NAFA Annuity Leadership Forum Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University. Additionally, he is a frequent contributor to CNN, CBS and MSNBC as a Presidential Historian. He works in many capacities in public history, including museums, colleges, and historical societies and is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. The Chicago Tribune dubbed him “America’s New Past Master.” The New-York Historical has chosen Brinkley as their official U.S. Presidential Historian.
Brinkley has authored five books and received two Grammy Awards, one for Presidential Suite (large jazz band ensemble) and for Fandango at the Wall (best Latin Jazz) as well eight honorary doctorates in American Studies. His two-volume annotated The Nixon Tapes won the Arthur S. Link – Warren F. Kuehl Prize. Brinkley is a board member of the National Archives Foundation, the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress, the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and a member of the Council of Foreign Relations.
Featured Hill Speakers
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), a native of Red Oak, Iowa, has dedicated her life to her state and country, having served in the military for over 23 years and now representing Iowans in the United States Senate. Known for her independent leadership and commitment to public service, Joni previously served as the Montgomery County Auditor where she worked to eliminate wasteful government spending and protect taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars, and was the local commissioner of elections. As a state senator, Joni fought to balance the state budget and helped turn Iowa’s $900 million budget deficit into a $1 billion surplus. In November 2014, Joni was elected as the first woman to serve in federal elected office from the State of Iowa and also became the first female combat veteran elected to serve in the United States Senate.
The Senator is a member of the Armed Services; Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; Homeland Security and Government Affairs; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committees. She is working to grow a strong economy; stand up for Iowa farmers, families, and small businesses; hold Washington accountable, ensure a strong national defense, and support our veterans.
Michael Sinacore is the pensions policy director for the Senate HELP Committee Republicans under Chairman Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA). He previously served as the Economic Policy Adviser for Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) where he led legislative efforts to draft and pass the SECURE 2.0 Act.
Michael previously worked for Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and for Representatives Dave Trott (R-MI) and Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) in their respective assignments to the House Financial Services Committee. He has also served as the deputy director for external affairs at the National Credit Union Administration. Prior to his government service, Sinacore worked at JP Morgan’s London Office. He holds a B.A. from Boston College and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Featured Speakers
Cliff Andrews has more than 20 years of political experience as a federal legislative strategist and advocate. He heads CapCity Advocates, LLC, a federal government relations business that he started in 2004. He offers extensive experience in legislative issues management and coalition management for trade associations and corporations. In particular, he consults with clients on advocacy plans, legislative and regulatory conferences and fly-ins, policy paper and testimony preparation, policy issue monitoring, grassroots and grasstops development, PAC strategy, and building strategic relationships with third-party groups.
In the past, Cliff served as the Director of Government Relations for Butera & Andrews, a Washington D.C. law firm, and at one time was a staffer for Senator Harry Reid. He also worked in the financial services sector for Equitable and New York Life, where he secured investments and insurance for small businesses and families.
Phil Brzenk, CFA, is global head of multi-asset Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). His team is responsible for the product management of multi-asset, volatility and options indices, which cover a variety of outcome-oriented index solutions including managed volatility, asset allocation, retirement-focused, options strategies and liquid alternatives.
Previously, Phil was a senior director in the Strategy Indices team, where he was responsible for product coverage of alternate beta strategies, including factor-based indices, dividends and volatility, as well as quantitative, thematic and asset-allocation strategies. He has held various roles in other departments at S&P DJI including research and design, strategy index management, custom and development.
Trish Carreiro is an experienced cybersecurity and privacy litigator who advises clients on privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. As a certified information privacy professional (CIPP/US), certified information privacy manager (CIPM) and fellow in information privacy (FIP), she specializes in privacy and cybersecurity program management in highly regulated industries such as healthcare, insurance and financial services.
Trish provides proactive risk management for new and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, website technologies and digital advertising. She tailors her advice to her clients’ specific legal needs and risk tolerance, serving as outside privacy and cybersecurity counsel to companies of all sizes. Her clients range from Fortune 500 companies to small universities and healthcare startups. Trish has been advising clients and publishing thought leadership for nearly a decade, and her insights have been featured in various publications.
Richard Choi, shareholder at Carlton Fields, has more than 35 years of experience counseling clients on the development and distribution of sophisticated financial products, such as fixed index and variable annuities and life insurance and face-amount certificates. His experience also includes representation of investment advisers and investment companies in regulatory compliance examinations and enforcement matters, opinions on the availability of 1940 Act exemptions in connection with various types of transactions, and in-house training and education seminars on a variety of regulatory and compliance matters.
He has published numerous articles and regularly speaks on federal securities issues relating to insurance products and mutual funds. He has appeared on Bloomberg TV and has been quoted in numerous reputable national newspapers, trade publications and other financial publications.
Chuck DiVencenzo is the President and CEO of NAFA, overseeing the association’s efforts to promote and expand the utilization of fixed and fixed index annuity products through independent distribution. His work on advocacy at the state and federal levels, thought leadership, consumer education efforts and commitment to industry best practices have aided product acceptance and industry growth.
Prior to joining NAFA, Chuck was vice president at Allianz Life of North America, where he served as a national spokesperson on topics including taxation, retirement, social security, asset protection and other relevant issues. He also worked closely with the actuarial, sales and legal departments to develop content and product, and to deliver thought leadership to wholesalers and distribution partners. Formerly, he served as the COO/CMO of Paradigm Capital Management and senior vice president in Hartford Life’s Investment Products Division. Chuck has also held positions in academia, practiced tax and ERISA law, and began his career as a consultant with Ernst & Young.
Jasmine Fan, CFA, is a senior member of the iShares investment strategy team at Blackrock. The team analyzes markets and macro trends to provide actionable market insights across asset classes using iShares ETFs. Jasmine works with both institutional and USWA teams to deliver iShares content directly to clients.
Prior to this role, Jasmine was a member of BlackRock Solutions’ Aladdin Business and helped clients leverage Aladdin’s portfolio management capabilities, along with risk and analytical tools. Jasmine is AMRS regional co-chair for the Asian & Middle Eastern Professionals & Allies Network (AMP), a global employee network committed to promoting community, camaraderie and a sense of belonging for Asian and Middle Eastern professionals and allies.
Gissou Gotlieb is chief compliance officer at TruChoice Financial Group, LLC. An accomplished compliance and supervision leader, she has more than 20 years of management experience at major securities, asset management and insurance firms.
Analytical and decisive, Gissou is skilled in providing innovative and balanced solutions for effective risk management. She has routinely demonstrated success in developing compliance and supervisory processes and procedures, creating strategy, and implementing projects within budget and time constraints. She is also adept in navigating through highly matrixed organizations and delivering high performance teams.
Tony Lengeling joined American Equity in January 2019 as vice president and chief compliance officer, a role in which he leads all compliance-related functions. Following his 2003 graduation from Drake University with J.D. and MBA degrees, Tony worked at Aviva Life and Annuity in legal and anti-fraud roles and at Principal Financial Group where he led life insurance product development and implementation.
Tony is a member of the Iowa Bar Association, industry groups and the board of a local non-profit. In addition to his J.D. and MBA, Tony holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of Iowa.
Joshua Levine, CFA, is a director of insurance sales at Bank of America. He is responsible for delivering innovative solutions to insurance companies with a focus on Investable Indices.
Josh began his career at J.P. Morgan in 2009 and covered clients across both the Investment Bank and Private Bank. He spent four years in J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank where he advised ultra-high-net-worth private clients on asset allocation and built tailored investment portfolios across global asset classes. From there, he joined J.P. Morgan’s Structured Investments Team where he was responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of cross asset structured investments and investible indices through broker-dealers and registered investment advisors within the United States.
Andrew Payne is vice president and general counsel at CreativeOne. He currently serves as the vice chair of the NAFA Board of Directors and was previously chair of NAFA’s Government and Legal Affairs Committee. Prior to joining CreativeOne in 2016, Andrew worked in private practice where he focused on civil litigation and corporate law, and clerked for the Honorable Justice Lee A. Johnson at the Kansas Supreme Court.
Andrew attended the University of Kansas where he majored in economics and political science prior to attending Washburn University School of Law where he served as an editor on the Law Journal and the President of the Student Bar Association. While at Washburn, Andrew published “Twitigation: Old Rules in a New World” which detailed the shortcomings of modern jurisprudence in response to the rise of social media.
Tom Roberts has more than 25 years of experience in advising insurance and annuity providers, banks, and other financial institutions on ERISA fiduciary and related legal matters involving retirement products and service offerings.
Tom has a broad and deep background in the retirement services industry, having spent much of his career prior to joining Groom as in-house counsel to a major annuity and recordkeeping services provider. Tom has played a key role in helping to shape the regulatory landscape through written comments and testimony and has held leadership positions in a number of industry trade associations. He is a frequent speaker on ERISA-related developments and other regulatory changes that affect retirement service providers.
Becky Ruby Swansburg spent her early career working in Congress and the White House, assisting government leaders with some of the most pressing issues facing our nation. Her work on tax policy and America’s savings habits turned her attention toward the urgent needs of today’s retirees. Becky brings her policy background and extensive communication knowledge as co-author of The New Holistic Retirement, The No-Compromise Retirement Plan, a book heralded across the industry as insightful, impactful and most of all — enjoyable to read.
Becky is currently CEO of Stonewood Financial, bringing more than a decade of experience in public relations and communication across a range of industries in the for-profit, non-profit and government sectors to her work. Prior to joining Stonewood, Becky headed communications for economic development organizations, U.S. Congressmen and government agencies, and has worked in the White House Press Office in Washington, D.C.