National Advisory Council

Jim Noyce

Jim Noyce graduated from Drake University in 1978 with majors in Actuarial Science and Accounting.

He has a strong business, accounting and insurance industry background, with extensive public company experience. Prior to retiring, Mr. Noyce had nearly three decades of experience in the financial services industry, most recently as Chief Executive Officer and director of FBL Financial Group, Inc. ("FBL"), an insurance holding company headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. While at FBL, Mr. Noyce served as Chief Executive Officer and director from January 2007 until May 2009, Chief Financial Officer from January 1996 until January 2007 and Chief Administrative Officer from July 2002 until January 2007. From January 2000 to July 2002 he was Executive Vice President and General Manager of the property-casualty companies managed by FBL. Mr. Noyce began his employment with FBL and its affiliates in 1985.

Mr. Noyce holds numerous professional certifications and designations including certified public accountant; Fellow, Casualty Actuarial Society; Associate, Society of Actuaries; Fellow, Life Management Institute; and Member, American Academy of Actuaries. He was named Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry by the Iowa Society of CPAs and was inducted into the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Business and Industry Hall of Fame in 2007.

Mr. Noyce serves on two public company boards, West Bancorporation, Inc and United Fire and Casualty Insurance Group.

Mr. Noyce has been married to Shelley (Ryza) Noyce, a 1978 Drake graduate for 32 years; and they have three grown children.

W. Kim Austen is president and chief operating officer of Allied Insurance, including responsibility for Nationwide's Allied, Nationwide Agribusiness, Scottsdale and Titan business units.

Austen began his association with Allied in 1976 as a claims representative. He held various management positions in underwriting and was named regional vice president of the Rocky Mountain Regional Office in 1990. He moved to the Lincoln Regional Office as regional vice president in 1992 and then to the Des Moines Regional Office in 1994. He was named senior vice president – product development in 2001. In 2003, Austen was appointed senior vice president – Nationwide Commercial/Agribusiness Product & Pricing. In 2006, Austen was named president of Allied. Austen was named to his current role as president and COO of Allied Insurance in March 2009.

Austen serves as a board member of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC). He is a member of the Iowa Business Council and serves on the Board of Directors of the United Way of Central Iowa. He serves on the Leadership Cabinet of the American Red Cross, Central Iowa Chapter; and serves as an Advisory Board member of the Emmett J. Vaughan Institute of Risk Management and Insurance affiliated with the University of Iowa's College of Business. He also serves as a member of the Chair's Circle of the Greater Des Moines Partnership and as a Board member of the Ankeny Community School District Foundation.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska, he received a B.S. degree in mathematics and economics, and holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation.

Kim Austen

Ned Burmeister

Ned Burmeister is Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Risk Manager of Principal International, Inc., a member company of the Principal Financial Group, based in Des Moines, Iowa.

Burmeister joined the company as an actuarial student in 1979. He was promoted to Senior Actuarial Associate in 1985 and elected an officer and named Assistant Actuary later that year. He was named Associate Actuary in 1987, Associate Director of Pension Services in 1989, Director of Pension Services in 1993, Vice President and Managing Director of Principal International in 1999, Vice President of Pension Services in 2000, President and Chief Executive Officer of Trustar® Retirement Services, a member company of Principal Financial Group. In September 2005, he was named Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Risk Manager of Principal International until his current position in March 2010.

Burmeister participated in a management exchange program with Toho Mutual Life in Tokyo, Japan from 1987 to 1988.

A native of Mankato, Minnesota, Burmeister earned his bachelor's degree from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. He is a member of the Society of Actuaries and the American Academy of Actuaries.

Brian Campbell graduated from Drake University in 1987 with a B.S. in actuarial science and a minor in English.

Brian Campbell is a Senior Directory Actuary with Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. At Allianz Life, Mr. Campbell heads up the Economic Value Management and Reporting group where he is responsible for the Market Consistent Embedded Reporting requirements of the parent company, Allianz SE. Prior to his current role, Mr. Campbell was a Senior Actuary in the Allianz Life Product Development area with a primary focus toward developing Variable Annuity products.

Prior to joining Allianz Life, Mr. Campbell worked as a consultant for Deloitte and in industry positions for MetLife and Mutual of America. In all he has over 23 years of industry experience with an emphasis toward asset / liability modeling and financial reporting.

Mr. Campbell is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Brian Campbell

Mr. Don Hamm

Don Hamm became President of Assurant Health in September 2002 and Chief Executive Officer in January 2003. Don has a long history with the company. Starting in 1982, he served as Chief Information Officer while also heading up health operations and the Small Business department. He then worked as a principal with William M. Mercer, a consultant with Tillinghast Towers Perrin and Vice President of the Southeast Region for Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Wisconsin. He rejoined Assurant Health in 1999 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Don has a bachelor's degree in actuarial science from Drake University and a master's degree in health care management from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee (UWM). He is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries (FSA), a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA) and a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI).

Don serves on the Executive Committee of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and is active in the community, serving on the board of the Boys and Girls Club and the Greater Milwaukee Committee. He is also an advisory council member of the UWM School of Business and has served as the Co-Chair of the Health Division for the United Way Workplace Giving Campaign from 2006 through 2008.

W. Jeffrey Heng is Senior Vice President of Financial Modeling for Aviva USA. 
In this role, he is responsible for governance, development and execution of actuarial modeling of the U.S. Life & Annuity business.  He leads teams accountable for model support, model development, experience reporting and Market Consistent Embedded Value reporting as well as serving as the Appointed Actuary since 2004.
Mr. Heng joined Aviva USA in May of 1992 as an actuarial assistant in product development.  In his 18 year career with Aviva, Mr. Heng has held various positions in product development, product management, product systems during his career including co-invention of a U.S. Patented index-linked insurance product.
Mr. Heng holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Drake University, is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries.  In addition, he is a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and Drake University’s Actuarial Advisory Council.

W. Jeffrey Heng

Bruce Kelley

Bruce received his A.B. degree in government and history at Dartmouth College in 1976, and attended the University of Iowa College of Law, where he earned his J.D. Degree in 1979.  He became a CPCU in 1989 and a Chartered Life Underwriter in 1995.

While at law school, he served as managing editor of the Journal of Corporation Law and authored two articles on insurance laws, “Debt Financing of Iowa’s Mutual Insurance Companies”, published in that Journal and “Stocking A Mutual Insurance Company: The Regulatory Experience”, published in the Federation of Insurance Counsel Quarterly.

Bruce was a Lawyer Associate with Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor and Fairgrave from 1979 to 1984, then practiced law as a partner until 1985.  He joined EMC Insurance in 1985 as Vice President and General Counsel, and was promoted to Executive Vice President in 1989.  He was elevated to President and COO in 1991, and became President and CEO in 1992, the position he currently holds. 

Bruce serves on the Board of the Property and Casualty Insurance Association of America, the Board of Trustees of the American Institute for Property and Casualty Underwriters/Insurance Institute of America, the Property Loss Research Bureau, and the National Council on Compensation Insurance.

He is a member of the Polk County Bar Association, and is past Chairman of the Iowa Public Employees Retirement System Investment Advisory Board.

She joined The John Marshall Law School as a full-time faculty member after years of practice at the law firm of McDermott, Will & Emery and the actuarial consulting firm of Towers Perrin. At the law school, she established the LL.M. program in Employee Benefits in 1998 and the M.S. degree program in 2005.

She has published numerous articles on employee benefits and tax law, including two portfolios for the BNA Compensation Planning Journal and a textbook for Lexis/Nexis' Graduate Tax Series. Professor Kennedy has testified before the United States' Senate Finance Committee and the President's Advisory Panel for Tax Reform. She was a member of the U.S. Department of Labor's ERISA Advisory Board and a delegate for the U.S. Department of Labor's 2006 National SAVER Summit. She is currently a member of the IRS' Advisory Council for Tax Exempt/Government Entities (ACT) and a member of the IRS Great Lakes Area TE/GE Advisory Council. She was Chair of the Illinois State Bar Association Bar Employee Benefits Section Council and the Employee Benefits Committee of the Chicago Bar Association, and is the current Chair of the Distributions Subcommittee of the ABA Section of Taxation's Employee Benefits Committee. She was inducted as a fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel in 2009 and named the 2009 ASPPA Educator of the Year.

Professor Kennedy is happily married to Brian A. Kennedy, and they have three grown children who are thankfully pursuing graduate degrees in business, law and psychology.

Ms. Kathryn J. Kennedy

Rick Osborn

Rick Osborn is an Associate Vice President of Pricing at Nationwide Insurance where he leads the Des Moines Standard Auto Pricing team. He has been with Nationwide since 1999 where he has held several positions in Personal Lines Pricing. Before joining Nationwide, he priced commercial and personal lines products at Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company and EMC Insurance Companies.

He graduated from Grinnell College in 1995 with a B. A. in Mathematics.

He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

He has been married to his wife, Tari for 16 years. They have four children between the ages of 6 and 12. In his free time, he attends his children's sporting events, watches football (Go Hawks!), and directs his church's choir.

Vinaya Sharma graduated from Drake University's legendary Class of 1993.

He is currently an actuary at Quantitative Risk Management. He has a wide variety of professional experiences, ranging from Enterprise Risk Management, forecasting, and planning to financial modeling, underwriting, and personnel management. He was a leader in the development of the ERM program for the Society of Actuaries and initiated the ERM program at Allstate Life Insurance Company.

He has obtained several prestigious professional designations, including Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA), Professional Risk Manager (PRM), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Advisor Senior Living (CASL), and Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI).

He received Drake's Young Alumni Loyalty Award in 2007 and also serves on the Hinsdale (IL) District 86 School Board of Education

Vinaya Sharma

Brooke Fultz

Brooke Fultz is an associate actuary at the Principal Financial Group. She works in Principal’s corporate investment area and performs asset liability management and hedging of Principal’s insurance portfolios. Brooke joined Principal in 2002 after receiving her bachelor's degrees in actuarial science and mathematics from the University of Iowa. She taught as an adjunct instructor of actuarial science at Drake University from 2008 to 2010. Brooke is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Jessica Valukas graduated from Drake University, summa cum laude, with a B.S. in actuarial science in 2000.
 
Jessica is an Assistant Vice President at Aon Hewitt Consulting.  Prior to working at Aon Consulting, she worked for J.P. Morgan Compensation and Benefit Strategies and Chicago Consulting Actuaries LLC.  She has more than ten years of experience in retirement consulting, working with mid-size and large corporate clients.  Jessica has extensive experience with annual actuarial valuations, data analysis and reconciliation, completion of government forms, contribution and expense projections, benefit calculations and statements.  She has also been involved on special projects dealing with plan design and postretirement welfare plans.  Jessica has also managed the campus-level recruiting efforts for her company for the past eight years.
 
Jessica is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and is an Enrolled Actuary under ERISA.

Jessica Valukas

Jim Wallace

Jim Wallace graduated magna cum laude from Drake University in 1977 with a joint major in Actuarial Science and Accounting. He is an FSA, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries and a member of the Iowa Society of CPAs.

Jim is currently Chairman, President and CEO of GuideOne Insurance. Before joining GuideOne in 2001, he served as President and CEO of National Travelers Life for five years. From 1977 to 1996 he worked for Ernst and Young, ultimately becoming Partner and Director of Insurance Services for the Eastern half of the US.

Community involvement has been a major part of Mr. Wallace's career. He currently is a member of the Greater Des Moines Partnership Board of Directors and Executive Committee, Board member (Audit Committee Chair) of Iowa Farm Bureau Mutual Funds (Equi-Trust), PCI Board of Governors member and Audit Committee Vice-Chair, Des Moines YMCA Board and Audit Committee, Vice-President of Dowling Foundation Board of Directors, Des Moines Art Center Board of Directors and Des Moines Diocese Finance Council.

Jim and his wife, Mary Ann, have three children in college.