
Andrew received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of
Business with concentrations in actuarial science and accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a
Fellow of LOMA’s Life Management Institute, and has passed the Level I exam of the AIMR Chartered
Financial Analyst (CFA) Program.
Doug Elliot, President, The Hartford
Doug Elliot is president of The Hartford, one of the nation’s largest insurance-based financial services
companies. In this role, he has oversight for Commercial and Consumer Markets, the business units that
encompass the company’s Small Commercial, Middle Market and Specialty Casualty businesses, Group
Benefits and Personal Lines, in addition to Claims. He has been responsible for Commercial Markets since
joining the company in April 2011 and was promoted to president of The Hartford, adding oversight of
Consumer Markets to his role in July 2014.
Before joining The Hartford, Elliot served as president of Hartford Steam Boiler and senior advisor with
Aspen Insurance Holdings. He began his career in the public accounting field before joining Travelers in
1987, where he advanced through a series of positions of increasing responsibility eventually becoming
Chief Operating Officer.
Elliot earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Connecticut in 1982. He is a
graduate of the Wharton School of Business insurance executive program which he attended in 1992. He
currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Hartford Hospital. In addition, he is past chairperson of the
MetroHartford Alliance IFS Cluster, as well as Central and Northeastern Connecticut United Way
Campaign.
Christopher Fazzini, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Reliance Standard
Christopher A. Fazzini is Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing for Reliance Standard Life
insurance Company. As the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, he reports directly to the President & CEO.
Mr. Fazzini joined Reliance Standard in 1984 and is responsible for driving profitable growth, client retention
and customer satisfaction through sales effectiveness and service excellence. He is responsible for
Reliance Standard’s nationwide network of regional sales and service offices, and developing strategic
sales and distribution initiatives and partnerships. In addition to core employee benefits offerings, Mr.
Fazzini oversees specialty product distribution strategies for fixed and indexed annuities, limited benefit
medical products, medical stop loss solutions and small group benefits. He also leads the company’s
partnership with sister company Matrix Absence Management to deliver integrated absence management
solutions to the employer market.
Mr. Fazzini directs and oversees the company’s primary service delivery functions including field based
account management and enrollment services, and consolidated centers to support customer service,
billing/premium services and new case implementation.
Prior to his current Home Office position, which he accepted in 1996, Mr. Fazzini was a Reliance Standard
sales representative and manager, named to the company’s President’s Panel each year from the
program’s inception in 1989 through 1995. The President’s Panel recognizes the top 10 Reliance Standard
sales producers each year. Mr. Fazzini earned a B.S. degree in information systems from St. Joseph’s
University.
David Flandro, Global Head of Strategic Advisory, JLT Towers Re
Prior to joining JLT Towers Re, David was the head of Business Intelligence team at Guy Carpenter, where
he was responsible for financial analysis of clients and prospects in support of business development, coordination of published research and the team’s strategic advisory functions. Prior to joining Guy Carpenter,
David worked as an equity analyst at Merrill Lynch covering the European insurance sector. He also worked
at Benfield where he was a credit analyst on the market security team and a member of the Industry
Analysis and Research team. David began his career in securities trading and investment management. He
holds an MBA in financial engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Eric S. Goldstein, Managing Director and Head of Insurance M&A practice, JP Morgan
Mr. Goldstein joined JPMorgan’s Insurance Investment Banking Group in 1998 and has led a broad range
of advisory and capital raising assignments for insurance clients, including most recently: Aegon’s $600mm
sale of its Canadian business to Wilton Re, Standard Life’s $Cdn 4.0bn sale of its Canadian business to
Manulife, TIAA’s $6.25bn acquisition of Nuveen, Orix’s $900mm acquisition of Hartford Japan, Tower
Group’s $175mm sale to ACP Re, HCC’s acquisition of ProAg, Genstar’s sale of insurance broker Confie
Seguros to York Capital, AIG’s $4.8bn sale of Star/Edison to Prudential Financial, Hartford’s $3.3bn capital
raise to repay TARP, the $350 million sale of Old Mutual’s US Life business to Harbinger, Ameriprise’s $1.0
billion acquisition of Columbia Asset Management, IPC Re's $1.7 billion merger with Validus, and AIG's sale
of its Canadian life insurer to the Bank of Montreal, Prior to joining JPMorgan, Mr. Goldstein was a
consultant with McKinsey & Co. in the firm’s Financial Institutions Practice. While at McKinsey, Mr.
Goldstein advised insurance and reinsurance companies on both strategic and operational issues. Mr.
Goldstein received his JD degree from Yale Law School and his undergraduate degree from Harvard
University.
Daniel S. Glaser, President and Chief Executive Officer, Marsh & McLennan
Prior to assuming this role in January 2013, Mr. Glaser, age 54, served as Group President and Chief
Operating Officer of Marsh & McLennan Companies from April 2011 through December 2012, with strategic
and operational oversight of both the Risk and Insurance Services and the Consulting segments of the
Company. Mr. Glaser rejoined Marsh in December 2007 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh
Inc. after serving in senior positions in commercial insurance and insurance brokerage in the United States,
Europe, and the Middle East. He began his career at Marsh 30 years ago. Mr. Glaser is a former Chairman
of British American Business and serves on its International Advisory Board. He is a member of the Board
of Directors of Insurance Information Institute, the Board of Trustees of the American Institute for Chartered
Property Casualty Underwriters and the Board of Trustees of Ohio Wesleyan University.
Rohit Gupta, President & CEO, Genworth US Mortgage Insurance Business
Rohit Gupta is the President and CEO for Genworth’s U.S. Mortgage Insurance Business. Previous to this
role, Mr. Gupta has held positions of Chief Commercial Officer, Senior Vice President, Products,
Intelligence and Strategy and Vice President - Commercial Operations in the U.S. Mortgage Insurance
business.
Mr. Gupta began his marketing career with FedEx in Strategic Marketing in 1998 where he was responsible
for competitive intelligence and market analysis supporting FedEx senior management. He was hired by GE
Capital in 2000 as a Product Manager responsible for growing a new business line for an Information
Technology business. In 2003, he was hired by GE Mortgage Insurance to manage community bank
segment as a segment marketing manager. He was promoted to manage account development function in
2005. In 2006, his responsibilities were expanded to include sales operations, sales force effectiveness,
customer training and sales training.
Mr. Gupta has an MBA in Finance from University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and an undergraduate
degree in Computer Science & Technology from Indian Institute of Technology. He resides in Raleigh,
North Carolina with his wife and two children.
Scott Ham, President and CEO, Transamerica Life & Protection
Scott W. Ham is President and CEO of Transamerica Life & Protection, a division of Transamerica that
offers life and supplemental health products through a variety of distribution channels. He is also a member
of the AEGON Americas Management Board.
He began his career with the AEGON companies in December 2000 as Labor & Employment Counsel for
the AEGON Equity Group in St. Petersburg, Florida, and subsequently held positions as Senior Vice
President & General Counsel for World Financial Group (Duluth, Georgia) 2001-2007; Division General
Counsel for Transamerica Life & Protection (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) 2007-2010; and President & CEO of
Transamerica Life & Protection, 2010.
Prior to joining the AEGON companies, he worked in private practice representing business clients in
employment and business-related matters, including litigation and transactional law.
Scott earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Pennsylvania State University and a Juris Doctorate
degree from the Pepperdine University School of Law. Scott and his wife, Alisa, live in Solon, Iowa with
their two children, Caitlin (Sophomore at the University of Northern Iowa) and Connor.
Bart Hedges, CEO, Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd.
Bart Hedges, has served as Chief Executive Officer of Greenlight Reinsurance, Ltd since August 2011.
Since January 2006 he served as President and Chief Underwriting Officer. Mr. Hedges has over 20 years’
experience in the property and casualty insurance/reinsurance industry and is a Fellow of the Casualty
Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Prior to joining Greenlight
Reinsurance, Ltd., Mr. Hedges served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Platinum Underwriters
Bermuda, Ltd., a property, casualty and finite risk reinsurer from July 2002 until December 2005, where he
was responsible for the initial start-up of the company and managed the company’s day-to-day operations.
Mr. Hedges previous experience includes serving as executive vice president and Chief Operating Officer of
Bermuda-based Scandinavian Re and actuarial consultant at Tillinghast—Towers Perrin.
Kimberly Holmes, Senior Vice President and Head of Strategic Analytics, XL Group
She is responsible for expanding XL's use of risk analytics throughout the entire company. Working with all
units of XL, including actuarial, risk management, underwriting, management information and information
technology, she is tasked with developing new ways of thinking about risk analysis, and delivering
appropriate tools to ensure maximum impact of new initiatives for XL's clients.
Prior to joining XL, Holmes was SVP and Chief Actuary of Endurance Risk Solutions, where she created
innovative analytics to improve decision making, developed casualty risk management tools and focused on
ways to use analytics to drive strategy. She is an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society and is a
member of the American Academy of Actuaries where she serves on the Emerging Risks Committee.
Constantine Iordanou, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Arch Capital
Constantine Iordanou has been Chairman of the Board of ACGL since November 6, 2009 and President
and Chief Executive Officer of ACGL since August 2003. He has been a director since January 1, 2002.
From January 2002 to July 2003, Mr. Iordanou was Chief Executive Officer of Arch Capital Group (U.S.)
Inc. From March 1992 through December 2001, Mr. Iordanou served in various capacities for Zurich
Financial Services and its affiliates, including as Senior Executive Vice President of group operations and
business development of Zurich Financial Services, President of Zurich-American Specialties Division,
Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Zurich-American and Chief Executive Officer of
Zurich North America. Prior to joining Zurich, he served as President of the commercial casualty division of
the Berkshire Hathaway Group and served as Senior Vice President with the American Home Insurance
Company, a member of the American International Group. Since 2001, Mr. Iordanou has served as a
director of Verisk Analytics, Inc. (formerly known as ISO Inc.). He holds an aerospace engineering degree
from New York University.
Paul Jardine – COO, Catlin Group
Paul Jardine joined Catlin in 2001 with responsibility for the development of new financial products. He was
appointed chief executive of the Catlin Syndicate in 2003 and chief operating officer of Catlin Group Limited
in 2004. Prior to joining Catlin he was chief actuary and commutations director of Equitas Holdings Limited.
He also was a partner at Coopers & Lybrand, where he was involved almost exclusively with issues dealing
with Lloyd’s and the London insurance market. He began his career with Prudential Assurance Company
Limited as an actuarial student and subsequently an actuary. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and
an Associate of the Casualty Actuarial Society.
Dan Jones, Head of US Specialty, Beazley
Daniel L. Jones retired in 2003 as Vice-Chairman for Marsh, Inc., responsible for non-North American
operations, strategic planning, mergers/acquisitions, and offices out of London. In 2006 he re-entered the
broking business as chief executive for the broking operations of Fred A. Moreton & Co., a Salt Lake Citybased regional financial services concern focusing on the western United States. Dan Jones served as a
non-executive director of Beazley between 2006 and 2010. In June 2010, he stepped down from the
Beazley plc board to join the company's executive committee. In his new role as head of Beazley's strategic
broker relations program, his focus is on deepening relationships with key business producers around the
world.
Eric R. Johnson President, 40|86 Advisors, Inc., Chief Investment Officer, CNO Financial Group, Inc.
Eric Johnson has been the President of 40|86 Advisors (CNO’s registered investment advisor subsidiary)
for 10 years. In addition, he chairs the company’s Investment – Asset Liability Management Committee. He
has more than 20 years of financial markets and investment experience, beginning with a predecessor bank
of J.P. Morgan and Co. He holds a B.A. in American history from Harvard University, where he graduated
cum laude. He is a board member of The Jefferson Awards of Central Indiana and The Julian Center.
Craig W. Kliethermes, EVP, Operations, RLI
Craig is responsible for RLI actuarial operations and management of the RLI Marine, Transportation,
Executive Products Group, Professional Services Group and Reinsurance Group. He joined RLI in 2006
from Lockton Companies in Kansas City, where he was Sr. VP & director of quantitative analysis. He
previously held executive positions with GE Insurance/Employers Reinsurance and John Deere Insurance
Company.
Jeffrey D. Lorenzen, CFA, Chief Investment Officer, American Equity Life
Jeffrey D. Lorenzen joined American Equity Investment Life Holding Company in February 2009 as senior
vice president and chief investment officer. In this position, he is responsible for establishing the investment
strategy and leading the daily investment activity on behalf of the Company. Prior to joining the Company,
he was the president and chief investment officer of WB Capital Management Inc., a wholly-owned
subsidiary of West Bancorporation, Inc. He also served on the board of directors for WB Capital
Management Inc. and was a member of the management committee of West Bancorporation. Prior to 2006,
Lorenzen was president and chief investment officer of Investors Management Group, where he spent 14
years in a variety of investment leadership positions. He started his career at The Statesman Group as a
high-yield credit analyst in 1989. Lorenzen serves as a board governor for the CFA Institute. He is a past
president and board member of the CFA Society of Iowa and also serves on the board of Goodwill
Industries of Central Iowa. He received his B.B.A in finance from the University of Iowa and an M.B.A. from
Drake University.
John Lucker, Global Advanced Analytics & Modeling Market Leader and a leader for Deloitte
Analytics, Deloitte Consulting LLP
John’s primary focus is within the insurance industry where he leads the delivery of advanced analytic
business solutions to clients for end-to-end strategy, business, operational, and technical consulting
services. His clients include property-casualty insurance carriers (personal, commercial, standard, nonstandard, specialty lines), group insurers, life insurers, health insurers/providers, reinsurers, TPAs, MGAs,
and financial services companies. Mr. Lucker has developed numerous proprietary strategies, methods
and technical solutions in the areas of commercial and group insurance underwriting, risk selection and
pricing, claims management, agency, sales force and producer management, customer and marketing
management, credit and non-credit based predictive modeling solutions for personal lines insurers, life
insurance underwriting processes, soft fraud detection, telematics, rules engines and predictive modeling
systems.
Mr. Lucker is a frequent speaker for industry and professional organizations and insurance company boards
of directors and writes for a variety of publications. He is a co-inventor of US Patent 8,036,919 for a
“Licensed Professional Scoring System and Method”, US Patent 8,145,507 for a "Commercial Insurance
Scoring System and Method", US Patent 8,200,511 for a "Method & System For Determining the
Importance of Individual Variables in a Statistical Model" and has three other predictive modeling patents
pending. He holds a BA and an MBA from the University of Rochester.
Mark Lyons, CFO, Arch Capital
Mark is Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of ACGL. He joined Arch in 2002,
and served in various capacities within Arch Insurance U.S. operations, eventually rising to Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Arch Worldwide Insurance Group. Prior to joining Arch, Mark held various
positions at Zurich U.S., Berkshire Hathaway and American International Group.
Denise Lynch, Property & Casualty Group Executive, Kemper Corporation
Ms. Denise I. Lynch is Vice President of Kemper Corporation, since February 2013. She was promoted to
the position of Property & Casualty Group Executive in December 2012. She has served as President of
Kemper Preferred since joining the Company in January 2009. From March 2008 to December 2008, Ms.
Lynch served as Vice President of Sales & Marketing Excellence for the property and casualty insurance
operations within The Hartford. From April 2002 to December 2007, Ms. Lynch served as Vice President
Small Segment and Vice President Customer Experience.
Jennifer Marshall, Assistant Vice President, A.M. Best Company
Jennifer is an assistant vice president in the Property/Casualty Department of A.M. Best, an independent
insurance information and rating service serving the global insurance industry. She manages a team of
analysts whose portfolios are comprised primarily of U.S. commercial lines insurers, including a number of
monoline workers’ compensation companies.
Jennifer is responsible for A.M. Best’s quarterly analysis of the U.S. property/casualty industry, and
oversees an annual report on the workers’ compensation industry. Prior to joining A.M. Best in 2006,
Jennifer worked at ISO (a Verisk Analytics Company), where she held positions in a variety of areas
including insurance lines, finance and business development.
Jennifer received a bachelor's degree in economics and political science from Rutgers University and an
MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business. She holds the Chartered Property Casualty
Underwriter and Associate in Risk Management designations.
Steven D. McDonnell, Founder, President, Soleares Research
Steven D. McDonnell, began his immersion in the variable annuity industry while a reporter at Annuity
Market News from 1998 to 2000. From 2000 to 2006, he worked at Strategic Insight Mutual Fund Research
and Consulting, LLC, serving as the first editor of AnnuityInsight.com, a web-based research publication,
where he wrote a weekly commentary focusing on developments in the VA business, with an eye towards
uncovering new and unique things being done with contracts, features and underlying funds. In addition,
he assisted the site’s subscribers with their research and conducted periodic industry briefings. In his role
as an annuity business analyst and commentator, he has been quoted in publications such as The Wall
Street Journal, Financial Planning, Ignites.com, Fund Marketing Alert and Fund Action. Prior to covering
the annuity world, and had a long career in journalism, working in a full-time and freelance capacity for
numerous periodicals He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Iona College.
Sean McDermott, Business Leader, Capital Division, Towers Watson
Sean is the Division Line of Business Leader for the Capital Division which includes management
responsibility for the Life and Property Casualty practices for the Bermuda, Berwyn, New York,
Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. offices.
Sean McDermott is a member of Towers Watson Risk Consulting and Software segment with significant
global insurance and reinsurance experience. He has extensive knowledge of commercial lines rate
adequacy, profitability analyses, economic capital modeling, primary company and reinsurance loss
reserving, financial and regulatory reporting. Sean has also been involved in numerous merger and
acquisition due diligence assignments, as well as operational and strategic reviews.
Prior to joining Towers Watson, Sean was Executive Vice President & Chief Actuary for AXIS Insurance
where he coordinated worldwide actuarial services. He has domestic and international experience in all
major casualty, professional, and property lines of business and was a member of the AXIS Insurance
management team.
Before joining AXIS, Sean was Senior Vice President & Actuary at American Re-Insurance (now Munich
Re) where he served as Chief Reserving Actuary and Chief Pricing Actuary. He began his career with
Insurance Service Office in 1981 and previously also worked for Fireman’s Fund and Continental Insurance
companies.
Sean is a graduate of New York University with a Bachelor of Science in Quantitative Analysis and
Duquesne University with a Master of Science in Leadership and Business Ethics.
Sean is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS), Member of the American Academy of Actuaries
(MAAA), Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA), Associate Member of the Society of Actuaries in
Ireland (ASAI), and a Member of the Professional Liability Underwriters Association (PLUS). He has also
served on numerous committees for the Casualty Actuarial Society and regularly participates as a panelist
at industry events.
D. Craig Mense, CFO, CNA Financial
Craig has overall responsibility for CNA's Corporate Finance Department. He is also responsible for
Enterprise Risk Management and CNA's non-core operations which include Life & Group Operations and
Life & Group Operations and Global Resource Managers which oversees CNA Re and other run-off
operations. Craig is also a member of the Chairman's Executive Committee which is responsible for
strategy, results and oversight of all business units of CNA Financial Corporation. Prior to joining CNA in
2004, Craig was president and chief executive officer of Global Run-off Operations for Travelers.
Brandon Mulholland, Genetics Expert, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Brandon received his B.A. in Natural Sciences, specializing in Genetics, from the University of Cambridge in
2010. That year, he began his PhD at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, joining the labs of Jan Vijg
and Yousin Suh. Currently co-author on three published papers, Brandon's research focuses on the role of
DNA damage, repair and mutation in the aging process.
Timothy Minard, Head of US Distribution, Principal Financial
Timothy Minard is senior vice president, distribution for Retirement and Investor Services and US Insurance
Solutions. In this role, Minard manages distribution initiatives for all retirement-related product lines of The
Principal®, including full-service accumulation, mutual funds, annuities and asset retention products and
services, as well as our life, non-qualified, disability and non-medical products within US Insurance
Solutions.
Minard leads a nationwide network of 46 retirement services offices, with more than 120 sales and business
development staff and 200 service and education staff. For US Insurance Solutions, he leads more than
135 sales staff and 965 affiliated financial representatives across the country. He is also responsible for
seeking out and forging strategic relationships with premier sales and distribution partners.
Minard received his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa.
Kim Minor, Global Industry Executive, Insurance, IBM
As the Global Insurance Industry Executive for Big Data & Analytics, Kim Minor is responsible for strategic
development of transformational, real-time, integrated ‘smart’ big data and analytics solutions to life,
annuity, and property and casualty insurers worldwide. Kim works closely across industries and with cloud
and mobility solutions. Kim has 15 years of insurance industry experience including market development,
competitive insights, solutions development, marketing, business consulting, and insurance operations
management. Kim’s industry experience includes underwriting, new business; call center, claims, policy
service, producer services, and accounting. Kim serves on several industry boards and is active on social
media in both the industry and big data and analytics forums. Prior to joining IBM, Kim held global roles in
corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.
Joseph Ready, EVP, Director of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust, Wells Fargo
Joe is responsible for products and services for more than 5,200 retirement plans and custody accounts
with 3.8 million employees, supported by more than 2,200 teammates. His leadership focuses on client
services and relationship management, operations, technology, strategic business solutions, risk and
compliance, and total retirement outsourcing.
Currently vice president and board member of the Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Record
Keepers (SPARK). Joe also serve on the board of directors for the LIMRA / LOMA Secure Retirement
Institute and is a board member of BPS & M, LLC, a Wells Fargo Company.
Joe volunteers in the Charlotte region with various charitable functions and was most recently as an active
board member on the Charlotte Catholic Foundation. Over the last several years, he has been named one
of the 401(k) industry’s top 50 most influential people by 401(k) Wire.
Robert L. Riegel, Managing Director, Americas Insurance, Moody’s
Robert Riegel is responsible for Moody’s life, property-casualty, and health insurance ratings and research
in the Americas. Prior to joining Moody's in 1988, Robert worked as an actuary at Home Life Insurance
Company.
Robert received a BS degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. He received a
MBA degree in finance from New York University's Graduate School of Business Administration. Robert is
an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
Andrew Rose, President, Chairman, and CEO - Comparenow.com
Over the last 10 years Andrew Rose has worked with a number of insurance companies including
Progressive, Countrywide, and Elephant Insurance in several high-profile capacities. Andrew is a frequent
Ironman competitor, avid marathoner, and an active member of FIRST Lego League, one of the largest
robotics competitions in the country.
Michael Simonds, President and Chief Executive Officer, Unum US, Unum Group
Michael Simonds became President and Chief Executive Officer of Unum US in July 2013. In this role, he is
responsible for leading Unum’s largest business unit.
Michael received his bachelors’ degrees in economics and anthropology from Bowdoin College. Upon
graduation, Michael began his career with Unum where he held various management positions in finance,
marketing and sales. Michael left Unum to earn his Masters’ in business administration from Harvard
Business School and then served a range of financial institutions as a consultant with McKinsey &
Company before returning to Unum in 2003. Since that time he has held various marketing, product and
operations leadership roles, and was most recently chief operating officer of Unum US.
Michael currently resides in Falmouth, Maine with his wife, Ruby, and their four boys. He is active in youth
athletics and sits on the boards of the United Way of Greater Portland and Let’s Go! a non-profit focused on
youth obesity.
Patrick Sinks, CEO, MGIC
During his 36 year tenure with MGIC Investment Corporation President and Chief Operating Officer, Patrick
Sinks, has helped guide the company through several significant evolutions. Mr. Sinks began his career at
MGIC in 1978 as a member of the accounting team. He earned several promotions culminating with the
role of Senior Vice President – Controller and Chief Accounting Officer before being handpicked by the
company’s Chief Executive Officer, Curt Culver, to eventually succeed him as MGIC’s leader. Mr. Sinks
was then moved to the sales side of the business as Senior Vice President – Field Operations and was
subsequently promoted to his current position.
In March of 2015, Mr. Sinks will take the helm from the retiring Curt Culver at a time when MGIC is once
again faced with significant changes. Over the last several years, Mr. Sinks played a significant role in
helping the company augment its capital position in order to improve liquidity and strengthen its claimspaying ability. This includes raising more than $3 billion in capital through stock and debt issuances since
2008. He serves a principal role on the regulatory front as new legislation continues to be finalized on a
state and federal level. He has also overseen fundamental changes within the mortgage insurance industry
that impact how business gets done. As a result of the strategic, forward planning, MGIC is now in an
excellent position to fully participate in the growing housing recovery.
Mr. Sinks earned his MBA from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, holds a Bachelor of Science
degree in accounting from Mary College, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Duke
University’s FUQUA School of Business.
J. Eric Smith, CEO, Swiss Re Americas
J. Eric Smith was appointed to the Group Executive Committee with effect from 1 January 2012. He was
appointed Regional President Americas with effect from 1 January 2012. He joined Swiss Re in July 2011
as Chief Executive Officer of the Americas Division and as a member of the Group Management Board.
Prior to Swiss Re, he was President at USAA Life Insurance Co., where he led the effort to provide life,
health, and annuity solutions through direct channels. Before USAA, J. Eric Smith was President of Allstate
Financial Services where he was responsible for the Allstate agency line of business. He spent over 20
years with Country Financial, helping to build its Property and Casualty business. He has an MBA in
Strategy, Marketing and Corporate Finance from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Scott Sleyster Chief Investment Officer, Prudential Financial, Inc.
Scott Sleyster is the Chief Investment Officer for Prudential Financial, Inc., responsible for asset/liability
management and portfolio construction for Prudential’s International and Domestic business operations.
Additionally, Sleyster oversees the investment strategy organization supporting Prudential’s investment
operations on a global basis. Before being appointed to this role, he led Prudential’s Full Service Retirement
and Institutional Investment Products businesses. Since joining Prudential, Sleyster has served in a variety
of leadership positions including head of Prudential’s Full-Service Retirement business, president of
Prudential’s Guaranteed Products business, chief financial officer for Prudential’s Employee Benefits
Division, and has held roles in Prudential’s Treasury, Derivatives, and Investment Management units. He is
a member of the Pension & Investment Oversight and Disclosure Committees. Sleyster has played an
active role in the development of U.S. retirement policy and has supported legislative efforts to promote the
formation of new retirement plans, expand coverage under existing plans and increase overall levels of
retirement savings. He was appointed by President Bush and Congress as a delegate to the National
Summit on Retirement Savings in 2002 and 2006. In October 2009, he testified before Congress on the
Reform of the Over-the-Counter Derivative Market: Limiting Risk and Ensuring Fairness. In 2003, testified to
the Congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce at a public hearing on The Pension Security
Act: New Pension Protections to Safeguard the Retirement Savings of American Workers. In 2005, he was
named a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging. He has an MBA from Northwestern University
and earned a finance degree, with distinction, from the University of Missouri. He also holds the Chartered
Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of The New York Society of Security Analysts, Inc.
(NYSSA).
Robert Stuchbery, CEO, Chaucer
Robert is a fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute and has been a director at Chaucer since 1998. He
has overall responsibility for the successful strategic development of Chaucer. Robert is also a member of
the Executive Leadership Team of The Hanover, which owns Chaucer. Prior to his appointment as CEO in
2010, Robert was the Chief Underwriting Officer, having previously been Active Underwriter of Lloyd’s
Syndicate 1096. Robert is also a member of the Lloyd’s Market Association Board.
Ulrich Wallin, Chairman and CEO, Hannover Re
Mr. Ulrich Wallin has been Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer of Hannover
Rueck SE since July 1, 2009. His responsibilities include Controlling, Corporate Communications,
Corporate Development, Human Resources Management, Internal Auditing as well as Risk Management at
the Company. Mr. Wallin has been with Hannover Rueckversicherung AG since February 9, 2001. In 1982,
he joined HDI Haftpflichtverband der Deutschen Industrie V.a.G. Following this, Mr. Wallin joined E+S
Rueckversicherung AG as Treaty Specialist in the Foreign Section. In 1987, with the integration of E+S
Rueck's Foreign Section into Hannover Re's group of United States departments, he assumed a variety of
responsibilities, primarily in the areas of aviation and space as well as the United States liability business. In
1996, Mr. Wallin was promoted to Vice President for worldwide aviation and marine business. He holds a
degree in Law from Universitaet Hamburg, which he obtained in 1982.
R. Andrew Watts, Chief Financial Officer, Brown & Brown
Andrew Watts is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Brown & Brown, Inc. Brown &
Brown is a $1.4B diversified insurance agency, providing wholesale brokerage insurance programs and
third party services. Services offered include coverage for property and casualty, employee benefits,
professional liability, public entity, personal lines as well as claims administration and medical management.
Brown & Brown’s business is divided into four reportable divisions: Retail, Wholesale Brokerage, National
Programs and Services. Andrew joined Brown and Brown in February 2014. He is responsible for all
aspects of the financial organization, treasury, investor relations, information technology, as well as
supporting strategy, acquisitions and the Board of Directors.
Prior to joining Brown and Brown, Andrew worked at Thomson Reuters for 12 years, most recently as the
Global Head of Customer Administration, where he was responsible for leading a global team focused on
transforming the end-to-end delivery of the customer buying experience and product fulfillment through
utilization of process redesign and system implementation. Prior to this role, Andrew was CFO for the
Investment and Advisory Division of Thomson Reuters Markets, where he was responsible for all financial
functions as well as helping to set the strategic direction and operations for the division. He joined Thomson
Financial in 2001. During his tenure there he served in multiple CFO held operational responsibilities and
led numerous M&A activities along with subsequent integration into the company. Prior to his career at
Thomson Reuters, Andrew was co-founder and CFO of an internet start-up company. Before that he was
with PricewaterhouseCoopers for over 10 years. Andy holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Illinois
State University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He is married with two daughters and enjoys golf,
basketball, skiing and traveling.
Michael Weiner, Chief Financial Officer, National General Holdings
Michael Weiner joined the Company in 2010 as chief financial officer. Mr. Weiner also serves as an officer
and director of many of our subsidiaries. From 2009 to 2010, Mr. Weiner was the global chief financial
officer of Ally Financial's GMAC Insurance unit. From 2008 to 2009, Mr. Weiner was at Cerberus
Operations and Advisory Company as a member of the financial services team. Prior to his tenure at
Cerberus, Mr. Weiner held a number of financial management positions with Citigroup. He joined Citigroup
from KPMG LLP, and began his career at Bankers Trust Company.
Glenn Williams, President, Primerica
Glenn J. Williams has served as President since 2005, as Executive Vice President from 2000 to 2005 and
in various capacities at our company since 1983. He began his career with Primerica in 1981 as a member
of the company’s sales force. Mr. Williams earned his B.S. in education from Baptist University of America
in 1981. He serves on the board of the Georgia Baptist Foundation.
Lixin Zeng, Chief Executive Officer, AlphaCat
Lixin Zeng, Ph.D., CFA serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of AlphaCat
Managers, Ltd. and Validus Research, Inc. and has played a key role in AlphaCat since its formation in
2008. Prior to this role, he was Executive Risk Officer of Validus Reinsurance, Ltd., responsible for
developing and executing the catastrophe risk strategy of the entire Validus Group. Mr. Zeng was one of the
original eight employees at the founding of the Company in 2005. His prior positions include: Chief
Catastrophe Risk Officer at the ACE Group from 2004 to 2005, Head of Development at Willis Re Inc. from
2001 to 2004, Analyst at EW Blanch Co. from 1998 to 2001 and Research Scientist at Arkwright Mutual
Insurance Co from 1996 to 1998. Mr. Zeng has expertise in insurance portfolio optimization and risk
management and has published multiple articles in professional journals on related topics. He has a Ph.D.
in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington where he graduated in 1996. He received a B.S.
in Meteorology from Beijing University, graduating in 1990 and is a CFA charter holder.