NAFA Annuity Leadership Forum Speakers

Paul Begala is a political commentator, a professor of public policy, an author and a political strategist. He is a commentator for CNN, where he is part of the political team that has won both an Emmy Award and a Peabody Award. In addition to appearing on-air, Paul writes commentary for CNN, which is the world’s most-read news organization website. Over the years, he has also been a frequent guest on Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO and has authored six books about politics, several of which were New York Times bestsellers. In the 1990s, he helped his friend John F. Kennedy, Jr. launch the political magazine George and wrote the “Capitol Hillbilly” column.

Begala served in 1992 as a senior strategist for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign and as Counselor to the President in the White House, helping coordinate policy, politics and media. Before working for Pres. Clinton, Begala worked on Capitol Hill and advised campaigns across America. In 2012, he played a crucial role in the Obama-Biden re-election campaign. He has also done campaign work overseas, including in Israel, Europe, South America, the Caribbean and Africa.

Stephen F. Hayes is CEO and editor of The Dispatch, a conservative digital media company he started with Jonah Goldberg and Toby Stock in 2019. He is the author of two New York Times bestsellers: The Connection: How al Qaeda’s Collaboration with Saddam Hussein Has Endangered America and Cheney: The Untold Story of America’s Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President. Hayes is also currently an NBC News contributor and was part of CNN’s “Best Political Team on Television,” which won a Peabody Award for its coverage of the 2008 elections.

Hayes worked at The Weekly Standard magazine for nearly two decades, first as a reporter/writer and eventually as editor-in-chief. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Reason, National Review and many other publications. Hayes has written extensively about national politics, international affairs and the country’s current political leadership.

Scott C. Miller is an economic historian at the Darden School of Business and the Karsh Institute of Democracy. The proud product of public schools, he received his BA from Vanguard University of Southern California, and then earned an MA at George Mason University before completing his Ph.D in History at the University of Virginia. He also served as a postdoctoral fellow in economic and business history at the Yale School of Management’s International Center for Finance.

After undergrad, Scott conducted research on World War II aviation for four years before entering grad school. In the Spring of 2021, he was offered a chance to return to UVa with a dual position at Darden and the Miller Center of Public Affairs. He now also runs the Democracy & Capitalism Lab at the Karsh Institute.

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.

Trish Carreiro is an experienced data lawyer who focuses on minimizing the risks associated with data collection, use, transfer, storage, and disclosure. She is certified by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as an artificial intelligence governance professional (AIGP), certified information privacy professional (CIPP/US), certified information privacy manager (CIPM), and fellow of information privacy (FIP), and she is a prior multiterm co-chair of the IAPP’s South Florida chapter.

Trained as a business litigator, Trish combines her litigation skills with technical proficiency in cybersecurity, privacy, and artificial intelligence to advise highly regulated businesses on privacy, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence governance compliance, program management, and related prophylactic measures. She also works with clients in the areas of negotiating terms and agreements, responding to cybersecurity incidents, pursuing proactive risk management strategies, and defending against privacy, cybersecurity, or data-related putative class actions and regulatory inquiries.

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.

Kevin Cloud is vice president and chief product actuary for Product One, the product development division of Creative One. He has been in the insurance industry for 25 years, having worked at several insurance companies and as a consultant in the design, development, implementation, distribution and marketing of insurance products, with a particular emphasis on fixed indexed annuities.

At Product One, Kevin and his team use their actuarial, product, and industry knowledge across the Creative One enterprise — partnering with insurance carriers on the design and distribution of unique insurance products, serving as the product knowledge expert for Creative One’s insurance technology endeavors, and offering advanced underwriting, case design and product expertise to Creative One’s life insurance and annuity wholesaling consultants.

Carolyn Coda leads Invariant’s Economic Policy practice, bringing with her 15 years of experience in the public and private sectors. She specializes in regulatory and legislative strategy and guides clients through the complexities of Washington’s political landscape, with focus areas around 1) navigating complex legislative and regulatory challenges impacting the financial services industry, 2) executing tailored strategies that anticipate and address critical financial services and tax policy issues and 3) counseling clients on risk mitigation strategies.

Carolyn joined Invariant from global reinsurer Swiss Re, where she served for seven years as head of federal affairs. She has also spent time in both the legislative and executive branches. She clerked for the Republican staff of the Senate Finance Committee before transitioning to the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was also a political appointee at the Treasury Department under President George W. Bush, serving in the Office of Legislative Affairs.

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 the 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 products 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.

Jeffrey Flynn, CFA, has been the North American Life Insurance Equity Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) since 2019, having joined BI — the investment research arm of Bloomberg — in 2016.

Previously, Jeffrey worked in equity research at Citigroup and held investment operations and client service roles earlier in his career at Fidelity Investments.

Gissou Gotlieb is VP of Compliance, Accumulation & Retirement Income at AmeriLife. An accomplished compliance and supervision leader, she has more than 20 years of management experience at prominent securities, asset management and insurance firms.

Meticulous and decisive, Gissou is highly regarded for her strategic vision and advanced analytical expertise. She consistently delivers high-impact solutions that not only fortify organizational risk frameworks but also drive business growth and operational excellence. Her leadership has been instrumental in elevating compliance standards, optimizing risk management practices, and aligning innovative strategies with the company’s mission.

Courtney Hess is Associate General Counsel and Managing Director, Regulatory Relations, for Corebridge Financial. In her role, Courtney manages a team handling state insurance market conduct examinations and regulatory reporting, as well as engagement and required filings with Corebridge’s domicile jurisdiction insurance regulators.

Courtney is engaged with multiple industry trade organizations, and currently serves as the Chair of the Insured Retirement Institute’s Compliance and Implementation Committee and Co-Chair of IRI’s Artificial Intelligence Working Group. She was also part of the inaugural American Council of Life Insurers Rising Leaders Class in 2024. Prior to joining Corebridge Financial, Courtney held legal, compliance, and legislative affairs positions with the State of Tennessee Department of Treasury, supporting and advising the State’s defined benefit and deferred compensation plans, risk management program, and unclaimed property division.

Tony Lengeling joined American Equity in January 2019 as Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer where he leads all compliance related functions. Following his 2003 graduation from Drake University with J.D. and M.B.A. degrees, Tony has 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 M.B.A. degrees, Tony holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance from the University of Iowa.

Adam Linkner serves as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Signal Advisors, a venture-backed, tech-enabled company that empowers independent financial advisors with technology, financing, marketing, and coaching solutions.

A former litigator and corporate attorney with Hooper Hathaway, Varnum, and Arnold & Porter, Adam also clerked for the Honorable Ed Carnes on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit and co-founded a digital marketing company. He holds JD and MBA degrees from Emory University, where he graduated ranked first in his law school class, and a BBA with high distinction from the University of Michigan.

Ian Roffman chairs the Securities Enforcement and Litigation practice at Nutter, McClennen & Fish LLP, a national law firm based in Boston. Clients rely on Ian when facing SEC investigations, securities litigation, government inquiries, corporate governance disputes, and complex civil disputes. Clients also engage him to conduct internal investigations of potential wrongdoing, make independent findings, and remediate malfeasance. His clients include financial services firms, public companies, accounting firms, and the individuals who lead those organizations, as well as private investors and others involved in complex financial matters, including elected officials and agencies.

Roffman is an experienced trial lawyer. Before joining Nutter, he served as Senior Trial Counsel in the SEC’s Enforcement Division. Roffman is recognized by Chambers USA (Band 1) in the area of securities litigation, and he is often quoted about the SEC and corporate governance by media outlets. Roffman received his undergraduate and law degrees from The University of Chicago.

Jason Zahn is a director on the Global Equities – Insurance Solutions team at Bank of America. Jason has been instrumental to the growth of the bank’s QIS indices in the annuity marketplace. He has built strategic relationships with some of the firm’s largest insurance clients through his innovative ideas and ability to solve client needs.

In 2021, Jason was awarded a U.S. patent on Fast Convergence technology, an innovative form of volatility control that has become a cornerstone of BofA’s indices. The technology is deployed in four BofA indices with over $10 Billion AUM.  Jason joined Merrill Lynch in 2006. Jason graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, in Finance and Marketing, from Northeastern University. He holds his Series 7, 63, 3, and 24 designations. Jason currently resides in Long Island with his wife and two daughters, and enjoys boating and golf in his free time.