SPEAKERS
Sonya Bergquist, Senior Actuarial Analyst
Taylor-Walker Consulting, LLC
Session: Captive 101 Introduction
Sonya Bergquist is a Senior Actuarial Analyst at Taylor-Walker Consulting, LLC, an actuarial consulting firm located in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is passionate about hiking, climbing, and property & casualty actuarial work. Her areas of concentration include reserving and pricing analyses related to workers compensation, professional liability, and general liability. She also provides actuarial services for other property & casualty exposures. She has five years’ experience working with captive insurance companies encompassing both captive feasibility studies and on-going reserving and pricing analyses.
Mike Breeze, Best Selling Author
As a Best Selling Author and nationally recognized Behavioral Change Expert, Mike works with Emerging Leaders on the process of Goal Achievement to boost performance an productivity.
After working with individuals and businesses alike since 2001, Mike noticed certain differences between people that achieve their goals and those that don’t. Now, speaking across the country, Mike is passionate about helping organizations to reach their full potential by sharing the four things that everyone must do to achieve their goals. It’s not about setting “S.M.A.R.T.” Goals, but rather achieving them that drives success, and Mike shares his simple process in his presentation called “Beyond S.M.A.R.T.!”
Doug Butler, Partner
Womble Bond Dickinson
Doug Butler is a partner in Womble Bond Dickinson’s captive insurance and insurance regulatory practice. Doug has experience as a captive manager as well as providing legal and regulatory counsel pertaining to captive and traditional insurance transactions. In addition, Doug also provides counsel regarding insurance regulatory and general corporate transactions, including the formation and management of captive insurance companies, policy and reinsurance agreement drafting, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance. In his career Doug has formed or managed over 300 captives in 13 different US Jurisdictions and is involved with several state captive insurance associations.
Elizabeth Campbell, Attorney
Alan Campbell & Associates, PC
Elizabeth practices primarily in the area of civil litigation. Her specific areas of practice include health care/medical malpractice litigation. She is licensed to practice in the state of Texas.
Elizabeth received her undergraduate degree in Finance from Texas A&M University in 2010. While at Texas A&M, she volunteered for the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program offering free tax help to those with disabilities, the elderly, and limited English speaking taxpayers who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns.
Alan Cantor, Co-Managing Member - Co-Founder
Risk Analysis Services LLC
Mr. Cantor is a veteran of the captive insurance industry, with the last twelve as an executive at Risk Analysis Services. RAS is an enterprise risk management and analysis provider specializing in quantitative risk analysis, advanced statistical trending and optimal retention analysis.
John Capasso, CEO
Captive Planning Associates
Mr. Capasso is CEO and founder of Captive Planning Associates, a captive management firm that specializes in the design, formation and management of captive insurance companies.
Throughout Mr. Capasso’s career, he has held positions in a variety of industries including; public accounting, investment banking, risk management, health care, financial services and investment management.
Mr. Capasso is a member of various associations and organizations and currently serves as chairman of the board of directors the Self Insurance Institute of America.
Nick Cimino, Investment Director / Insurance Solutions
PNC Institutional Asset management
Nick is responsible for managing customized investment portfolios for captive insurance clients
as well as the P&C, fraternal, life, and health insurance sectors. He directly implements PNC’s
OCIO (Outsourced Chief Investment Officer) solutions, which include asset/liability and
enterprise financial modeling. Nick holds the CAIA, CFA, CMT, ERP, and FRM designations.
Gregory H. Cobb, Director of Insurance Solutions
Sage Advisory Services
Greg Cobb is a member of the Sage investment team and serves as Director of Insurance Solutions. He has over 35 years of experience in crafting investment solutions for both traditional insurance companies and risk-bearing entities within the world of alternative risk transfer. In 2021, he was awarded Asset Manager of the Year by Captive International for his work in the captive insurance space. He began his investment career in 1987 as a Fixed Income Portfolio Manager for Barnett Banks and later served as Senior Portfolio Manager for the institutional asset management arms of SunTrust and Bank of America. From there, he served as Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer for Sovereign Advisers and as Director of Fixed Income and Lead Strategist for Boyd Watterson Asset Management. Greg earned a BS in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a member of the CFA Institute.
Michael A. Corbett, Sr. Vice President
Pinnacle Financial Partners
Michael Corbett's first professional post was as a corporate lender with Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company in New York. Later, he held senior financial positions with West Point Pepperell, Inc., Purolator Courier Corp., Macmillan Publishing Company and Genesco, Inc. Subsequently, Michael developed a successful institutional financial consulting practice at UBS that focused on the captive insurance industry. In 2011, Michael was recruited by the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Tennessee to be the chief regulator of captive insurance. In 2020 he joined Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP). Having been voted to Captive Review’s Power 50 for several years, in 2021 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame celebrating those individuals who have contributed to the captive industry for decades and without whom the industry would not be where it is today.
John Davidson, Attorney
Davidson Risk Consulting
John Davidson is a principal member at Davidson Risk Consulting, LLC a risk management firm located in Nashville, TN. John lives in Atlanta, Georgia and enjoys playing tennis, traveling, and playing with his golden retriever. He focuses his time on helping business owners manage risk through captives, good business practices, and thoughtful program structuring. While in the industry for a short time, he is fortunate to have worked with many clients, each offering unique learning opportunities.
Kevin M. Doherty, Member - Insurance Law Practice
Dickinson Wright
Kevin Doherty practices in the area of insurance regulation and captive insurance. He serves as President of the Tennessee Captive Insurance Association, Inc., and he helped to rewrite the captive insurance law in Tennessee in 2011. Since that time, Tennessee has formed more than 200 captives and more than 500 related cells (more than 700 risk bearing entities) and become one of the leading domestic domiciles for captives. Kevin also practices music and entertainment law and represents recording artists, songwriters, and record and music publishing companies in connection with music agreements. Dickinson Wright was named “Law Firm of the Year” for 2020 by both Captive Review and Captive International in recognition of the firm’s Captive Insurance practice, of which Kevin is head.
Robert Davidson, Principal
Davidson Risk Consulting
Robert Davidson co-founded DGLF CPAs & Business Advisors in 1987 (formerly Davidson Golden Lundy & Forehand) as an accounting and consulting firm primarily serving the construction industry. Robert’s leadership and 40 years of experience made DGLF one of the most respected firms in the industry. The firm provided services to more than 300 construction industry entities in 28 states and assisted in over 750 construction industry merger and acquisition transactions. DGLF merged with Marcum LLP in December, 2015.
Greg Fears, FCAS, MAAA, ARM, Director And Consulting Actuary
Pinnacle Actuarial Resources
Greg has considerable experience in assignments involving loss reserving, funding studies, loss cost projections, captive feasibility studies, risk margin calculations, simulation methods, deductible analyses, cost allocation mechanisms, financial analyses of insurance companies, commercial lines ratemaking and competitive analyses. His research interests lie heavily in the analysis of industry annual statement information to identify prevailing reserving trends among industry sectors.
Victoria Fimea, Chief Captive Analyst
Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions
Ms. Fimea is an attorney with over 30 years of insurance and public affairs advocacy experience, including over 20 years in C-suite and senior level positions. Her extensive captive insurance experience encompasses roles such as Senior Vice President with an alternative risk provider where she managed the regulatory, claims, underwriting and captive formation departments, and as a Senior Vice President and General Counsel in the life insurance industry forming captive insurers for reserve financing transactions.
Kirsten Foltz, ACI, Senior Captive Accounting Manager
Pro Group Captive Management Services
Kirsten Foltz joined the Pro Group Management Services in June 2020. She serves as the Senior Captive Accounting Manager and oversees the accounting for a large book of captives including pure, association, group, and cell captive arrangements. Her expertise focuses on financial statement preparation, statutory financial filings, premium tax filings, audit, and routine exam preparation. In addition, Mrs. Foltz’ provides customer service at the highest levels to an impressive global client list.
SOLOMON L. FRAZIER, FCAS, FSA, MAAA, Senior Consulting Actuary
Taylor - Walker Consulting
Mr. Frazier is an opining actuary for numerous property and casualty insurers, including captive insurance companies and risk retention groups (RRGs).
Rich Golz, Principal
Symphony Risk
Rich Golz is one of the leading risk management advisors to the legal Cannabis, Hemp, and CBD industries. Recognizing the limited and difficult landscape for clients in these industries, Rich developed a risk management and broking playbook which served as the basis for the establishment of a US cannabis resource group at a major global brokerage. This resource group served clients from single-location dispensaries to the US's largest multi-state operators, and was critical in establishing relationships with existing cannabis carriers as well as building new capacity for the space.
Jodi Harrison, Captive Examiner/Analyst
Missouri Department of Commerce & Insurance
Ms. Harrison is lead captive examiner-analyst at the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance.
Melissa Hollingsworth, Enterprise Risk Manager
Atlanta Housing
Melissa D. Hollingsworth is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of experience working in the
insurance industry. Melissa is skilled in property and casualty insurance, Enterprise Risk Management,
captives, claims adjusting, policy interpretation, litigation management, subrogation, mediation,
arbitration, loss control, and mitigation. She was named a Woman to Watch 2023 by Business Insurance and serves on the CICA Amplify Women Conference committee. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts from Oglethorpe University, has completed training as a Certified Risk Management Professional, and spends her free time mentoring students aspiring to enter the insurance industry.
Allison Johnson, Audit Partner
Larson & Co
Audit partner focusing on audits of insurance carriers, captive insurance companies and
401k plans. I started my career with Larson and have been with the firm for 12 years.
Beth Huntington, Corporate Risk Officer
Baptist Health
Over 25 years experience in healthcare operations, health care risk management, patient safety culture, professional liability litigation management, captive insurance management, pediatric healthcare.
Expertise in medical malpractice litigation defense and plaintiff, employment practice and D&O litigation management in multiple state jurisdictions. Experience managing alternative risk finance programs such as Risk Retention Groups and off-shore Captives for large integrated health care systems, academic medical centers, employed physician networks, and Accountable Care Organizations.
Michael Hyzdu, Managing Director
UBS: 3 Point Legacy Advisors
Mike joined UBS in 2002 after spending 13 years leading technical consulting organizations and obtaining his executive MBA at Ohio State. He is considered a thought leader in the investment management of Captive Insurance assets and is passionate about serving clients. Mike has his commercial insurance license as well as Series 3, 7, 66, Certified Financial Planner™ and Certified Exit Planning Advisor ® designations.
UBS Financial Services is the third largest asset manager in the world and the team led by Mike and his partners (Tyler Holocher, Scott Hiles and Tom Hampton) currently manages the assets for 100 Captives in 16 Domiciles.
Blake Kerr, Partner & Chief Financial Officer
Helio Risk
Blake’s experience with creating solutions for risk, in both financing and operations, has been a daily activity of his career. With a background in insurance, finance, business consulting and accounting, Blake’s ability to creatively reimagine a businesses’ relationship with risk allows him to work with the Helio Risk team to provide solutions other agencies cannot.
For his entire business career, Blake has been a different type of business leader. Working with sectors including healthcare, professional services, aerospace, oil and gas and many others, Blake’s work has been foundational to advancing the interests of his clients.
Steve Kinion, Captive Director
Oklahoma Insurance Department Captive Insurance Division
Previously, he served as director at the Bureau of Captive and Financial Insurance Products with the Delaware Insurance Department. Prior to his Delaware appointment in July 2009, he was the senior adviser for regulatory policy for the then Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart. When he became the captive director, the bureau had only 38 captive insurance companies. Today, Delaware ranks as the world's fifth largest captive domicile and the third largest US domicile. Mr. Kinion is very involved in regulatory matters concerning captive insurance companies. This involvement includes active participation in matters before the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. For example, Mr. Kinion chaired the subgroup that redrafted the purchasing group provisions in the Risk Retention and Risk Purchasing Group Handbook. Mr. Kinion is a recognized leader and effective advocate for the domicile and the captive insurance industry in general.
Scott Kipper, Nevada Insurance Commissioner
Scott Kipper was appointed as Nevada’s Insurance Commissioner effective Feb. 27, 2023.
As Commissioner, Kipper is charged with protecting consumers’ rights and the public’s interest in dealings with the insurance industry.
Commissioner Kipper has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, including prior stints as Nevada Insurance Commissioner from 2008 to 2010 and again from 2011 to 2015. He most recently served as the Deputy Commissioner for Operations for the State of Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Prior to that, he founded a private consulting firm providing technical expertise on insurance issues, serving clients nationwide. He also has served as the Insurance Administrator of the Oregon Insurance Division, Deputy Commissioner at the Office of Health Insurance for the Louisiana Department of Insurance (DOI), and Senior Regional Director for State Affairs at America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
Brittney Kocaj, Tax Partner
Crowe
Brittney Kocaj is a partner in the Crowe exempt organization tax services group and provides tax compliance and consulting services to tax-exempt organizations, including healthcare organizations, colleges and universities, private foundations, membership organizations, and pension trusts.
Charles (Chaz) Lavelle
Partner, Dentons Bingham Greenebaum
Charles J (Chaz) Lavelle was elected to the Captive Review Hall of Fame, has received CICA’s “Distinguished Service Award” and VCIA’s “Service to the Captive Industry” award. He is a lawyer in the Louisville, Kentucky office of Dentons Bingham Greenebaum LLP. He regularly represents clients before the IRS and frequently speaks and writes on captive insurance topics. Chaz was outside Tax Counsel for both Humana (brother-sister) and Ocean Drilling (unrelated business) in their captive insurance victories in the U.S. Court of Appeals. Among his civic and charitable activities, he is past Chair of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.
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Kari Leonard, Chief Examiner
Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance
Experienced Examiner with a demonstrated history of working in the insurance industry. Skilled in Internal Audit, External Audit, Accounting, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Strong professional graduated from Baylor University.
Chlora Lindley-Myers, Director
Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance
Ms. Lindley-Myers has served in many senior positions in the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government, as well as roles in the regulatory and insurance industry. She currently serves as the 2024 Past-President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). She holds an undergraduate degree from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and a law degree from the University of Connecticut. Director Lindley-Myers is licensed to practice law in several states and has received national recognition for her work as a regulator including the Robert Dineen Award for Outstanding Service and Contribution to the State Regulation of Insurance, and the 2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Trailblazer Award at the Bermuda Risk Summit for her work in breaking down racial barriers for future generations of insurance regulatory professionals.
Renea Louie, ARM, ACI, Fellow (WRCIC Chair)
Chief Operations Officer, Pro Group Captive Management Services
Conference Chair
Renea manages the day-to-day operations and is an accomplished business professional with extensive experience and knowledge in the Alternative Risk Transfer industry. She manages marketing, underwriting, accounting, audit, risk management, client and regulator relations, government relations, client acquisition & retention, regulatory compliance, and corporate communications. With 30 years of experience Louie has been an active volunteer and leader across the U.S. both in business and in her community.
Heather McClure, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer
Helio Risk
Conference Co-Host
Prior to joining Helio, Heather was Chief Risk Advisor for the national healthcare practice at Aon, a global risk and insurance services company. Prior to that role Heather was Chief Risk Officer at the University of Oklahoma’s health system, directing risk, claims, captive operations, and insurance structure, including property, cyber, directors and officers, employer liability, workers compensation, provider professional liability, hospital liability, aviation, auto, and all other commercial and captive lines. Heather also served as Chief Legal Officer of the system’s captive insurance company, saving the system millions over its years of highly successful operations.
Glen Mulready, Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner
Glen Mulready serves as Oklahoma’s 13th insurance commissioner. A former state legislator and longtime insurance professional, he was recently unopposed in his bid for reelection, and will start a second term as insurance commissioner in 2023. Commissioner Mulready was first elected to the state-wide position in 2019. Commissioner Mulready started his insurance career as a broker in 1984 and later served in executive roles for Oklahoma’s two largest health insurance companies.
Jesse Olsen, Chief Operating Officer
Helio Risk
Prior to joining Helio, Jesse was Managing Director and a senior consultant at Strategic Risk Solutions, the world’s largest independent captive management and consulting firm. There he was responsible for conducting feasibility studies, forming new captives, providing strategic consulting to existing captives, and guiding captive business plan expansions. He had previously led the Specialty Risk Services practice for Lockton Companies’ Texas Series, overseeing captive consulting & analytics, risk control, and claims teams throughout the state. Jesse started in the insurance industry in Lockton’s Kansas City headquarters, consulting nationally and internationally on risk finance matters. Jesse started off his professional career in the Fixed Income division of Lehman Brothers and was based in New York City.
Nate Reznicek, President
Captives.Insure
Nate Reznicek is a well-recognized captive expert and an active leader in the captive industry and serves on several boards and committees for major associations and international conferences. He is a frequently requested speaker and author, as well as a faculty member at the International Center of Captive Insurance Education, a founding advisor to the 831(b) Institute, and the President of Captives.Insure, an award-winning captive insurance consulting and underwriting firm headquartered in Tennessee.
The recipient of multiple awards and industry recognition by Risk & Insurance Magazine, Business Insurance, US Captive Services Awards, Captive International, Nate serves as a subject matter expert on captive insurance for brokers and advisors across the country.
Andrew Rhea, President
Align Risk Solutions
Mr. Rhea is the President of Align Risk Solutions, which provides consulting, formation and management services for captive insurance companies.
Leon Rives, Chief Visionary Officer
RH CPAs, PLLC
Leon is the Chief Visionary Officer at RH CPAs, PLLC, a regular speaker at board meetings and brings his 20 years of experience combined with the ability to communicate complex matters in an easy to understand practical approach. Under his leadership RH CPAs, PLLC has received countless CPA firm of the year awards from multiple insurance publications, best places to work awards, and has been named a top entrepreneur in NC by Business Leader magazine. Leon has also assisted in drafting legislative changes in multiple states, regularly comments on proposed legislation affecting insurance companies. He spends most of his time consulting with the C-Suite at insurance companies on various topics ranging from Statutory Accounting, GAAP, IFRS, and Tax Accounting.
Claire Richardson, Captive Consultant
Hylant
Captive Consultant with Hylant Global Captive Solutions, providing best-in-class service and knowledge of alternative risk financing. A diligent and hardworking self-motivated leader who inspires those in my team to succeed.
Nick Stosic, Interim Insurance Commission, Nevada
Nick Stosic was appointed Interim Insurance Commissioner in January of 2023. Nick joined the Nevada Division of Insurance in August of 2016, first serving as the Insurance Regulation Liaison and was later promoted to Deputy Commissioner in July of 2019. His responsibilities as Deputy Commissioner include providing oversight of the Product Compliance, Market Regulation, and Captives sections, while also acting as the liaison with Nevada’s insurance agents and brokers.
Dan Schmidt, Managing Director
Symphony Risk
CPCU, ARM
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Jeff Simpson, Principle
Womble Bond Dickinson
Jeff Simpson leads Womble Bond Dickinson’s Captive Insurance Team. He focuses his practice on the formation, regulation and governance of captive insurance companies, and assists with all matters in the lifecycle of a captive. Jeff is a founder and director of the Delaware Captive Insurance Association and serves on its legislative and regulatory liaison committees, working closely with regulators. He also is a director of the Self-Insurance Institute of America and chairs its Enterprise Risk Captive Advocacy Working Group.
NICK STOSIC, CHFC, CLU, CFPTM, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER
Nevada Division of Insurance
Nick joined the Nevada Division of Insurance in August of 2016, first serving as the Insurance Regulation Liaison and was later promoted to Deputy Commissioner in July of 2019. His responsibilities as Deputy Commissioner include providing oversight of the Product Compliance, Market Regulation, and Captives sections, while also acting as the liaison with Nevada’s insurance agents and brokers.
Kyle Sweet, Chief Strategy Officer
Helio Risk
Mr. Sweet spent three decades defending the most complex healthcare cases throughout the country. He has taken all that experience and created entities that deliver value through cost savings and turning historic expenses into long-term financial assets. Sweet utilizes captive insurance as a critical strategical component to his business portfolio and built a dream team of industry thought leaders to deliver that service writ large.
John Talley, President
TAL Consulting
John is the founder and President of TAL Consulting, LLC. After nearly 30 years as an insurance regulator, including 10 years as the lead captive insurance regulator, John has moved on to consult in the captive insurance arena with interested individuals, companies, insurance and risk professionals and captive managers. He is available to consult on all captive insurance issues, including, but not limited to, captive company formation and licensing, pooling and reinsurance, state regulations, and captive governance.
Kirk Watkins, CEO
Promethean Risk Solutions
Kirk Watkins Is the President and Founder of Promethean Risk Solutions. Kirk has insurance licenses in all 50 states and previously held Series 7, 66, and 63 securities licenses. He was granted two U.S. Patents in financial services and employee benefits. His contributions to the industry have earned him notable recognition, including the prestigious Business Insurance Innovation Award in 2023 for creating the first voluntary employee benefits reinsurance and profit-sharing programs that do not require a Prohibited Transaction Exemption from the D.O.L. Kirk’s expertise is in developing unique third-party business programs utilizing employee benefits, warranties, cell phone coverage, ID theft, pre-paid legal, and pet insurance programs. Kirk has been an invited speaker at many captive insurance events and has been featured in the New York Times, Captive Times, Captive Review, and numerous other publications.
Travis K. Wegkamp, Captive Insurance Director
Utah Insurance Department
Travis Wegkamp, an Utah native, joined the Utah Insurance Department’s Captive Division in April 2011. Prior to joining the Department, he was an Audit Assurance Associate for McGladrey & Pullen in Las Vegas, Nevada. Travis holds an Associate of Business degree from Dixie State College, and both a Bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in Accounting and a Masters of Accountancy degree from Southern Utah University. Travis was appointed Utah’s Director of Captive Insurance in August 2016.
Rosemary Wickham, Director – Actuarial Solutions
Merlinos & Associates, Inc.
Ms. Wickham is skilled in the development of rates structures and rates, and annual renewal rate studies for captives, risk retention group, insurance agencies and self-insurance trusts.
Cathi Willett, RN Legal/Risk Management
University of Oklahoma
I have been an RN for 5 years, with 5 years as an LPN before that. Most of my career has been in Utilization Review, Legal and Risk Management. I'm coming up on 3 years in Risk Management. Legal cases and chart review are my favorite part of the job!!
Mark Wiedeman, ACI, CFE, PIR, Director, Captive Insurance Section
Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance
Mark Wiedeman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Master’s in Public Administration both from Brigham Young University. Mark started his regulatory career working as a valuation analyst for the Utah State Tax Commission. He came to the Utah Insurance Department in 2012 as an auditor, worked his way up to Senior Examiner, and was hired into the position of Assistant Division Director in 2016. Mark has achieved his Certified Financial Examiner (CFE) designation from the Society of Financial Examiners as well as the Associate in Captive (ACI) designation from the International Center for Captive Insurance Education and Professional in Insurance Regulation (PIR) from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. In addition to his duties for the Insurance Department, Mark also serves on the board for the International Center for Captive Insurance Education.