Beyond the Challenge

In this episode, we are talking with Lindsay Hanson, Chief Marketing Officer from John Hancock, Alex Yang, Marketing Actuary from MunichRE, and Horacio Herrera-Fajer, Head of Life Insurance Partnerships at GRAIL. We will be discussing the Galleri blood test for cancer and how John Hancock and MunichRe are using this new technology to help their policyholders stay healthy by detecting cancer earlier.

GRAIL is a new healthcare company focused on saving lives and improving health by pioneering new technologies for early cancer detection.

We talked with Marc Glickman, CEO, and Founder at BuddyIns, about the trends, challenges, and opportunities he sees for the Long-Term Care Insurance industry and his new platform Benefit Buddy.

Marc co-founded a community of LTC planning advocates called BuddyIns, an insurtech for the LTC industry, whose mission is to provide education and technology to agencies, agents, and advisors that can help the over 50 million unpaid family caregivers and the next 50 million to come.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge, we went back to some of our favorite interviews to see what some of our guests said when we asked them how they were finding their competitive advantage and staying relevant.  

In this episode, you will hear from Nick Cecere, Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer at Thrivent, Jeremy Bill, Chief Insurance Officer at Bestow, Brad Mendenhall, President, Insurance Solutions at Concourse Financial Group, and Rob Arena, President of Global Atlantic Financial Group.

We talked with Rick Hodgdon, President, and Head of Insurance at CL Life and Annuity about the trends, challenges, and opportunities he sees for the Insurance industry. Rick has extensive experience as a CEO leading multiple life and annuity insurance and reinsurance companies and is recognized as an industry leader in the US and international insurance markets.

Since 1978, CL Life and Annuity Insurance Company has been delivering quality products to meet its clients' financial needs.

The company maintains its focus on providing high-value retirement savings tools. CL Life is conservative by nature, creative in design and delivers on its promises.

In this episode, we are talking with Jeremy Bill, Chief Insurance Officer at Bestow about the trends, challenges, and opportunities he sees for the Insurance industry. Bestow is one of the first all-digital insurance companies created to bring leading-edge life insurance technologies to make insurance accessible to more people.

Jeremy is responsible for all aspects of Operations, Claims, Actuary and Finance at Bestow and has over 20 years of experience in the Insurance and Financial services marketplace.

In this episode, we are talked with Nick Cecere, Executive Vice President and Chief Distribution Officer at Thrivent about the trends, challenges, and opportunities he sees for the Retirement and Insurance industry. 

Nick is responsible for all Thrivent’s financial advisors and the center of excellence that provides support to those advisors.

We have spent the last year talking to some of the most influential and forward-thinking leaders in the insurance marketplace.  Their perspectives have been very well received by our audience and we thought it was time to put together another panel of our favorite guests to see what they thought about retirement anxiety.  

In this episode you will hear from Wayne Chopus, President and CEO of the Insured Retirement Institute, Robert Grubka, CEO of Health Solutions at Voya Financial, Steve Scanlon, Managing Director and Head of Retirement at Equitable, and Andy Bucklee, SVP. Head of Life Insurance and Executive Benefits Distribution at Lincoln Financial Group.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge we talked with Andy Bucklee, SVP, Head of Life Insurance and Executive Benefits Distribution at Lincoln Financial Group about how Lincoln is helping Americans understand the benefits of using life insurance as part of their retirement strategy.

Andy is responsible for spearheading all aspects of strategy, partnership, client engagement and overall distribution of Lincoln’s broad portfolio of wealth transfer offerings.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge we talked with Steve Scanlon, Managing Director and Head of Individual Retirement at Equitable about how Equitable is helping Americans reduce their anxiety about retirement.

Steve is responsible for the strategy of Equitable’s individual retirement business including distribution, product, in force portfolio, M&A, capital and strategic relationships.

We have spent the last year talking to some of the most influential and forward-thinking leaders in the insurance marketplace. In this panel episode, you will hear from Wayne Chopus, President and CEO of the Insured Retirement Institute, Rob Arena, Co-President and Head of Individual Markets at Global Atlantic, Brian Lauber, SVP Disability Income at Ash Brokerage, and Brad Mendenhall, President, Insurance Solutions at Concourse Financial Group.

We asked our panel what they thought was the next big thing or opportunity for the insurance industry from their perspective.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge we talked with Brad Mendenhall, President, Insurance Solutions at Concourse Financial Group. Brad has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, specifically in the areas of sales, operations, and sales leadership.

Concourse offers an innovative approach to holistic insurance and financial planning support for growth-oriented financial professionals. They bring the right experts, products, and services together to take their clients business to the next level.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge we are talked with Brian Lauber, Senior Vice President Disability Income at Ash Brokerage about the trends, challenges, and opportunities he sees for the Disability and Insurance industry. Brian works with field distribution to increase awareness about vitally important income protection for individuals, business owners and their employees.

Ash Brokerage gives financial professionals the tools to secure their clients future. Whether you're a seasoned pro or new to the insurance business, you'll find your fit at Ash Brokerage.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge we are talked with Wayne Chopus, President and CEO of the Insured Retirement Institute about the trends, challenges, and opportunities he sees for the Retirement and Insurance industry. The IRI is the leading trade association for the insured retirement industry.

The association champions retirement security for all through leadership in advocacy, awareness, research, the advancement of digital solutions, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within a collaborative industry community.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge, we talked with Rob Arena, Co-President, and Head of Individual Markets at Global Atlantic about how Global Atlantic is staying relevant and what they are doing different from other carriers to stay ahead.

Global Atlantic Financial Group is a leader is the U.S. life insurance and annuity industry serving the needs of individuals and institutions. Rob also oversees operations and technology. He has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, including leadership of The Hartford’s annuity business and President, Hartford Mutual Funds. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President for American Skandia/Prudential Annuities.

This podcast is intended for financial professional use and not for use with the public. Opinions expressed do not constitute a recommendation and should not be considered tax, legal or estate planning advice.

Global Atlantic Financial Group (Global Atlantic) is the marketing name for The Global Atlantic Financial Group LLC and its subsidiaries, including Forethought Life Insurance Company and Accordia Life and Annuity Company. Each subsidiary is responsible for its own financial and contractual obligations. These subsidiaries are not authorized to do business in New York.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge, we talked with Amy Friedrich, President, US Insurance Solutions at Principal Financial Group about the trends, challenges, and opportunities she sees for small businesses.

In her work at Principal, Amy talks with small business owners and their employees about ways to mitigate increased stress brought on by the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and associated economic factors, including how to tailor employee benefits packages to support mental health and well-being, or advice to mitigate inflationary impacts.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge, we talked with Brandon Carter, President at USAA Life about the trends, challenges, and opportunities he sees for USAA and the insurance marketplace.

Brandon is leading the strategy to digitally transform their health, life and retirement companies and is focused on preserving USAA’s legendary service and commitment to its 13 million members while enhancing financial strength and employee engagement.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge, we went back to past interviews to compare and discuss what some of our most influential guest said when we asked them what they thought about Google and Amazon entering the insurance marketplace and how it will affect the industry.

In this episode, you will hear from Chris Blunt, President, and CEO at F&G Annuities and Life, Mike DeKoning, SVP Insurance at Thrivent Financial, Norm Trainor, President and CEO at The Covenant Group, Nick Lane, President of Equitable, and Bruce Parker, President Global Life Insurance at Pan-American Life.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge, we talked with George Nichols, President, and CEO, of The American College of Financial Services, about the trends, challenges, and opportunities he sees for the Insurance industry.

George Nichols III currently serves as the 10th President and CEO in the storied history of The American College of Financial Services. A life of private sector experience and public service brought Nichols to The College, and he shares its commitment to benefit society by educating and influencing the financial services profession. He joined The College after a 17-year stint at New York Life, where he held principal roles in sales, strategic initiatives, and public policy. In 2006, Nichols was named to the company’s Executive Management Committee, a group of senior executives tasked with assisting the CEO in setting company policy. He also served as Executive Vice President in the Office of Governmental Affairs: a position encompassing all of the legislative, regulatory, and public policy issues at the company.

Prior to joining New York Life, Nichols was the State of Kentucky’s first Black insurance commissioner. Nichols has been acclaimed for his efforts to drive transformative change in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the financial services profession and elsewhere.

In this episode of Beyond the Challenge, we talked with Chris Blunt, President, and CEO, at F&G Annuities and Life, about the trends, challenges, and opportunities he sees for the Insurance industry.

Chris Blunt joined F&G in 2019 after 33 years in a variety of insurance, investment management and wealth management roles. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Blackstone Insurance Solutions, after nearly 13 years at New York Life in a variety of executive leadership roles. Chris is a Trustee of the American College of Financial Services and serves on the board of the YMCA of Greater New York.

In Beyond the Challenge episode 29, we went back to past interviews to compare and discuss what some of our most influential guests said when we asked them “What is your opinion about the future of insurance regulations and compliance?”

In this episode you will hear from David Levenson, President, and CEO for LIMRA and LL Global, Rino D’Onofrio, President and CEO RBC Life Company, Jon Stenberg, EVP, Individual Life for Symetra, Tom Hegna, President, TomHegna.com, and Bill Wheeler, President, Athene Holdings.

In Beyond the Challenge episode 28, we talked with Norm Trainor, President and CEO, The Covenant Group, about the trends, challenges, and opportunities he sees for the Insurance industry. Norm has coached more than 35,000 advisors and agents and has worked with 23 or the top 30 insurance companies in north America. This gives him a unique perspective that we are looking forward to hearing.

In Beyond the Challenge episode 27, we went back to past episodes and discuss what some of our most influential and forward-thinking guests had to say when asked, “What do you see as the future of distribution for the life insurance industry.”

In this episode you will hear from Nick Lane, President of Equitable. Richard DeSousa, SVP, Strategic Partnerships at SCOR. Bruce Parker, President, Global Life Insurance at Pan-American Life, and Tim Ash, CEO at Ash Brokerage.

On the latest episode of our podcast, “A perspective from the CEO of LIMRA,” we interviewed David Levenson, President and CEO for LIMRA and LL Global.

David is responsible for leading one of the world’s largest associations of life insurance and financial services companies across 71 countries.

Prior to joining LL Global, Levenson was a principal at Edward Jones and served on its management committee from 2015-2018. He was responsible for all products distributed through its network of 17,000 advisors in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to 2012, Levenson was president of wealth management at The Hartford Financial Services Group, responsible for the firm’s individual annuity, individual life, mutual fund, and retirement plan businesses. He also served as president and CEO of Hartford Life, in Tokyo, where he was responsible for leading the largest annuity provider in Japan.

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty go back to past episodes and discuss what some of their most influential and forward-thinking guests had to say when asked, “What insurance carriers needed to do to embrace innovation and transformation to improve performance and drive long-term growth?”

In this episode you will hear from Rino D’Onofrio, President and CEO RBC Life. Nick Lane, President of Equitable. Bruce Parker, President, Global Life Insurance at Pan-American Life. Robert Grubka, CEO Health Solutions at Voya Financial, and Pat Foley, COO at Ashton Thomas Private Wealth.

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Dr. Jim Wallace, President, AmeriPlus Select Services and Senior Researcher at Harvard University about how the healthcare industry is embracing innovation to stay relevant.

Jim is an experienced chief executive with a history of success in many highly regulated industries. Jim specializes in strategy, finance, team building, and start-ups, from proof of concept to IPO. He has a strong analytic and business development background with applied mathematics degree from the U.S. Military Academy, a master’s in business administration from Harvard Business School, and a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of South Florida.

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty go back to past episodes and discuss what some of their most influential and forward-thinking guests had to say when asked, “What is the biggest opportunity for the insurance industry over the next 3-5 years?”.

In this episode you will hear from Mike Hamilton, SVP, Chief Distribution and Marketing with RBC insurance. Bill Wheeler, President, Athene Holdings. Tim Ash, CEO of Ash Brokerage. Richard DeSousa, SVP, Strategic Partnerships at SCOR and Tom McInerney, CEO at Genworth.

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Rob Grubka, CEO Health Solutions at Voya Financial about the opportunities and challenges for voluntary employee benefit providers.

As a member of Voya’s Enterprise Leadership Team, Rob also ensures Voya Employee Benefits aligns with Voya’s key priorities and collaborates with partners across the company to provide holistic financial wellness solutions to customers.

Rob has over 27 years of actuarial, product management and leadership experience. Prior to joining Voya, Rob led the Group Protection business at Lincoln Financial and held leadership roles in the retirement and annuity businesses. Previously, he held a variety of actuarial roles at Nationwide Financial.

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Nick Lane, President at Equitable about the challenges insurers are facing as they try to meet new customer needs while improving their core insurance functions.

Nick leads the company’s Commercial Businesses and its Marketing and Digital functions. He is a member of the Equitable Holdings (NYSE: EQH) Management Committee. Mr. Lane has held many leadership roles in his nearly 15-year career with the company. Most recently, he served as CEO and President of AXA Japan, where he was responsible for a $5.4 billion annual revenue business and led a team of 9,000 employees and distributors.

Mr. Lane currently serves on the Board of Directors for Alliance Bernstein and has previously served on the boards of AXA Investment Managers, AXA Private Equity and AXA Real Estate Management. He has held leadership roles with key professional organizations, including Chairman of the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) and Director at the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA)

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Tom Hegna, President TomHegna.com and industry speaker about training agents to help people retire the “optimal” way.

Tom Hegna is an economist, author, and retirement expert. He has been an incredibly popular industry speaker for many years and is considered by many to be THE Retirement Income Expert!

As a former First Vice President at New York Life, retired Lieutenant Colonel, and economist, Tom has delivered over 5,000 seminars on his signature "Paychecks and Playchecks" retirement approach, helping Baby Boomers and seniors retire the "optimal" way.

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Paul Quaranto, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President at Boston Mutual Life Insurance Company about the challenges and opportunities facing insurance organizations and the need for innovation to stay relevant.

Under his leadership, Boston Mutual Life has achieved solid financial results and positioned itself for future success as a niche provider in the individual and workplace insurance markets.

Mr. Quaranto serves on the Board of Directors for the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), including as a member of the Board of Directors’ Executive Committee and the CEO Steering Committees for Prudential Issues, Consumer Issues, and Taxation. He was appointed Chair for the ACLI Forum 500 Board of Governors in October 2019 in addition to serving as the ACLI’s Political Action Committee (PAC) Chair. He is the past Chairman of the Life Insurance Association of Massachusetts (LIAM). Mr. Quaranto is on the Executive Committee of The Cook Family Charitable Fund, located in Marshfield, Massachusetts.

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Mike DeKoning, SVP Thrivent Financial about the challenges and opportunities for fraternal organizations and the need for both transformation and innovation to thrive.

Mike is responsible for developing Thrivent’s portfolio of insurance and annuity solutions. He oversees the life, health and annuity product lines and is accountable for the integrated go-to-market strategy for Thrivent’s insurance solutions.

Mike leverages his deep industry experience to work across Thrivent, ensuring market delivery of best-in-class product solutions by partnering with Thrivent’s Distribution, Operations, and IT teams. He has a passion for innovation and brings extensive product, underwriting and customer engagement knowledge to his role at Thrivent.

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Rino D’Onofrio, President and CEO RBC Life Company about staying relevant, embracing new technology and reimagining product design.

Rino sits on the Board of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association and is also a member of the Standing Committee on Marketplace Relations and the Product Sanding Committee. Rino is the past Chair of the LL Global Board of Directors for 2017. He is also past chair of the Canadian Association of Financial Institutions in Insurance. Rino previously served on the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s Solvency and Capital Committee as well as its Governance Improvement Committee.

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Cynthia Tidwell, President and CEO at Royal Neighbors of America about the challenges faced by fraternal carriers and her experience as an executive woman in the insurance industry.

Cynthia is a visionary leader, and expert in organizational turnaround, revitalization, and transformation.  She has a long history of inspiring staff and colleagues to passionately adopt concepts and goals as well as develop a personal investment in executing and delivering extraordinary results. Cynthia is focused on building organizations for long-term success through talent development and cultures of execution.

In this episode, Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Pat Foley, COO at Ashton Thomas Private Wealth about his insights on how some carriers are struggling to stay relevant while others are embracing new technology to help scale, cut costs and grow new distribution channels.

Pat is an action-oriented visionary with progressive leadership experience in world-class insurance organizations. Pat is adept at developing and driving highly profitable growth strategies, by integrating multiple sales channels and consistent product strategies within highly matrixed environments.

Pat’s extensive experience includes independent and captive distribution development, efficient operations management, product development, in-force management, and strategic planning with P & L responsibility.

Pat has held executive roles at OneAmerica, Genworth Financial, Allianz, and Prudential.

In this episode, Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Bill Wheeler, President, Athene Holdings about his insights on how carriers can stay relevant and the opportunities he sees for the insurance industry through mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships.

Bill is responsible for Athene’s overall strategic direction. In particular, Bill oversees all of Athene’s business units, which includes its retail and institutional operations, and its corporate development and risk activities. Prior to joining Athene, Mr. Wheeler was President of the Americas group for MetLife Inc. (“MetLife”) where he oversaw the insurance and retirement business in the United States and Latin America.

In this episode, Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Tom McInerney about his insights on how carriers can stay relevant and the opportunities he sees for the insurance industry in the next three to five years.

“Tom” J. McInerney is President, Chief Executive Officer, and a Director of Genworth. He joined Genworth in January 2013 from The Boston Consulting Group, where he served as Senior Advisor since June 2011, providing consulting and advisory services to leading insurance and financial services companies in the United States and Canada. Prior to that, Mr. McInerney spent more than 30 years working in various senior executive roles with ING Group NV and Aetna Inc. For many years, he has been active with the American Council of Life Insurers board and Chief Executive Officer Committees.

In this episode, Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Richard DeSousa, SVP Strategic Partnerships with SCOR about his insights on how carriers can stay relevant and the opportunities he sees for the insurance industry in the next three to five years.

Richard leads a team developing new client solutions which are focused on helping end consumers get relevant protection offerings. His team is also responsible for orchestrating important partnerships to contribute to SCOR's growing ecosystem. As part of his role, he also oversees client marketing and communities.

In this episode, Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk with Ian Jeffrey, CEO of Breath Life, an InsurTech organization offering a unified distribution platform for the insurance industry. Ian offers his insights on how carriers can move from a traditional insurance carrier to an insurer of the future through digital transformation.

Sandy Dougherty talks Terri Kallsen CFP ®, COO with Wealth Enhancement Group about challenges facing Registered Investment firms and the opportunities she sees over the next three to five years. Terri was the named The Financial Woman of the Year in 2019 by the Financial Women of San Francisco.

Terri served most recently as Executive Vice President, Investor Services at Charles Schwab in San Francisco. She previously held senior leadership roles at First Command, USAA and Thrivent Financial. A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional, Certified Wealth Strategist, and member of the Financial Planning Association, she is highly regarded in the industry and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, CNBC, Investopedia and Kiplinger’s.

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk to Nash Subotic, Founder and CEO of WestPac Wealth Partners. Nash oversees the strategic direction of the firm, talent acquisition, and advises high net worth clients. Nash is a Registered Principal, he holds Series 7, 65, 63, 24, and Life & Health licenses. /COMPLIANCE:2020-3339/

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty talk to Scott Jarred, CFP®. Scott is the founder and CEO of Invst. His mission is to educate, guide, and counsel people toward reaching their full financial potential. Scott offers insights on the opportunities and challenges facing financial services and the Insurance industry.

Today's Guest: Nicolas Lance, Global Business Transformation Leader

Kevin and Sandy Dougherty are talking with Nicolas Lance about the future of distribution and how technology is helping cut costs and increase sales.

Today we are talking with Jon Stenberg, Executive Vice President, Individual Life at Symetra about how technology is helping to close the coverage gap.

Host Sandy and Kevin Dougherty speak with Tim Ash, CEO at Ash Brokerage about the challenges and innovations faced by Insurance carriers and producers in a new virtual selling environment.

Host Sandy Dougherty continues the interview with Mike Hamilton, Senior Vice President of RBC. They talk about innovation and technology in the insurance business and the changes that are occurring.

RBC Senior Vice President Mike Hamilton joins host Kevin Dougherty to talk about how financial services have managed the challenges of the pandemic, an aging sales force, and new technology.

In this episode, hosts Kevin and Sandy Dougherty welcome you to the new podcast, discuss what you'll hear, and share some insights from the guests who have been interviewed.