Wayne W. Chopus
President & CEO: Insured Retirement Institute

Wayne Chopus is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI). After nearly three decades experience with major life insurance companies, Mr. Chopus is a respected retirement income industry executive recognized for expertise across annuity product distribution and broker-dealer engagement.

A business leader of high-profile initiatives to respond to evolving consumer demands and industry competition, Mr. Chopus understands the challenges and opportunities of this vibrant industry. As an active member of IRI’s Board of Directors for several years, he has been active in industry affairs to address serious public policy issues, and he has established a strong professional network of senior industry leaders, key broker-dealers, and other stakeholders.

Prior to joining IRI in January 2019, Mr. Chopus worked at Prudential Financial for nearly a decade, where he served as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Relationship Management (SRM) for the Individual Solutions Group. In this role, he was responsible for the oversight of external account management and back-office operations for all annuities and life insurance retail sales distribution channels.

In addition to his relationship management responsibilities at Prudential, Mr. Chopus concurrently led Sales Operations and the Sales Strategy-Business Intelligence team, which focused on competitive intelligence and the use of data and technology to drive new business opportunities. He also oversaw Prudential’s Subadvisor Relationship management function along with affiliated industry sponsorship programs.

Mr. Chopus joined Prudential from The Hartford, where he was Vice President and National Sales Director of the Wirehouse division. His team supported the sales effort of The Hartford’s mutual fund, annuity, retirement plans, and life insurance lines of business in the Wirehouse channel.


John C. Colpean
Administrator & General Counsel: Michigan Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association

John Colpean is the Administrator and General Counsel of the Michigan Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association and is also a former member of the NOLHGA Board of Directors. He is also the Principal of Colpean & Associates, P.C., a law firm based in Haslett, Michigan.

Mr. Colpean served as legal counsel to the Michigan Legislature from 1978–1988. After entering private practice in 1988, he has concentrated his practice on matters pertaining to insurance regulation, transactions, and litigation, in addition to serving on the Board of Directors of several insurance companies. He has served on the Insurance Law Committee of the State Bar of Michigan and has also served as counsel to the Deputy Receiver in numerous Michigan insurance company receiverships.

Mr. Colpean has served on numerous NOLHGA task forces, including serving as Chair of the Thunor Trust Task Force and as a member of the ELNY Task Force, among others. He also served as Chair of the Members’ Participation Council (2012–2015), Legal Committee (1997–2001), and Coverage/Claims Committee (2005 to the present).
Mr. Colpean received his Juris Doctor degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School where he graduated cum laude in 1978. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1975 from Michigan State University.


Robert C. Corn
Incoming Chair: NOLHGA Board of Directors
Director—Regulatory Relations: Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company

Bob Corn has 35 years of experience in the life and health insurance industry. He started his career as an attorney with the Nebraska Department of Insurance and has also served as an attorney for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. He has served as counsel for several life and health insurance companies. For the past 26 years, he has served in a variety of legal, regulatory, and government relations roles for Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company and its affiliated companies.

Mr. Corn currently serves as Director—Regulatory Relations. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors of five life and health insurance guaranty associations, he has also served on several state high-risk pool and small employer reinsurance boards. He is a member of the Nebraska, Missouri, and American Bar Associations. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a J.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Law. He and his wife, Shirley, reside in Valley, Nebraska, and they have three adult children.


Edwin G. Dolan
Senior Fellow, Fiscal & Monetary Policy: The Niskanen Center

Ed Dolan holds a PhD in economics from Yale University. He has taught in the United States at Dartmouth College, the University of Chicago, George Mason University and Gettysburg College. From 1990 to 2001, Dolan taught in Moscow, Russia, where he and his wife founded the American Institute of Business and Economics (AIBEc), an independent, not-for-profit MBA program. After 2001, he taught economics in several European countries, including Central European University in Budapest, the University of Economics in Prague, and 15 years of annual courses at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga.


Ralph Donato
Principal Consulting Actuary: LTCG

Ralph Donato has 22 years of experience in pricing, financial analysis, reserve valuations, and projection models. He has concentrated on both stand-alone and combination long-term care (LTC) products and is a leading expert in the areas of LTC projection modeling, experience analysis, and claim reserve methods. He has developed various software programs for the purposes of analyzing data, projections, valuations, and automating processes.

Mr. Donato joined LTCG from Towers Watson. Prior to his time with Towers Watson, he was an Actuarial Consultant with DaVinci Consulting Group LLC. He also held the position of Associate Actuary for AF&L Insurance Company and its affiliate, Senior American Insurance Company, where he established robust actuarial processes for the company and assisted in completing the transition of the actuarial function from third-party consultants to an in-house unit. His responsibilities included all actuarial functions, such as new product pricing; experience monitoring; statutory, GAAP, and tax reserve valuations; cash flow testing; financial projections; and reinsurance.

Mr. Donato’s initial employment after graduation from college was at Milliman. There, he gained skills in software programming, projections, valuations, pricing, and reserve analysis, primarily in the life insurance and LTC insurance markets.

Mr. Donato earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1998 from Beaver College, which is now Arcadia University. He has also passed Exam 1 and Exam 2 of the actuarial exam course.


Thomas F. English
Chair: NOLHGA Board of Directors
Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Chief Insurance Counsel: New York Life Insurance Company

Tom English is Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, and Chief Insurance Counsel for New York Life Insurance Company. In that role he serves as chief counsel to the company’s Insurance and Agency Group, which includes all the company’s insurance and annuity businesses, along with its distribution system. Mr. English has been employed as in-house counsel in the life insurance industry since 1983. He began his career at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, rising to Vice President and Associate General Counsel before joining New York Life in 2000.

Mr. English is admitted to practice in Massachusetts, New York, and the District of Columbia and before the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. He is the Past-President of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel (ALIC) and former Chair of the Board of MIB Group, Inc. He currently chairs the Board of the National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (NOLHGA) and serves on committees of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI).

Mr. English received his undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown University. He and his wife, Peggy, have four children and reside in Stamford, Connecticut.


John J. Falkenbach
Executive Director: Delaware Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association

Jack Falkenbach is Executive Director of the Delaware Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association. He is Of Counsel with the Woody Law Office, a Media, Pennsylvania, general practice law firm. Mr. Falkenbach also regularly serves as a hearing officer for matters before the Delaware Insurance Department. Mr. Falkenbach previously served as Executive Director of the Delaware Insurance Guaranty Association (P&C). He has also served as Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of Continental American Life Insurance Company and as Counsel to CIGNA Corporation.

Mr. Falkenbach serves on or chairs several NOLHGA insolvency task forces, is a Past Chair of NOLHGA’s Members’ Participation Council, and is a former member of NOLHGA’s Board of Directors. He serves or chairs various NOLHGA committees and task forces and is the Chairman and Secretary of the Guaranty Association Benefits Company. He has been a speaker or panelist at various meetings and seminars, including functions of NOLHGA, the NCIGF, the Society of Financial Examiners, and the International Association of Insurance Receivers.

Mr. Falkenbach has a B.S. in Business Administration from Drexel University and received his Juris Doctor and LL.M. (taxation) degrees from Temple University School of Law.


Beth Fritchen, FSA, MAAA
Partner & Health Practice Leader: Oliver Wyman Actuarial Consulting, Inc.

Beth Fritchen is a Partner and leads the Health practice of Oliver Wyman Actuarial Consulting, Inc. She has been with Oliver Wyman for over 25 years. Her primary responsibilities are in the area of health insurance consulting. In particular, she provides consulting services to state regulatory agencies, health insurance companies, and healthcare providers.

Ms. Fritchen has provided actuarial consulting services for over 25 years. Her present responsibilities include product development for managed care and traditional plans, trend analysis, review of filings for state insurance departments, fee schedule analysis, financial management and forecasting, compliance, underwriting issues, provider capitation development, mental health pricing, Medicare capitation development, Medicaid capitation development, reserve analysis, and legislative analysis. She has performed forecasting and financial valuations for start-up organizations, as well as for potential mergers and acquisitions. She has extensive pricing experience including individual major medical, small group, and Medicare supplement products.

Ms. Fritchen has participated in many rate hearings over her career with Oliver Wyman. She is recognized as an expert in the individual health insurance and Medicare supplement insurance markets.


Peter G. Gallanis
President: NOLHGA

Peter Gallanis became President of the National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (NOLHGA) in April 1999. NOLHGA was formed in 1983 to coordinate the activities of its 51 member state guaranty associations and their member companies (comprising the entire U.S. life and health insurance industry) in connection with insolvencies of multi-state life and health insurers. Mr. Gallanis is generally responsible for all the financial, legal, strategic, educational, communications, and administrative services that NOLHGA provides to its membership.

Before joining NOLHGA in 1999, Mr. Gallanis was the Special Deputy Insurance Receiver for the State of Illinois, where he managed the administration of approximately 80 insolvent domestic insurers of all types. Prior to that, Mr. Gallanis was a partner in a large law firm in Chicago, where he was in private practice from 1978 through 1991.

Mr. Gallanis also served as Adjunct Professor of Insurance Law at the DePaul University College of Law in Chicago from 1992 until he joined NOLHGA in 1999. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1975 and a law degree from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1978. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois.

Mr. Gallanis has frequently participated in trial and appellate court receivership proceedings, both on behalf of parties and as amicus curiae. He has lectured and published often on insurance topics in the United States and abroad. In addition, he has testified on insurance matters before a number of courts, state legislatures, the Congress, the NAIC, the IAIS, and the FSB.

Any comments by Mr. Gallanis during this program are made solely for the purpose of facilitating open and wide-ranging debate on a variety of topics. His comments may not represent the views or positions of his current or former employers, or any past, present, or future clients, and such comments may not reflect the personal views or positions of Mr. Gallanis on any particular issue.


Caryn Glawe
Partner: Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath

As a partner on Faegre Drinker’s insurance team, Caryn Glawe advises the insurance industry on state and federal regulatory and transactional matters, counseling insurers, HMOs, and related entities across the country. She has particular expertise in insurance company insolvency and receivership proceedings. She has worked on several complex, multi-state life, health, annuity, and long-term care insurance insolvencies and advises on guaranty association coverage issues.
Ms. Glawe works on acquisitions, holding company structure development and transactions, compliance audits, company formation, producer licensing/compliance, and a variety of regulatory matters. Her regulatory experience allows her to work with insurance departments nationwide.

Ms. Glawe has a J.D. from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and a B.A. from Butler University. She serves on the Boards of Directors of the Center for Leadership Development and the Indiana Bar Foundation, is a member of the Federation of Regulatory Counsel, and is Co-Chair of Faegre Drinker’s National Hiring Committee.


Joel A. Glover
Partner: Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath

Joel Glover partners with clients to solve problems in the insurance industry—including all related regulatory, transactional litigation, and insolvency/receivership issues. Having worked in the insurance regulatory and insolvency field since he began practicing law in 1991, he has represented all types of insurance entities, life and health insurance guaranty associations, and receivers throughout the country.

Mr. Glover maintains strong relationships with guaranty associations, insurance industry regulators, and the insurance industry. He has served as task force counsel for the National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (NOLHGA) on various multi-state insolvencies; represented several guaranty associations; and served as counsel to the Insurance Commissioners in Colorado, Hawaii, and Arizona in their capacities as liquidators of insolvent insurers.

Outside of his legal practice, Mr. Glover enjoys coaching youth basketball, hiking, biking, yoga, and baguazhang.


Charles D. Gullickson
Executive Director & General Counsel: South Dakota Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association

Charles Gullickson is a member of Davenport Evans’ Banking and Financial Services Practice Group, and a substantial portion of his practice consists of financial and insurance regulatory matters. He devotes a significant amount of time to such banking law matters as lending transactions, loan documentation, bank acquisitions, and branching, and he advises banking clients regularly on regulatory matters, oversight of third party vendors and servicers, and credit card lending and securitizations. He also handles various insurance regulatory matters and serves as Executive Director and General Counsel for the South Dakota Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association. The latter position has also led to his service on various task forces concerning nationwide insurance insolvencies.

Mr. Gullickson has been selected as one of The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of Banking and Finance Law and Financial Services Regulation Law; he has been ranked by Chambers and Partners in the areas of Corporate/Commercial Law and ranked in the top 5% of practicing attorneys in South Dakota by Great Plains Super Lawyers in Banking.

Mr. Gullickson is among the many firm attorneys who have an avowed interest in the arts. This is reflected in his community activities, where he has served as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Sciences, Chair of the Visual Arts Center, and a member of the Board of Directors of the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra and the Wegner Arboretum Society. Mr. Gullickson currently serves on the Board of Directors of Friends of Levitt Sioux Falls, a nonprofit devoted to building community through music at an outdoor performing arts venue in downtown Sioux Falls.

Mr. Gullickson is a graduate of South Dakota State University (B.A., summa cum laude, 1977) and New York University (J.D., 1980).


Gerrie L. Marks
Vice President, Government Affairs: Prudential Financial, Inc.

Gerrie Marks joined Prudential Financial, Inc., in September 2015 as Vice President, Government Affairs, overseeing 10 Western states. Ms. Marks is a member of six state guaranty association Boards and serves on the NOLHGA Board of Directors and NOLHGA’s Guaranty Association Laws Committee. She is also a member of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel, serves on ACLI task forces and work groups, and represents Prudential on the Board of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Ms. Marks was with the Arizona Department of Insurance from 1997–2015; in 2012 she was appointed Director of Insurance. Prior to that, she was Deputy Director for nine years and the Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs for six years. As the Arizona Director of Insurance, she oversaw the department’s financial and market regulation of over 2,000 insurers and 200,000 licensed insurance professionals. She actively participated in the NAIC, including serving as the Vice Chair of the Western Zone and as a member of the Executive Committee.

Ms. Marks received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a J.D. from the Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. She is an avid Nebraska football and Arizona Coyotes hockey fan.


Pamela E. Olsen
Executive Director: Minnesota Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association
Administrator & General Counsel: Nebraska Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association

Pamela Olsen is General Counsel and Administrator for the Nebraska Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association, having served in these capacities since 2003, and has served as the Executive Director of the Minnesota Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Association since 2019. Ms. Olsen is also a partner in the law firm of Cline Williams Wright Johnson & Oldfather, LLP, where her practice focuses on insurance, estate and business transition planning, and elder law–related and long-term care benefits matters.

Ms. Olsen’s work with the NOLHGA includes current service as Chair of the Senior Health Insurance of Pennsylvania Task Force; Chair of the CoOportunity Health Task Force; observer on the GABC Board; Chair of the MPC Executive Committee Best Practices Subgroup; and membership on the AF&L/SAIC Task Force, the NOLHGA Legal Committee, and the MPC Health COOP Task Force. She is a past Members’ Participation Counsel Chair (2015–2017), past Chair of the Medical Savings Task Force, and past member of the MPC Executive Committee.

Ms. Olsen received her Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, graduating with highest distinction in 1993; earned her Juris Doctor degree magna cum laude from Creighton University School of Law in 1996; and served as judicial clerk for the Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court (1996–1997) and the Honorable George Fagg of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1998–2000).


William P. O’Sullivan
Senior Vice President & General Counsel: NOLHGA

William O’Sullivan serves as chief legal officer for NOLHGA and manages NOLHGA’s Legal Department. As Senior Vice President and General Counsel, he is responsible for advising NOLHGA’s Board of Directors, senior management, Members’ Participation Council, and individual guaranty associations on legal issues and policy matters germane to the operations of the organization. He also serves as the staff contact for NOLHGA’s Legal and Coverage/Claims Committees and as the staff contact/project manager for a number of insolvency task forces.

Mr. O’Sullivan joined NOLHGA in 1995 as Vice President and Counsel and was named to his current position in 1998. Prior to joining NOLHGA, he was employed in the corporate law departments of Prudential Capital, a subsidiary of the Prudential Insurance Company of America, and KTI Energy.

Mr. O’Sullivan received his B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from Boston College Law School.


Sally A. Rosen
Senior Director – North American & Caribbean Life Health: AM Best Rating Services

Sally Rosen is Senior Director in the Life/Health Ratings Division, responsible for the health insurance group. Her team evaluates the financial strength and creditworthiness of health and employee benefit insurers. Companies comprise insurers of varying sizes, including publicly traded insurers, Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies, mutual insurance companies, national and regional health insurers, and dental and employee benefit insurance companies. She and her team also conduct research on industry issues.

Ms. Rosen joined AM Best in 2000 as a financial analyst responsible for a portfolio of health insurance companies. During her tenure at AM Best, Sally she remained in the health insurance group. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Rosen was a manager of group health/life underwriting for five years with Great West Life & Annuity. Previously, she was a group health/life underwriter.

Ms. Rosen graduated from Douglass College, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, New Jersey), with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a concentration in Accounting in 1986 and received a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Rutgers Graduate School of Management (now Rutgers Business School), Rutgers University (Newark, New Jersey) in 1996.


Tom Rosendale, FLMI, CLU, ChFC
Senior Director – North American & Caribbean Life Health: AM Best Rating Services

Tom Rosendale is a Senior Director in the Life/Health Ratings Division of AM Best Rating Services, an independent insurance rating and information services organization recognized for its ratings of domestic and international insurance companies. He manages a team of analysts responsible for AM Best’s coverage of the North American and Caribbean life and annuity sector. Additionally, he authors special reports on industry issues and provides analytical insight to various constituents through presentations and teleconferences.

Prior to joining AM Best in December 2004, Mr. Rosendale accumulated more than 20 years of experience in the life insurance industry with several large life companies such as Penn Mutual Life, Equitable Life, and Prudential Financial. His experience spans a variety of disciplines, including pension plan administration, policyholder tax reporting, product development, agency management, competitive analysis, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate strategic planning. He also has provided both operational and strategic consulting services to a variety of individual life carriers.

Mr. Rosendale received his undergraduate degree from Rutgers College with concentrations in accounting and economics. He is also a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), and a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC).


Aaron Sarfatti
Chief Risk Officer: Equitable

Aaron Sarfatti is Chief Risk Officer of Equitable, responsible for the company’s enterprise risk management function. In this role, he ensures that the company’s disciplined approach to risk management helps drive business growth in a manner that delivers value for shareholders and customers. He is also a member of the Operating Committee for Equitable.

Previously, Mr. Sarfatti served as Managing Director and Head of Strategy for the company’s Life, Retirement and Wealth Management businesses.

Mr. Sarfatti has more than 15 years of experience working in financial services, life insurance, asset management, and retail banking. Prior to joining Equitable, he served as a partner with global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman in its North American Insurance Practice. This included a four-year role as head of the firm’s New York office, where he led high-profile firm engagements, including support of the NAIC’s reform of VA capital standards and of the industry in its engagement with the U.S. Treasury regarding the design of appropriate systemic risk regulations for the life insurance sector.

Mr. Sarfatti received a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree in computer science, with High Honors, from Princeton University. He has completed all the SOA exams necessary to be a credentialed actuary.