SPEAKERS

Donald Ashwood, Account Executive-Business Development Analyst, AON

Donald Ashwood joined Aon in September 2022. Before joining Aon, he worked for the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) in various financial regulatory roles for over eight years. Most recently, Ashwood served as the captive insurance coordinator for OID where he acted as the primary captive insurance regulator, assisted prospective captives through the application process and licensed captive insurance companies, conducted annual reviews, handled the captives’ regulatory needs including business plan changes, dividend requests, and loans, and served as the primary marketing role at various captive conferences and meetings purposed with continued growth in the Oklahoma captives industry and the OID’s captive division infrastructure.

Ken Avery, President, Utah Risk Management Consulting

As President and founder of Utah Risk Management Consulting, Ken utilizes his
alternative risk management expertise to collaborate with a wide range of industry
professionals, solving complex risk management issues for business-owners. Ken has been involved in the captive insurance industry in Utah since 2011. He has served with the Utah Captive Insurance Association Board of Directors and leadership team since 2013, and is currently serving as president of the association.

Sonya Bergquist

Senior Actuarial Analyst, Taylor-Walker Consulting, LLC

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.

Eryn Brasovan, Partner, Womble Bond Dickinson

Eryn Brasovan takes a strategic approach to legal representation, carefully considering her client’s business goals in the context of applicable regulatory frameworks and industry trends. She has extensive experience encompassing a variety of transactional and regulatory matters related to the financial services and insurance industries, including consumer and commercial lending, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance and risk management, and litigation and dispute resolution.

John Capasso, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of 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.

Tony Child, Keynote Speaker

Through his organization, Elevated Worldwide, Tony helps individuals around the globe access their internal power to create quantum leaps in their performance. Simply put, Tony makes the impossible in people’s lives become possible.

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.

Carolyn Fahey, Executive Director, AIRROC (Association of Insurance & Reinsurance Run-Off Companies)

Carolyn Fahey is the Executive Director of AIRROC (Association of Insurance and Reinsurance Run-Off Companies) and has served in this role for 13 years. She is the face of the organization and the voice of the U.S. legacy sector. She works with the AIRROC Board of Directors to set and execute the overall strategy for the association, as well as has responsibility for AIRROC’s operations. Carolyn is a leading speaker, author and educator on the legacy sector. She enthusiastically leads AIRROC with her hands-on, high-energy and innovative approaches which has built AIRROC into the preeminent organization for runoff professionals.

Gregory Fears, Director and Consulting Actuary, Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc.
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.

Alan Fine, Partner, Armanino

Alan has more than 25 years of tax experience and has worked closely with insurance companies for 22 years. He specializes in the taxation of insurance companies and is responsible for serving insurers writing fidelity, personal and commercial lines; medical and life insurance; and other professional malpractice coverage.

His areas of specialty include consulting and compliance tax services, captive insurance services and structuring and review of complex GAAP and statutory accounting tax provisions. Alan has authored a number of pieces on issues involving insurance tax and captive insurance companies. He regularly consults with insurance companies in tax planning and minimization, and he represents clients on tax issues before the Internal Revenue Service and state and local authorities.

Victoria Fimea, Chief Captive Analyst in the Financial Affairs Division
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.

Jodi Harrison

Ms. Harrison is lead captive examiner-analyst at the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance.

Cassandra Hand Gallegos, AIC, Founder |CEO|CCO
CCMS & Associates
Cassandra Hand-Gallegos is an insurance professional with over three decades of
experience driving innovation in claims and risk management. Since 1989, she has led claims organizations with a focus on loss mitigation, data analytics, operational strategy, and digital transformation. Her career began as a field adjuster and investigator and expanded into executive leadership roles at both independent firms and carriers.
Cassandra is a recognized advocate for the Property & Casualty industry, known for delivering measurable results including a 30-point reduction in total loss outcomes incurred. She regularly speaks on the power of actionable field data and serves as a provider of continuing education. Cassandra founded a national claim adjusting firm and a technology-driven risk solution platform to help carriers and MGAs turn on-the-ground insights into improved claim resolution, better underwriting outcomes, and stronger program profitability.

Melissa Hollingsworth, Deputy Chief Officer of Risk Management, Los Angeles Unified School District

As the Deputy Chief Officer of Risk Management at the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest school district in the country, I lead a dedicated team of 80 professionals. With a deep expertise in captives and insurance companies, I drive strategic initiatives, operational excellence, and innovative risk solutions that enhance risk management and claims outcomes. Named "Woman to Watch 2023" by Business Insurance and actively serves on the Board of Directors for the Captive Insurance Companies Association (CICA) as well as Amplify Women Conference committee, demonstrating industry leadership and commitment to advancing diversity in insurance. Recognized public speaker and thought leader, sharing insights on risk management and insurance strategies at various platforms.

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Jeff Griffin, Keynote Speaker

Jeff Griffin is an educated wheelchair athlete who knows how to win. He played in the 2004 Athens Olympics, holds a Guinness Book of World Records award, and is a four-time NWBA All-Star MVP.

Allison Johnson, CPA / Audit Partner, Larson CPAs

Allison Johnson currently serves as the leader of our Insurance Industry practice group. She is also the head of the internal training committee and the education committee leader. She has over 10 years of experience in insurance accounting. While she started her career as an intern in our firm, she has grown her reputation and expertise working on our most important insurance clients and her position as partner is the culmination of that training. Her grasp of statutory accounting is impressive, and she compiles our statutory updates each quarter from the NAIC.

Steve Kinion, Captive Director, Oklahoma Insurance Department Captive Insurance Division

Previously, Steve 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.

Alex Korb, Alternative Risk Transfer, Consultant

Alex has over 27 years of broad experience in the (re)insurance and financial services industries, with a particular focus on alternative risk transfer (ART) innovation and strategy. This includes the development of innovative ways to boost financial resilience and unlock new revenue streams via parametric, captive, forecast-based, embedded, and hybrid insurance & financial solutions, including insurance-linked securities (ILS).

Sam Komo, Captive Insurance Manager, Missouri Department of Commerce & Insurance

As the Captive Insurance Manager at the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance (DCI), Sam Komo leads a team of dedicated professionals who monitor and regulate 55 licensed captive companies with $8.6 billion in gross written premiums and $16.2 billion in assets. With over 20 years of experience in various government and private sector roles, Komo has developed a strong expertise in risk management, leadership, team development, process alignment, and regulatory oversight.

Daniel Kusaila, Partner, Crowe LLP

Daniel Kusaila is a partner in the tax group at Crowe. He specializes in property and casualty, captives, and life insurance companies in global and multistate environments. Daniel has more than 20 years of experience including FATCA compliance, federal and state tax compliance and planning, structure of off-shore and on-shore captive insurance companies, mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, private letter rulings, federal excise tax compliance, GAAP financial statement reporting, and statutory financial statement reporting.

James LeRoy, President, JKL Enterprises, LLC

Jim LeRoy is president of JKL Enterprises, LLC, a consulting firm supporting captive formation and operations. Jim has been active in the captive space since 1979 with captives in multiple domiciles, providing various coverages and operating in diverse industries. Jim is currently VP of the Utah Captive Insurance Association.

Kristen Lawler, Tax Partner, Crowe LLP

Kristen has over thirteen (13) years of experience within the financial
services industry with a specialization in insurance tax. She has served
many clients, including life insurance property & casualty insurance, health
insurance, reinsurance and captive insurance companies. She has worked
on a range of projects including ASC 740 tax provision attest services,
financial service company federal tax return preparation services and formation, qualification and tax advisory services for captive insurance companies. Kristen helps to lead Crowe’s Captive insurance tax practice, identifying captive tax and regulatory solutions and strategies for clients across various industries.

Renea Louie, ARM, ACI, Fellow (WRCIC Chair)
Chief Executive Officer, Sotera Global Management
Conference MC
Renea Louie has served as a captive manager for 20 years with the same firm as COO. In late 2024 she was named CEO of her firm and rebranded to Sotera Global Management. Mrs. Louie has 38 years’ experience in senior management, operations, IT, marketing, administration, and extensive experience in captive feasibility, formation, licensing, and ongoing management for all
forms and types of captives. Her unique and wide range of skill sets, and experience Nationally and Globally has enabled her to become an engaged leader in the industry. She is a frequent speaker, MC and commentator at industry conferences, meetings and in articles. Louie serves as the current Western Region Captive Association Chairwoman, Nevada Captive Insurance Council as a Director and Officer, Captive Insurance Companies Association two terms and past Chair and Director since 2018, Oklahoma Captive Insurance Association director and serves on many other state and federal committees and Boards. She has consistently been voted one of the top 50 most powerful and influential industry and works diligently for stable and forward thinking legislation in all domiciles.

Michael Lipkin, President, 2 Wings Risk Services

Since 2004 Michael Lipkin has served as the President of 2 Wings Risk Services. Before 2WRS Michael was the Chief Underwriting Officer for Commercial Risk Re-insurance Company that specialized in alternative market products for large commercial clients.

Michael joined Commercial Risk in 1993 after holding underwriting positions with Hanover Insurance Company and Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company. From 1989 to 1990, Michael worked at Hanover focusing on actuarial analysis of commercial and personal lines of business. In 1990 he joined Fireman’s Fund as a Senior Actuarial Analyst, where he focused on the casualty book for National Accounts.

Joe Marcantel, Director, Talisman Insurance

Joe Marcantel is a Director at Talisman Insurance Company, Inc. Talisman is a protected cell captive insurance company domiciled in Oklahoma who serves the specialty insurance sector by offering protected cells to underwriters who have seasoned books of business and need a regulated vehicle to transfer risk and direct access to capacity through reinsurance and alternative risk finance markets. All coverage provided by Talisman is commercial and is only available to those businesses who participate in an underwriting cell.

Heather McClure, General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer

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.

Jose R. Martinez Jr., Associate Partner - Retrospective Solutions, Augment Risk

José R. Martinez Jr. is a seasoned insurance and reinsurance professional with over 20 years of experience in business administration, claims management, and financial operations. He currently serves as the Head of Retrospective Solutions at Augment Risk, where he specializes in structuring and executing legacy reinsurance transactions. Throughout his career, José has held key leadership roles at industry giants such as Swiss Re, Safety National, CNA, and Aon. He has expertise in complex mass tort, environmental, workers' compensation, general liability, and multimillion-dollar global property and casualty claims.

Steven M. McElhiney, Partner - Captives and ART Solutions, Augment Risk

Steve is a Partner at Augment Risk, a Dallas-based global provider of specialized risk capital solutions, where he heads the Captive and ART unit. Previously, he served as Global Director of Reinsurance for Artex Risk Solutions; Chairman and President of EWI Re; and President of Tall Pines Insurance Company of Vermont. His insurance industry experiences span over two decades with a demonstrated commitment to the world of alternative risk, serving as past Board Chair of CICA and past President and Chairman of the Board of the VCIA. In recognition, he was inducted by Captive Review into the Captive Hall of Fame in 2021. Steve earned his BS, MS and MBA from the University of Southern California, where he also serves as founding member of the USC Risk Management Program Advisory Council.

Jack Meskunas, Executive Director - Investments, Oppenheimer & Co.

In his role as Executive Director – Investments at Oppenheimer, Jack Meskunas brings over 35 years of comprehensive experience in advising qualified institutional clients on a diverse range of investment strategies. His expertise extends across offshore banking, brokerage firms, insurance, captive insurance and reinsurance companies. Jack's recommendations cover hedge funds, fixed income instruments, managed equities, and structured products. Moreover, he provides executive services tailored to the needs of senior managers and high-net-worth individuals, ensuring personalized attention to their financial objectives.

Jon Pike, UTAH Insurance Commissioner

Jon Pike has served as Utah Insurance Commissioner since January 5, 2021. Pike worked in several positions with Intermountain Healthcare from 1990 through 2020, including 26 years as the southwest Utah operations director for SelectHealth, the health insurance division of Intermountain Healthcare.

In 2007, Pike was elected to the St. George City Council and in 2013 he was elected mayor of St. George, where he served until January 2021. Pike currently serves on the boards of Encircle St. George, the Southwest Utah Symphony and Orchestra, the Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance, and as a member of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Elisa Ramos, Risk & Claims Manager, Ed Morse Automotive Group

Elisa Ramos is an experienced Risk & Claims Manager at Ed Morse Automotive Group, with over a decade of expertise in claims management, risk mitigation, and human resources. She specializes in workers’ compensation, general liability, property, and auto liability claims, and is passionate about proactive risk management and building strong, collaborative relationships with insurance carriers, adjusters, and legal teams.

Certified in LEAN methodologies, TWI (Training Within Industry), and People First practices, Elisa is committed to fostering a culture of respect, empowerment, and operational excellence. She is a dedicated leader and mentor who strives to develop high-performing teams, create positive, inclusive workplaces, and drive strategic problem-solving and continuous learning.

Leane Rafalko, CFE, ACI, Director of Captive Management, CIC Services LLC

Leane Rafalko, CFE, ACI is the Director of Captive Management at CIC Services, LLC
responsible for the oversight of the firm’s captive management operations, including facilitating the formation of new captive insurers, supervising the captive insurer’s ongoing regulatory and compliance maintenance, managing claims administration, maintaining client relationships, attending client board of director’s meetings and overseeing the management system and operations procedure manual. Before joining CIC Services, LLC, Leane was an audit manager at RH CPAs, PLLC, where she oversaw financial statement audits of a broad spectrum of insurance entities with multi‐jurisdictional requirements, multiple lines of insurance business, reinsurance considerations, including mutual
insurance companies, reinsurers, risk retention groups, and captive insurance companies.

Luke Renz, Captive Consultant, Captives.Insure

Luke is a Consultant for Captives Insure (“C.I.”), an award-winning global captive insurance consulting and underwriting firm headquartered in Tennessee. C.I. works with sophisticated captive managers, brokers, and business owners to provide turn-key captive insurance solutions designed to maximize control and premium retention for high-performing businesses around the world.

Luke holds his Associate in Captive Insurance (ACI) from ICCIE and helps insurance brokers provide their insureds wholly-owned captive insurance solutions for Property, Excess and Umbrella Liability, Workers' Compensation, General Liability, and Auto.

Mike Reynolds, Captives Analyst, Nevada Division of Insurance

Michael serves as a Management Analyst for the Nevada Division of Insurance’s
Captive Insurance Program. In this role, he conducts financial and regulatory reviews and actively contributes to the development of policies and regulations to support the state's captive insurance industry.

Michael studied accounting at Western Nevada College in Carson City, Nevada. He
began his career with the State of Nevada in 2009 and has held a variety of
administrative and regulatory positions across several state agencies, including the
Nevada Department of Employment and the Nevada System of Higher Education. He joined the Nevada Division of Insurance in 2023.

Leon L. Rives II, Chief Visionary Officer, RH CPAs

Leon L. Rives II is the Chief Visionary Officer in RH CPAs. Leon co-founded the firm and is an investor in several different businesses. Leon has authored more than 15 courses on insurance, insurance accounting, and governmental accounting. Leon is 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. Leon has also assisted in drafting legislation pertaining to insurance in multiple jurisdictions. Leon also provides consulting services to a multitude of Risk Bearing entities across the United States and abroad, ranging from Workers Compensation, Property & Casualty, Life and Health, and Captives of all types. He spends most of his time on complex tax and accounting consulting.

Tim Svoboda, Vice President - Alternative Risk, Conner Strong & Buckelew

Tim Svoboda is an insurance professional with an emphasis on the captive and alternative insurance industry. Background in alternative risk financing, quantitative analytics, and consulting on efficient program design.

Ben Whitehouse, Attorney, Butler|Snow

At Butler Snow, Ben Whitehouse is a member of the firm’s Regulatory and Government Practice Group, focusing on general insurance and captive insurance matters. Whitehouse previously worked at the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance as the Supervising Attorney for Insurance. He also has prior experience with the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and served as a Judge Advocate in the United States Navy. Whitehouse has previously been recognized in Captive Review’s Power 50 and under his leadership, Butler Snow was also recognized by Captive Review as the legal services firm of the year at the 2021 US Captive Service Award. Recently, Whitehouse has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America® for Insurance Law in 2023 and 2024.

Whitehouse holds a certificate from the International Center for Captive Insurance Education as an Associate in Captive Insurance and previously held certification as a Professional in Insurance Regulation from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. He is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, the Tennessee Supreme Court, and the Nashville Bar Association. He is licensed to practice in Tennessee and North Carolina.

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.

Mark Wiedeman, ACI, CFE, PIR, Director, Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance

Mark Wiedeman is Director of the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance. A Utah native, Mark is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a bachelor of arts in history and a master’s in public administration. He began his regulatory career working as a valuation analyst for the Utah State Tax Commission. He joined the Utah Insurance Department in 2012 as an auditor before being promoted to senior examiner and eventually rising through the ranks to become assistant division director. In 2022, he left the Utah Insurance Department to start a business in contract insurance examinations and captive insurance consulting.

Melissa Wiley, Partner, Kostelanetz LLP

Melissa Wiley is a partner in the Washington, DC office of Kostelanetz LLP, a tax controversy-focused boutique law firm. She has over 20 years of experience representing clients in all manner of tax controversies at the federal and state level, including audits, administrative appeals, litigation and voluntary disclosures. Prior to law school, Melissa worked in the insurance industry as an actuarial analyst. She holds a BS in Actuarial Science from the College of Insurance, a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, and has earned the Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) and Associate in Captive Insurance (ACI) designations. She is a frequent speaker on tax matters, including those affecting the captive insurance industry.

Jeff Wilson, Captive Insurance Director, Iowa Department of Insurance & Financial Services

Jeff Wilson is the Captive Insurance Director with the Iowa Department of Insurance and Financial Services. Prior to joining the department in 2024, he spent more than 25 years working for a regional property and casualty insurer based in Iowa. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Northern Iowa and a master's degree in risk management and insurance from Florida State University. He has earned the Associate in Captive Insurance (AIC), Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), and Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) designations.