Our board oversees Wellabe's ongoing excellent financial strength, solid operating performance, and commitment to helping our customers be well protected.
Tom Swank, CFA, has served as a director since April 2015 and was the CEO and President of Wellabe until his retirement in December 2023. Prior to joining Wellabe, Swank served as President and CEO at Aegon Asset Management U.S., an asset management company with approximately $250 billion under management. Swank also served as President and CEO of Aegon’s Individual Savings and Retirement division, which markets mutual fund and annuity products nationally under the Transamerica brand. There, Swank led a business with $9 billion in revenue, 80 billion under management, and a team of 1,400 associates.
Elected to Wellabe's board in March 2018, most recently Donna Blank served as CFO at ZAIS Group, an alternative asset manager. Previously, she served as CFO and Executive Vice President at a publicly traded insurance brokerage, National Financial Partners Corp. She has also served as CFO at Financial Guaranty Insurance Company, both before and subsequent to its sale by GE Capital to an investor group in late 2003. Earlier in her career, she held several management positions at FGIC, GE Capital Insurance Services, and a smaller private insurance company.
Kathy Collins was elected to Wellabe's Board in March 2018. She serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer of Frontdoor, Inc. Previously, she served as Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Government Employees Health Association, Inc. (GEHA). She also served as Chief Marketing Officer of Massage Envy and spent 12 years at H&R Block in the role of Vice President of Marketing Communications and Brand Management. Prior to H&R Block, Collins spent nearly 15 years at Lee Jeans, a division of VF Corporation.
Elected to the Wellabe Board in March 2024, Brion Johnson most recently spent 10 years with The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (The Hartford), ending his tenure as Chief Investment Officer and Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer. In addition to these roles with The Hartford, he served as President of Hartford Investment Management Company (HIMCO) and President of Talcott Resolution before its sale. Previously, he served in multiple roles in 13 years with the U.S. subsidiaries of Prudential, plc, including his last seven as Executive Vice President and Head of Portfolio Management for PPM America, Inc. Beginning his profession as a financial analyst, Brion launched his career in investments as Director of Investment Strategy at Kemper Corporation.
Dave Keith is CEO and President of Wellabe. He joined Wellabe in 2016 as Chief Operations Officer and was elected to the Wellabe Board in March 2023. Prior to joining Wellabe, Keith was the CEO and founder of se2, now called Zinnia, a third-party administrator servicing insurance companies in the life and annuity industry. He started se2 from within Security Benefit, where he served as Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Operations.
Elected to the Wellabe Board in March 2024, Jean LaTorre most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Previously, she spent 28 years at Aetna in a variety of roles, including her final 12 years as Chief Investment Officer and Corporate Economist.
Elected to Wellabe's Board in March 2020, Terry Lillis retired in 2017 as Executive Vice President and CFO of Des Moines, Iowa-based Principal Financial Group, which offers insurance solutions as well as retirement and asset management services. He joined Principal in 1982 as an actuarial student and proceeded to hold several senior actuarial, risk management, and product pricing roles before being named CFO in 2008. In 2014, Lillis was named the Deloitte CFO of the Year. He currently serves on several boards, including Citizens Financial Group and MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, as well as the Simpson College Board of Trustees.
Elected to the board in March 2022, Gary Scholten served as Chief Information Officer at Principal Financial Group for 18 years, with a total tenure of 40 years with the company before his retirement in 2020. Scholten stepped into the CIO role in 2002 after the company went public, focusing his responsibilities on IT governance, global sourcing and procurement, and IT strategy processes. As CIO and Chief Digital Officer, Scholten played a key leadership role in navigating Principal through a significant digital transformation effort. While CIO, Scholten also led corporate strategy and human resources for Principal. He currently serves as an MIT Research Fellow.
Jim Whisler was elected to the Wellabe Board in March 2022. He most recently was a Principal and Health Actuarial Practice Leader at Deloitte Consulting, LLP, one of the largest consultancies in the world, where he spent over 30 years of his career (25 years as a Principal). While at Deloitte, Whisler held leadership positions in insurance and health care practices. He oversaw strategic projects in areas such as M&A, insurance product development, market entry and expansion, health information analytics, and performance improvement.