Nevin E. Adams

Editor in Cheif

PLANSPONSOR

Nevin has overall editorial responsibility for PLANSPONSOR.com, and PLANSPONSOR Magazine. Nevin is a 23-year veteran of the retirement services industry. He has held senior positions at Wachovia Bank and Northern Trust. He holds a BS and JD from DePaul University.

Jerry Bramlett

President of CEO

BenefitStreet

Jerry Bramlett is President of CEO of BenefitStreet. Founded in 1993, BenefitStreet serves more than 6,500 corporate clients from its headquarters in San Ramon, Calif., and several locations throughout the United States. Jerry Bramlett founded The 401(k) Company and served as its President and CEO until April 2007. At that time the company was sold to Charles Schwab & Company for $115 million. When the firm was first formed in 1983, it served as a Third Party Administrator focusing on small start-up plans.  Through the years, the firm continued to take on larger plans and, at the time of the sale to Charles Schwab, the firm’s client base had grown to approximately 400,000 participants, 100 sponsoring employers with $25 billion in DC assets. Before founding The 401(k) Company, Bramlett was in the super computer industry (geophysical/seismic), which largely accounts for The 401(k) Company’s strong emphasis on technology, and before that, a social worker (child abuse investigation), which accounts for the firm’s strong emphasis on participant communications. Bramlett earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology (Phi Beta Kappa) from Southern Methodist University in 1976.

Robert G. Capone

President

BNY/Mellon Asset Management

Rob Capone is President of the Retirement & Sub-Advisory Group for BNY/Mellon Asset Management. Rob and his team bring BNY/Mellon’s vast institutional investment management and manufacturing capabilities to the retirement investment only market place which includes both work site plan (401(k), 403(b), 457, etc.), and variable insurance arenas.

Rob has spent the last 17 years selling, leading, and managing in nearly all facets of the Retirement business. Prior to joining BNY/Mellon, Rob came from Mercer HR Services (formerly a unit of Putnam Investments), where he was Managing Director for Participant Services, responsible for $60 billion in institutional and retail retirement assets.  Previously, Rob was the Director of Relationship Management and Business Development at Putnam and was instrumental in creating Putnam’s Investment Only business. Prior to his 11 years at Putnam/Mercer, Rob spent over 4 years at Fidelity Investments, managing both investment and non-investment service delivery for $75 billion in DC plan assets.

Rob is a member of Dreyfus Corporation’s Operating Committee and is also on the Board of Directors for MBSC Securities Corporation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree in business administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth as well. He also holds NASD Series 6, 7, 24, 26, and 63 licenses.

Mark A. Davis

Partner

Kravitz Davis Sansone

Mark A. Davis is a sixteen year veteran of the defined contribution industry. He is a Registered Investment Advisor (“RIA”) working with more than $1,200,000,000 in qualified retirement plan assets. Mark is a partner with Kravitz Davis Sansone in Los Angeles. He has earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies as well as the QPFC designation from the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries "ASPPA." Mark is a frequent speaker at national conferences on retirement investment and educational issues and he serves as host and panelist on PlanSponsor.com’s national web cast series “Plugged In." In 2004 Mark was invited to testify before the Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council. Over the course of recent years he has been asked to meet with members of the Senate and House of Representatives and their staffs as well as the Government Accountability Office to help them to understand the way fees are charged in retirement plans. Mark served as the co-chair of the 2003, 2004 and 2005 iterations of the ASPPA 401(k) SUMMIT and is Past President of the Ventura County, CA Chapter of the National Human Resources Association. Mark began his financial services career writing communications and education materials and managing client relationships for clients of Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services Co (FIRSCo). Mark left Fidelity in 1994 to establish the Investment Education arm of Charles Schwab & Co.’s Retirement Plan Services team. In an earlier life, Mark was a professional actor and director and served on the faculties of Amherst and Mt. Holyoke Colleges. He has a B.A. (cum laude) from Amherst College in Amherst, MA. and an MFA in Acting from the University of Minnesota. Mark is married with two children and lives in Thousand Oaks, CA.

Scott J. Donaldson, CFA, CFP^®

Senior Investment Analyst

The Vanguard Group

Scott J. Donaldson is a Senior Investment Analyst within Vanguard's Investment Management Group.  This group encompasses Vanguard’s Quantitative Equity Group, Fixed Income Group, and the Asset Allocation Group.  The Asset Allocation Group is responsible for capital markets research and for developing the asset allocation and portfolio construction strategies for Vanguard.  Mr. Donaldson has worked extensively with a broad range of clients creating solutions for their investment needs.  Previously at Vanguard, he also served as an Investment Manager for clients of Vanguard’s Asset Management Services and he has over fifteen years experience in the investment management industry. Mr. Donaldson is a CFA charterholder, a CFP® professional, and he holds an M.B.A. degree from St. Joseph’s University.

Phillip E. Enochs

Director, Institutional defined contribution services

Russell Investments

B.A., Accounting, Indiana University, 1990
Certified Public Accountant, 1991
M.B.A., Finance/Marketing, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, 1996
Licensed Registered Representative, FINRA Series 7, 63 and 65
CFA Charterholder, CFA Institute, 2003

Phil Enochs is director of institutional defined contribution services for Russell Investments. Phil’s primary responsibility is to manage Russell’s U.S. defined contribution sales effort.  His team is responsible for the delivery of Russell’s defined contribution solutions to institutional prospects and clients. In addition, Phil supports the development of strategy, product, and defined contribution knowledge capital for the defined contribution business. Phil joined Russell in 2001 as a client executive working with clients to develop investment strategies utilizing Russell’s multiple manager investment process. Prior to joining Russell, Phil spent eight years with Hewitt Associates in Lincolnshire, Illinois. From 1998 to 2001, he served as head of Hewitt Financial Services’ (HFS) investment consulting team.  HFS delivered investment consulting services including plan structure consulting, investment searches, ongoing monitoring, and defined contribution plan trend consulting to more than 50 defined contribution clients representing over $75 billion in assets. Phil had been an investment analyst and consultant in this group since 1995.  Phil joined Hewitt Associates in 1993 as an administrative consultant and project manager, where he assisted defined contribution plan sponsors with plan design, implementation, and ongoing administration.  He began his career with Arthur Andersen where he worked as a staff auditor from 1990 to 1993 auditing mid-size companies. Phil is a member of the Investment Analyst Society of Chicago and the CFA Institute. 

Mark N. Fortier

Defined Contribution Investment Manager, Blend Strategies

AllianceBerstein

Mr. Fortier is a senior portfolio manager, specializing in defined contribution products for the Blend Strategies team. Prior to joining the firm in 2007, Mr. Fortier was Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Diversified Investment Advisors, an investment advisory firm specializing in retirement plans to the mid and large market, where he had responsibility for recordkeeping systems, investment solutions, and participant communications. Mr. Fortier received a BA from Columbia University, an MBA from New York University and is a CFA Charter holder. Location: New York.

Mark Friebel

Senior Vice President, Head of Asset Allocation

Pyramis Global Advisors

Mark Friebel is senior vice president and Head of Asset Allocation at Pyramis Global Advisors, a unit of Fidelity Investments. In that role he leads development and management of lifecycle and other asset allocation investment vehicles for institutional clients and investors in Canada. Prior to joining Pyramis, Mark was head of the asset allocation and product strategy group at Barclays Global Investors, N.A., (BGI) San Francisco. As BGI's principal asset allocation strategist, he led development of a broad range of new asset allocation products employing commodity, currency, overlay, and custom alpha/beta strategies, including the firm's first lifecycle product, which he designed in the mid-1990s. Mark also led all information technology development for global asset allocation operations at BGI and managed the asset allocation group. Before that, Mark served as senior institutional client relationship officer and head of the fixed income index portfolio management and strategy group. Prior to joining BGI, he was vice president with William F. Sharpe Associates. Mark earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Santa Clara University and a Master's degree in Business Administration with a concentration in International Management from Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management. He holds the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (formerly NASD) Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses.

Gregg Holgate

Vice President

Stable Value Sales

Gregg brings more than 13 years of experience working with plan sponsors in the public sector—Healthcare, Education and Government arenas to ING’s Stable Value Sales organization.  After beginning in the participant call center, Gregg moved into a direct field role as a Regional Manager for ING’s Florida and Puerto Rico region.  For three years, Gregg led a distribution group as President of the Gabor Agency, working closely with ING and Florida’s eleven Universities.  In the Spring of 2007 Gregg rejoined ING to lead our Stable Value sales team.  Gregg is a graduate of Arizona  State University and he lives with his wife and two kids in Tallahassee, Florida.

Brian Huckstep, CFA

Portfolio Manager

Ibbotson Associates, Inc.

Brian Huckstep is a Portfolio Manager for the Fund of Funds product line at Ibbotson Associates, Inc., a registered investment advisor and wholly owned subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. Huckstep is responsible for delivering fund of funds programs for institutional and retail clients, which includes asset allocation modeling, portfolio construction, fund classification and manager due diligence. Prior to joining Ibbotson Associates, Huckstep was Director of Data Acquisition at Morningstar where he managed the portfolio collection and quantitative analysis function for five international offices. Prior to joining Morningstar, Huckstep was a Vice President at Northern Trust, where he spent nine years in Portfolio Analyst, Analyst Manager, and Product Manager roles working with institutional clients. Huckstep earned a master's of business administration degree from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. His areas of concentration were finance, strategy and entrepreneurship. He earned a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Michigan. Huckstep is a CFA charterholder, a member of the CFA Institute and a member of the Investment Analysts Society of Chicago.

Gene Huxhold

Senior Managing Director

John Hancock

Gene Huxhold is the Senior Managing Director for Investment Only Retirement Plans at John Hancock.  Gene brings more than 20 years experience to his role.  Prior to joining John Hancock, Gene worked at CNA Financial, Kemper/Scudder Investments and most recently Allstate Financial Services.  He has held a variety of roles including Retirement Plan Wholesaler, Senior Vice President/National Sales Manager of sales for both mutual fund and retirement plan wholesalers.  Just prior to joining John Hancock, Gene was a senior vice president managing a large retail organization for Allstate. Gene holds a BS in Finance/Personnel Management and an MBA in Economics from DePaul University.  He is a Certified Financial Planner and he has been recognized for his expertise by organizations such as ASPPA, the Profit Sharing Council of America and the Center for Due Diligence.  He has also testified before the House Ways & Means Sub-Committee on matters concerning non-profit retirement plans.

James Kitchens, CFA

CIO

National Retirement Partners

Kamila Kowalke

Director, Institutional Markets

Dow Jones Indexes

Kamila Kowalke is a Director of Institutional Markets for Dow Jones Indexes. Ms. Kowalke is responsible for developing business in global equity and lifecycle products. In her role she focuses on educating investors on the benefits of proper selection and use of indexes as both benchmarks and passive investments during the portfolio construction, manager selection, monitoring, and evaluation processes. She works directly with trustees, plan sponsors, and consultants to promote the importance of benchmark education in the assessment of portfolio risk and return. Ms. Kowalke attended Gdansk Institute of Technology in Gdansk, Poland and she earned MBA at the University of Arkansas.

Anne Lester

Managing Director

JPMorgan Asset Management's Global Multi-Asset Group

Anne Lester, managing director, is a senior portfolio manager with JPMorgan Asset Management's Global Multi-Asset Group (GMAG). Since joining GMAG in 2000, Anne has been responsible for the JPMorgan's defined contribution asset allocation products including the SmartRetirement target-date funds. She is also the portfolio manager for a number of defined benefit plans. Anne joined the firm in 1992 as a fixed income and currency trader and portfolio manager in the firm's Milan office, and relocated to the New York office in 1997. Prior to joining the firm, Anne was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1990 and spent over a year in Tokyo, working for a member of the Japanese Parliament. Previously, she worked for the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. Anne holds an A.B. in politics from Princeton University and an M.A. in international economics and Japan studies from the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies.

Theresa "Tess" Malone, AIF^®, FLMI, PRP

Consultant

Blue Prairie Group

Tess is a Consultant with Blue Prairie Group, and has over 20 years of institutional retirement consulting experience. She worked for a Fortune 250 financial services firm, The Principal. While at Principal, she lead their in-house ERISA consulting division supporting 29,000 retirement plan sponsors across the United States. In this position, she worked with plan sponsors, national consulting firms and ERISA attorneys to design, implement, and administer DC and DB retirement programs. Tess' plan design consulting expertise includes: cash balance, DB, 401(k) and Non-Qualified plans. Tess is active in the community. She is presently on the Board of Directors of the Des Moines Metro Opera, a member of the St. Francis of Assisi Homeless and Hungry Committee and a member of the Des Moines A.M. Rotary Club. She served as the Development and Implementation Coordinator of the DSM Metro Unified Government Advocacy Group. In 2002, she was recognized as one of Des Moines' "Top 40 Business Leaders Under 40" by the Des Moines Business Record. She's also a graduate of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute. Tess has the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation. The AIF designation is from the Center for Fiduciary Studies, Wharton School of Business. This designation signifies an investment professional has demonstrated an ability to manage an investment process to a defined Fiduciary Standard of Care. She is also a Fellow with the Life Management Institute (FLMI), with "Distinction" honors and a NASD Registered Representative Series 6, 7, 63 and 65. In 2007, she was awarded the PLANSPONSOR Institute, the nation's leading resource for pension information.

Geoff Mettler

Vice President

Athens Retirement Plans (NRP Member Firm)

Geoff Mettler is Vice President Retirement Services for the Jenkins Insurance Group. Jenkins Insurance Group located in Northern California is one of the largest privately held brokerage firms in the state. They provide consulting and advisory services to over 65 plan sponsors with approximately $300 million under management and are a NRP member firm. Geoff is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University with a B.A. in Marketing and honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1992. Geoff resides in Walnut Creek with his wife of 17 years and their two children. He was a wholesaler for 11 years before starting Response Retirement Services, a retirement plan-consulting firm, in 2003. In January 2005, he joined Jenkins/Athens Insurance Services and established Athens Retirement Services. Geoff holds the designations of Plansponsor Retirement Professional (PRP) and Accredited Investment Fiduciary ® (AIF).

Thomas D. Ming, PRP

President

Tower Rock Advisors, Inc.

Thomas D. Ming is president of Tower Rock Advisors, Inc., an independent Registered Investment Advisor firm that provides retirement plan services to small and mid size companies. He consults regularly with business owners from a variety of fields to help create retirement plan solutions to meet today’s benefit needs. Thomas also is managing partner of Strategic Benefits, LLC a comprehensive benefits firm focused on providing its clients a simplified approach to handle company benefits. Raised in Bakersfield, California, Thomas has three children and is married to Amy M. Ming an elementary school teacher. Thomas just recently completed the requirements to become a Plan Sponsor Magazine Retirement Plan Professional (PRP) and is actively seeking to further his career through industry development programs.

Michael E. Morris

Director

RSA

Michael E. Morris, Director, oversees the institutional consulting division at the investment banking organization RSA which is also a NRP affiliate member firm. Michael is responsible for the development and oversight of the institutional consulting business in the retirement plan marketplace for corporate, non-profit and governmental plans. Mr. Morris has extensive experience with over 19 years in the retirement plan and institutional investment consulting marketplace. Michael currently holds both the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) and the Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist (CRPS®) designations. In the December 2007 issue of PLANSPONSOR magazine, the retirement plan consulting group that Michael oversees was recognized as being one of the Top 50 and Most Successful Retirement Plan Advisors in the country. He has been frequently quoted relating to the retirement plan business in both local and industry affiliated publications. Michael is a regular requested expert panelist at many industry conferences such as ASPPA, CFDD, PLANSPONSOR and NRP. Michael earned a B.A. from Xavier University and currently holds the National Association of Securities Dealers designations as General Securities Representative (Series 7), Registered Investment Advisor (Series 65), Managed Futures Fund (Series 31) and the Uniform Securities Agent (Series 63).

Joseph C. Nagengast

Principal

Target Date Anayltics LLC

Mr. Nagengast has consulted clients for over 20 years on issues of institutional investing, fiduciary compliance, and retirement plans and policies. He is a principal of Target Date Analytics, a firm specializing in target date indexes for reporting clarity and glidepath licensing. Under the Target Date Analytics banner, he directs and co-authors, “Popping the Hood,” a recurring and comprehensive analysis of target date fund families.

Barbara G. Novick

Vice Chairman

BlackRock Account Management Group

Barbara G. Novick, Vice Chairman, is head of BlackRock's Account Management Group and a member of the Executive, Operating and Leadership Committees. She co-chairs the Global Client Committee and chairs the Account Management Group's Leadership Council. Ms. Novick oversees global business development, marketing and client service across equity, fixed income, liquidity, alternative investment and real estate products for institutional and individual investors and their intermediaries worldwide. Prior to founding BlackRock in 1988, Ms. Novick was a Vice President in the Mortgage Products Group at The First Boston Corporation. Ms. Novick joined First Boston in 1985 where she was initially responsible for developing and marketing new products to savings institutions. Subsequently, she became head of the Portfolio Products Team, which structured, marketed and issued over $14 billion of structured securities, including the first senior/subordinated pass-through. From 1982 to 1985, Ms. Novick was with Morgan Stanley. Ms. Novick has authored numerous articles, including a series of BlackRock Special Reports, First Boston's "Mortgage-Related Securities Guide" and several articles for Standard & Poor's CreditWeek. Ms. Novick is a member of the Board of Directors of the Robert Toigo Foundation. In addition, she is a Trustee and Treasurer of the Westchester Jewish Center, a Trustee of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Research Foundation, and coaches in the Westchester Youth Soccer League. Ms. Novick earned a BA degree, cum laude, in economics from Cornell University in 1981, where she was in the College Scholar Program.

Nicholas Platt Jr.

COO

PLANSPONSOR

As COO of parent company Asset International, Nick has focused on building the company's retirement service franchise into the driving force behind the company's growth. Prior to joining Asset International, Nick was a financial correspondent, bureau chief, and editor at Reuters, the international news service. He holds a BA from Vassar College.

Paul L. Powell, AIF, PRP, PPC

Managing Director

401k Advisors

Paul Powell's clients have benefited from his years of experience in both the brokerage industry with Merrill Lynch, and the Registered Investment Advisory industry with CapSouth Partners. Paul’s career began when he was recruited to join Merrill Lynch in 1997 where he completed the Professional Development Program in half the allotted 24 months. Paul joined CapSouth, a Registered Investment Advisory firm in 2001 where he was retained to advise over $400 million in 401k assets. Paul transitioned to Managing Director with 401k Advisors in 2006 where he currently provides advisory services to approximately $1 billion in 401k assets.

In 2007 Paul was named to Institutional Investors’ prestigious “Top 20 Rising Stars of Retirement Plan Advisors” highlighting the nation’s top advisors under the age of 40. Paul has been nominated three times for Plan Sponsor Magazine’s Retirement Plan Advisor of the Year. Mr. Powell is a member of the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America where he serves on the Editorial Advisory Committee. Paul is also a member of the Southeastern Employee Benefits Conference where he serves on the legal committee and a member of the Alabama Profit Sharing/401(k) Council.

Mr. Powell has been published nationally and comments regularly in industry magazines. He authored a white paper, Uncovering Revenue for Plan Sponsors and Participants which was featured on Employee Benefit News’ website. Mr. Powell has spoken at Plan Sponsor Magazine’s national “Plans by Design” conference for the last two years. In 2006 he shared the panel with noted ERISA attorney Fred Reish, and in 2007 he discussed provider fee disclosure and negotiations. Most recently Mr. Powell was moderator at Plan Advisor magazines national conference.

Mr. Powell earned his Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies and University of Pittsburg in 2003, the first year of its availability. The designation has since become the leader in 401k advisory designations. Next, Mr. Powell earned the Plan Sponsor Retirement Professional (PRP) designation from the Plan Sponsor Institute and most recently he earned the Professional Plan Consultant (PPC) from Financial Service Standards.

Fred Reish

ERISA attorney

Reish, Luftman, Reicher, and Cohen Attorneys at Law

Fred Reish is an ERISA attorney whose practice focuses on fiduciary responsibility issues. He has been recognized on several occasions for his contributions to the 401(k) community: the 401(k) Industry’s Most Influential Person for 2007 by 401kWire; the Commissioner’s Award and the District Director’s Award by the IRS; the Eidson Founder’s Award by ASPPA; the Institutional Investor Lifetime Achievement Award; and the Plan Sponsor Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award. Fred was recently appointed as a member of the Wolters Kluwer Law & Business Pension Editorial Advisory Board. In addition, he has been recognized in the legal community as a Charter Fellow of the Employee Benefits Counsel as one of "The Best Lawyers in America," and as a "Super Lawyer in Southern California." He has written over 250 articles and four books about retirement plans, including a monthly column on 401(k) fiduciary issues for Plan Sponsor magazine. Fred cochaired the IRS Los Angeles Benefits Conference for over 10 years, served as a founding Co-Chair of the ASPPA 401(k) Summit, and has served on the Steering Committee for the DOL National Conference.

Charles Ruffel

CEO

PLANSPONSOR

Charlie is the founder of Asset International, the parent company of PLANSPONSOR Magazine, PLANSPONSOR.com, the PLANSPONSOR Institute and Global Custodian Magazine. He is an authority on global pension issues. He previously held posts at Institutional Investor and McCann-Erickson. He has Masters degrees from Cambridge University and Columbia University.

Stacy L. Schaus, CFP

Senior Vice President

PIMCO

Ms. Schaus is a Senior Vice President and lead Strategist within PIMCO’s Defined Contribution Practice.  Before joining PIMCO in 2006, Stacy was a principal at Hewitt Associates in Lincolnshire, Illinois.  During her 17-year career at Hewitt, Stacy lead significant strategic initiatives including launching the Hewitt Defined Contribution Allianceä, Hewitt Financial Services Investment Consulting and Brokerage, as well as creating the Hewitt 401(k) Indexä and the Hewitt Personal Finance Center.  Stacy began her career in 1981 with Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in San Francisco, then concluding as a Global Strategist for Merrill Lynch Capital Markets in New York City.  Stacy holds a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara, and an MBA in Finance/International Business from New York University.  She is also a Certified Financial Plannerâ and on the board of the Financial Planning Association.

Chuck Slader

Consultant

Chuck has been the Registered Investment Advisor for the RFPs contracted with SST Benefits Consulting since joining the firm including: City of Pasadena, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, County of Moltnomah, Oregon, Alameda County Water District and currently working with the County of San Bernardino during the transition phase. After 32 years of employment with a major provider of tax advantage plans Chuck joined SST Benefits Consulting Services. In Chuck's previous position he was responsible for case acquisition, the implemention and ongoing services of retirement plans, both qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, as well as ancillary sales investments and financial products. He was accountable for hiring, training and managing the distribution system to support his territory including Southern California, Southern Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. Chuck joined SST 18 months ago and has used his knowledge to manage the implemention of new providers with our clients. As a Registered Investment Advisor he has been particularly helpful in coordinating the investment mapping process and providing investment analysis and recommendations on both the mutual funds as well as stable value accounts. Chuck is a graduate of Winona State University, Winona Minnesota. He has completed the National Association of Securities Dealers series 7, 6, 24, 26, 65 and 63 exams and holds all necessary state licenses.

Thomas C. Skrobe

Managing Director

BlackRock

Thomas Skrobe, Managing Director, is head of BlackRock's US Defined Contribution business. He is responsible for leading the team in establishing strong relationships with defined contribution clients to position BlackRock investment products competitively in the marketplace. Prior to assuming his current role in 2007, Mr. Skrobe was the head of Product Development and Management for BlackRock's Private Client Group, responsible for BlackRock's retail and defined contribution product lines, including open end funds, closed end funds and separately managed accounts. Mr. Skrobe's service with the firm dates back to 2000, including his years with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM), which merged with BlackRock in 2006. At MLIM, he most recently was responsible for business and product development for the Americas region. Earlier, he was head of institutional marketing for MLIM Americas. Prior to joining MLIM, Mr. Skrobe was head of retirement services with Goldman Sachs Funds. Previously, he was head of small plan 401 (k) products at Smith Barney. Mr. Skrobe earned a BBA degree in business from Baruch College in 1991

Matt Smith

Managing Director, Retirement Service-Americas

Russell Investments

B.A., University of Kansas
Matt Smith is managing director of retirement services for Russell Investments. As managing director of retirement services, Matt leads strategic development of Russells fast-growing defined contribution investment management business in the U.S. In addition, Matt is an expert spokesperson on retirement issues, Matt Smith has been quoted by numerous trade and professional publications, including PLANSPONSOR, Employee Benefit News, and Pension & Investments. Prior to assuming his present role, Matt led strategic development of Russell's mutual fund distribution business for qualified retirement plans in the U.S. markets. Over his 20-plus year career, Matt's experience spans the spectrum of the qualified plan business. His career began in 1983 with Fringe Benefits Design, Inc, now FBD Consulting in Leawood, Kansas where he ultimately became vice president of defined contribution administration. In 1995, Matt joined Buck Consultants defined contribution practice in Overland Park. Prior to joining Russell, Matt held the position of vice president and general manager of ADP's west coast retirement services operations in Seattle, Washington. While at ADP, Matt managed the daily and non-daily defined contribution services for ADP's retirement services business as well as ADP's executive deferred compensation group.

Ronald J. Surz

Ronald J. Surz holds the following positions:

• Principal of Target Date Analytics (TDA), providing benchmarks and research on target date lifecycle funds.
• President of PPCA, Inc, an investment technology firm in San Clemente, CA , specializing in performance evaluation and attribution software, primarily for financial consultants and sophisticated institutional investors.
• Principal of Risk-Controlled Growth (RCG) LLP, a fund of hedge funds manager headquartered in Boulder, CO.

Ron has served on several boards and councils including the Investment Management Consultant’s Association (IMCA) Board of Directors, the CFA Institute’s Consultant/Investor GIPs Committee, and the Advisory Boards of Capital Markets Research, Rockwater Hedge, RCG, and Sortino Investment Advisors. Mr Surz earned an MBA in Finance at the University of Chicago and an MS in Applied Mathematics at the University of Illinois, and holds a CIMA (Certified Investment Management Analyst) designation. He has published regularly in financial journals and books and has a standing column in the Journal of Financial Service Professionals.

Gary Terpening

Senior Vice President

Seligman Advisors, Inc.

Gary Terpening is a Senior Vice President of Seligman Advisors, Inc. an affiliate of J. & W. Seligman & Co. Incorporated and distributor of the Seligman Group of Funds. Mr. Terpening provides product management assistance for Seligman Time Horizon/Harvester Series Mutual Funds and Seligman TargetHorizon ETF Portfolios.  As such, Mr. Terpening provides ongoing research into the asset allocation and risk management strategies in respect to the Funds. In addition, he is responsible for Seligman’s proprietary Monte Carlo risk-management methodology, which includes a web-based application that allows financial advisors to evaluate the market risk of asset-allocation and cash-flow strategies

Mr. Terpening, who joined Seligman August 1998, has 18 years of experience as a communications professional with a concentration in financial services over the last seven years. Previously, he was Managing Director, U.S. Media & Communications Training at Hill & Knowlton in New York City for almost two years. Before then, he was Vice President and Manager, Financial Services for Makovosky & Company Public Relations from 1994 to 1997, also in New York City. Before then, he was an Account Executive with Sullivan & Le Shane Public Relations from 1988 to 1994, based in Hartford, Connecticut. He worked as an Account Executive for Hill & Knowlton from 1986 to 1988 in their Denver, Colorado office. Mr. Terpening began his career in communications as a reporter and Assistant State Editor for the Winston-Salem Journal in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1979, where he remained until 1985.

Mr. Terpening received an M.A. degree in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.A. degree in Architecture from Rice University in Houston, Texas. He holds Series 7 and Series 66 licenses as well as the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMAÒ) designation from the Investment Management Consultants Association.

Laurie Tillinghast, CFP

Senior Vice President, Head of Investment Only Defined Contribution

ING Investment Management

Laurie Tillinghast has over 25 years of experience in the investment product and financial services business, both institutional and retail. She leads ING Investment Management’s Investment Only DC business group. This group is focused on providing value-added investment products and services to large defined contribution plans. Prior to joining ING Aetna Financial Services in 1995, she was responsible for all investment product development and manager selection of funds at Connecticut Mutual Financial Services. She also spent sixteen years with CIGNA International Investments and CIGNA Financial Services in various investment marketing, sales and analyst positions. Over the last 10 years, Laurie led a team of senior fund analysts that selected and oversaw ING’s retirement and annuity fund platforms and sub-advisory businesses. Laurie is a Certified Financial Planner and NASD general securities principal. She holds an M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Hartford and a B.A. cum laude from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Roberta Ufford

Principal

Groom Law Group

Roberta Ufford is a principal at Groom Law Group, Chartered.  Groom is the nation's largest employee benefits law firm, and is located in Washington, D.C.  Roberta has over fifteen years of experience advising retirement plan fiduciaries and service providers (including recordkeepers, banks, and insurers) on ERISA's fiduciary responsibility provisions and other laws governing employee benefit plans.  She is a graduate of the George Washington University School of Law with High Honors and a frequent speaker before industry groups on benefit plan issues.  Before attending law school, Roberta served for five years as a military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army, attaining the rank of captain.

Brian Ampferer Ward

Managing Director-Investment Officer, Senior Institutional Consultant

Ward Financial Advisory of Wachovia Securities

Prior to being promoted to Managing Director – Investment Officer of Wachovia Securities, Brian was Senior Vice President – Investments, Senior Investment Management Consultant, and Retirement Planning Consultant with Prudential Securities. He works primarily with high net worth individuals, corporations, and institutions in a variety of investment planning areas. Specific areas of experience include financial strategies and estate planning, investment policy formulation, asset allocation analysis, money manager and mutual fund performance analysis, design/implementation of corporate retirement plans, record keeping/administration cost comparison analysis, development of employee communication programs, and fiduciary performance monitoring. Prior to entering the investment field, Brian earned his Bachelor's degree from Christian Brother's University and his MBA from Vanderbilt University.  He has also received advanced instruction in Capital Market Theory from the University of Virginia’s Darden Business School as well as training in fixed-income analysis from St. John's University.  Brian holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary designation from the University of Pittsburgh, Katz Graduate School of Business, Center for Fiduciary Studies. Brian has previous experience as a consultant with IBM and also founded and operated a successful private company. 
Brian began his investment career with Kidder, Peabody & Company which was later acquired by PaineWebber, Inc.  While with PaineWebber, Brian received national recognition in PaineWebber’s Pace Setter Club.  A founding member of the Retirement Exchange, Brian is a traveled presenter and frequent guest speaker at nationwide conferences.  Brian has written numerous articles on retirement planning, fiduciary responsibility, and ERISA compliance as well as being featured in articles centered on financial planning and investment issues.  Brian is currently a member of the Million Dollar Round Table and Wachovia’s Chairman’s Council – Wachovia’s highest professional recognition distinction.  Brian was recently invited to become a charter member of the Wachovia Securities Institute and was a finalist for Plansponsor Magazine’s “Advisor of the Year” in addition to being selected for Barron’s Winner’s Circle Top 100 Advisors.Outside of his professional career, Brian is active in the not-for-profit community.  He has served as Treasurer of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association as well as the Repertory Theatre.  Brian is an active volunteer with the United Way of Middle Tennessee, serving on the Steering Committee of the Sennet Society and as Corporate Recruitment Chairman in addition to the Alexis de Tocqueville Society Cabinet.  Brian is also on the Board of the Tennessee Repertory Theatre, YMCA Bridge Program, and Make-A-Wish Foundation.  Brian is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, the Middle Tennessee Society for Human Resources Management, the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America and the Middle Tennessee Employee Benefits Council.

Scott Wentsel, CFA, CFP^®

Senior Portfolio Manager

Ibbotson Associates, Inc.

Scott Wentsel is a senior portfolio manager for the fund of funds team in the Investment Management Services Group at Ibbotson Associates, Inc., a registered investment advisor and wholly ownded subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc

He is responsible for management of the firm’s traditional fund of funds and fund of hedge funds businesses. His responsibilities include oversight of the investment management staff and process. He is a member of the firm’s Investment Policy Committee. Wentsel joined Ibbotson Associates in 2005 and has over 20 years of investment industry experience.

Prior to joining Ibbotson Associates, Wentsel was an Executive Director with Morgan Stanley where he worked primarily on the Van Kampen Investments asset management business. While at the firm his management responsibilities were principally focused on product management and product development. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Wentsel spent thirteen years with Scudder Kemper Investments with responsibilities in their mutual fund business.

Wentsel earned a master’s of business administration degree with honors from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. His areas of concentration were finance and statistics. He earned a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Illinois. He is an adjunct faculty member of the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management where he teaches a course on investment theory. He is also a Certified Financial Planner™ professional and a Charted Financial Analyst charterholder.

Mark J. Woolhiser, PRP

Principal

MBC Investment Consulting, Inc.

Mark J. Woolhiser is a Principal at MBC Investment Consulting, Inc. (“MBCIC”), an NRP Member Firm.  NRP, National Retirement Partners, is a full service pension and employee benefit consulting firm specializing in the design, investments and administration of retirement programs.  These programs consist of 403(b), 457, pension, profit sharing and 401(k) retirement savings plans.  Mr. Woolhiser, who is a Registered Investment Advisor Representative of Sigma Planning Corporation, is in charge of investment consulting and investment advisory services for MBCIC. Speaking and writing for various professional associations and publications (most recently, Pension & Investment Age Magazine), Mr. Woolhiser specializes in Investment Consultation for major employers and municipalities in the Midwest. Mr. Woolhiser has a B.S. in Business Administration, with a double major in Marketing and Finance from Central Michigan University.  Prior to joining MBCIC, he was a Managing Director of the Great Lakes Region for ING Financial Advisers.  During his tenure, he was responsible for over $2 billion in plan assets and over 4,000 qualified plans.  Mr. Woolhiser’s licenses include NASD Series 7, 26, 63. Life/Health and Variable Health.  He also holds a PLANSPONSOR Retirement Professional (PRP) designation. Mark resides in Novi, Michigan with his wife, Michelle and their three children.