Beyond the Challenge

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 Bruce Parker, President, Global Life Insurance at Pan-American Life about leading an international organization through a pandemic.

Bruce is responsible for all Pan-American Life’s individual life and personal accident business lines. In this capacity he leads the international life business in Latin America and the Caribbean and serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Mutual Trust Life Insurance Company. Bruce also oversees the Group’s Private Client Life businesses as Chairman of Pan-American International Insurance Corporation (PAIIC) and Pan-American Assurance Company International, Inc. (PAACII).

Bruce is a former member of the LIMRA International board of directors and a former Trustee of both The American College Bryn Mawr in Pennsylvania and former Trustee of Mt. Pisgah Christian School in Johns Creek, Georgia.

Bruce holds a BA in Economics from the State University of New York at Oswego and an MS in Management from The American College. He also holds a Leadership Certificate from Cornell University. He is also a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Governance Fellow.

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.