2021 Financial Reporting Insurance Forum (FINREP)

Barry Gilway Related Seminars and Products

President/CEO and Executive Director

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation

President/CEO Gilway oversees all operations and serves as liaison to Citizens’ Board of Governors. Gilway is an accomplished insurance executive with 50 plus years of experience in insurance including: CEO of Zurich Canada, Executive VP of Zurich North America, CEO of Maryland Casualty Companies, and Executive VP of Crum and Forster along with additional senior management positions.

Following two years of military service, Gilway began his insurance career in regional management with the Insurance Company of North America (INA), Crum and Forster, and W.R. Berkley Corporation. In 1990, Gilway became President of the Maryland Casualty Commercial Lines Company. He was subsequently promoted to CEO of the Maryland Casualty Group.  In 1999, Gilway was appointed CEO of Zurich Canada, consisting of personal lines, commercial lines, specialty, life, and health companies. He returned to the United States as Executive Vice President for Zurich's $17 billion commercial operation, managing and leading 5,000 employees responsible for the Zurich infrastructure in the U.S. while also acting as M&A liaison. Gilway retired from Zurich in 2006 and became a consultant for Mystic Capital Advisors before joining one of Mystic Capital’s clients, Economical Insurance Group of Canada. Prior to Gilway’s role at Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, he led Mattei Insurance Services as Chief Executive Officer, reporting to the Economical Board of Directors.

President Gilway has served at Citizens Property Insurance Corporation since June 2012.

Aarti Soni Related Seminars and Products

Director of Cyber

McGriff, Seibels & Williams, Inc.

Aarti has more than 18 years working with and providing advice and counsel on insurance matters.  She spent the past three and a half years as a Senior Vice President and Cyber Coverage Leader for Marsh in NYC.  Among her accomplishments with Marsh, Aarti was instrumental in drafting Marsh’s CAT Cyber products, which earned several awards including Insurance Insider’s recent award for the top brokerage innovation in Cyber and a broker team of the year award from Business Insurance.   

Aarti has considerable experience working with the insurance markets, handling complex claims, and providing advice and counsel to clients.  Prior to joining Marsh, Aarti was Assistant General Counsel with Chubb for almost three years providing legal guidance and support for 100+ Errors & Omissions and Cyber Business Unit Underwriters, among her many responsibilities.  She also was a Claims Director with Chubb for over two years handling complex E&O claims as well as managing defense and coverage counsel.  Before her time with Chubb, Aarti worked for two NYC based law firms as coverage and monitoring counsel and represented insurers and reinsurers in complex insurance coverage matters.  

Aarti has her B.A. in International Studies/Development from American University and her J.D. from Washington College of Law at American University in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the New York State Bar and a Licensed Property & Casualty Broker. 

Aaron Hillebrandt Related Seminars and Products

Principal & Consulting Actuary

Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc.

Aaron Hillebrandt is a principal and consulting actuary with Pinnacle Actuarial Resources. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Illinois State University, where he has been a mathematics lecturer. He is an honorably discharged sergeant and combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps and has been in the property casualty insurance industry since 2007.

He currently serves as a Vice-Chair on the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) Annual and Spring Meeting Planning Committee, a faculty member of the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) Seminar on Effective P/C Loss Reserve Opinions, and a member of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association (VCIA) Conference Task Force.

Andrea Medley, CPA Related Seminars and Products

Director, Tax Services

Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs

Since 2005, Andrea has been providing a range of tax, consulting, and compliance services to a variety of industries including insurance, financial institutions, wholesale distribution, and retail.  She has experience in multiple areas of taxation including federal and state compliance, ASC 740, ASC 740-10, accounting methods, and IRS examinations. Her responsibilities include federal and state income tax compliance, income tax provisions on a GAAP and Statutory basis of accounting, consulting/assessments related to valuation allowances and uncertain tax positions, tax controversy assistance related to federal and state jurisdictions, and tax planning strategies.

Andrea received her bachelor’s degree in accounting and her Master of Accounting in Taxation from Florida State University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  She is a member of the board of the American Red Cross Tallahassee Chapter and is a member  of Leadership Tallahassee Class 38. 

Arthur Randolph, II FCAS, MAAA, CPCU, ARM, ARe Related Seminars and Products

Principal & Consulting Actuary

Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, Inc.

Arthur Randolph is a principal and consulting actuary with Pinnacle Actuarial Resources managing the firm’s Atlanta, Georgia office. He has been in the insurance industry since 1998 and has been consulting since 2001. Art’s consulting career has focused on homeowners, commercial property, commercial multiple peril, workers’ compensation, medical professional liability, general liability, and commercial and personal automobile exposures.

Art provides actuarial consulting services to property and casualty (re)insurers, self-insured entities, risk retention groups, and captive insurers. In particular, he serves as the Appointed Actuary for numerous property insurance companies domiciled in Florida and in other weather catastrophe-prone states. Art’s core services include reserving, ratemaking, and risk transfer testing.

Art is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) and holds additional insurance designations. He is actively involved with the Florida Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the AAA P/C Extreme Events and Property Lines Committee.

Bill Ferguson, CPA Related Seminars and Products

Shareholder Emeritus, Assurance Services

Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs

Bill has spent his career in public accounting and has over 40 years of experience serving a variety of clients with a significant concentration in serving insurance companies and other insurance-related enterprises.  He serves as one of the co-leaders of the Insurance Services Group.  His role is to coordinate services provided, ensure engagement objectives are accomplished within established timeframes, and serve as a technical resource. 

He has specific experience with insurance clients that includes audits of GAAP and statutory financial statements, SOC examinations, agreed upon procedure engagements relating to CAT bonds and other insurance financial instruments, and providing consulting services relating to mergers and acquisitions, resolving financial regulatory reporting issues, internal controls, business plan assistance, reinsurance accounting, operational reviews, cost allocation systems, structuring MGA and other third-party service contracts, and resolution of financial reporting issues.  

In addition, Bill served as a member of the AICPA’s Task Force for the rewrite of the accounting and auditing guide for property and casualty insurance companies.

Brandon Mott, CPA Related Seminars and Products

Director, Assurance Services

Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs

Since 2007, Brandon has been providing assurance and consulting services to insurance companies and related entities. In addition, he has experience working with and auditing insurance, governmental, not-for-profit, commercial entities, and employee benefit plans. 

Brandon routinely plans, supervises, and directs audits of insurance companies and their affiliates and parent companies. He has specific experience documenting the major transaction cycles for insurance companies, assessing control risk, designing and implementing control tests of the premiums, claims, reinsurance, and treasury transaction cycles. Brandon has provided a range of services which includes financial statement audits, compliance audits, internal control studies, agreed-upon procedures, reviews, and compilations.

Canita Gunter Peterson, CPA, CFST Related Seminars and Products

Shareholder, Tax Services

Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs

Canita has over 25 years of experience in providing consulting, tax, and accounting services.  She serves a wide variety of businesses and individual clients with respect to federal, state, and multi-state taxation.  In addition, she has been involved in mergers and acquisitions, litigation support services, IRS examinations, and representation and examinations related to various state tax issues. She has provided sales tax consulting services related to compliance and reporting solutions for many different industries.

She holds the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation and the Certified Florida Sales and Use Tax (CFST) designation.  Canita received bachelor degrees in both accounting and finance from Florida State University. She then went on to receive her Master of Accountancy with an emphasis in Taxation from Florida State University.

Catherine Stout, CPA Related Seminars and Products

Director, Assurance Services

Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs

Since 2015, Catherine has been providing assurance services. The majority of her career has been dedicated to the insurance industry. Her experience includes auditing insurance organizations in order to provide a range of services including financial statement audits, compliance audits, compilations, agreed-upon procedures, and other services. She also has experience in compiling quarterly and annual financial statements under a statutory accounting basis. Her responsibilities include engagement planning, performance of fieldwork, internal control testing, and assistance with report preparation.  

Additionally, Catherine has significant experience providing SOC (control testing) and agreed upon procedure engagements. 

Catherine has her B.B.A. in accounting and her B.B.A. in finance from Valdosta State University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. 

Christopher Howell, CPA, CIA, CRMA, CGMA Related Seminars and Products

Shareholder, Assurance Services, Tampa Market Leader

Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs

Chris is a shareholder and the co-leader of the firm’s insurance industry group practice. He has provided assurance, accounting, reporting, and consulting services to insurance companies and related entities since 2000. Chris is a member of the AICPA/NAIC Task Force Panel of Experts, which helps resolve accounting and reporting issues for insurance entities.  The Panel also helps review revisions to AICPA Accounting and Auditing Guides.  

Chris has also conducted risk assessments in various areas, including data privacy, vendor management, and underwriting and has spoken on Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). He was previously Vice President and Controller for a start-up multi-line insurance group where he designed and implemented all accounting and financial reporting mechanisms to facilitate decision-making and comply with financial and regulatory reporting requirements.

In addition to his licensure as a CPA, Chris has earned the designation of Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) from the Institute of Internal Auditors and the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Chris received a bachelor’s degree in finance from Florida State University and a Master of Accountancy from the University of West Florida.

Charles Nyce, PhD. Related Seminars and Products

Robert L. Atkins Associate Professor of Risk Management & Insurance

Florida State University

Charles Nyce is the Robert L. Atkins Associate Professor of Risk Management and Insurance at Florida State University (FSU). He was an assistant professor at FSU from 2012 through 2018.  He previously served as the Associate Director of the Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center (the Center) from 2009 through 2012.  

His main research areas are catastrophic risk pricing/financing and traffic safety/auto insurance.  He joined the Center in 2009 after serving as Senior Director of Knowledge Resources for the American Institute for CPCU.  He has authored numerous articles on a variety of risk management and insurance topics, including the relationship between insurance premiums and housing values, mitigation, demand for insurance, distracted driving, and catastrophic risk financing.  He has his PhD from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and has taught risk management and insurance at LaSalle University, the University of Hartford, and the University of Georgia. 

Commissioner David Altmaier Related Seminars and Products

Insurance Commissioner

Florida Office of Insurance Regulation

David Altmaier was appointed as the Florida Insurance Commissioner in April 2016 by the Financial Services Commission. He leads the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) and has oversight of one of the largest insurance markets in the world. Under Altmaier’s leadership, the OIR has worked to cultivate a market in Florida in which insurance products are reliable, available, and affordable.

Altmaier began his public service at the OIR in 2008, serving in a number of roles including Chief Analyst of the Property and Casualty Financial Oversight unit and Deputy Commissioner of Property and Casualty Insurance.

Commissioner Altmaier was voted President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) for 2021, after serving as President-Elect in 2020 and Vice President in 2019. In his role as NAIC President, Altmaier serves as Chair of the Executive Committee, Internal Administration Subcommittee, Government Relations Leadership Council, and Co-Chair of the Special Committee on Race and Insurance. Commissioner Altmaier also serves as a Vice Chair of the Executive Committee for the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS), representing insurance regulators and supervisors of more than 200 jurisdictions worldwide.

Commissioner Altmaier was appointed by Governor DeSantis to serve as a member of Florida’s Blockchain Task Force and during the COVID-19 pandemic, selected to participate in the Governor’s Re-Open Florida Task Force Industry Working Group on Agriculture, Finance, Government, Healthcare, Management, and Professional Services.

Prior to joining the OIR, Altmaier worked as a Florida licensed 2-20 and 2-14 insurance agent and as a high school math teacher. Altmaier graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

Dr. Jerry Parrish Related Seminars and Products

Chief Economist & Director of Research

Florida Chamber Foundation

Dr. Jerry Parrish is the Chief Economist and the Director of Research for the Florida Chamber Foundation.  In that role, he is responsible for conducting in-depth analyses on the Florida economy and on solutions to help secure Florida’s future.

Dr. Parrish previously was the Chief Economist and Director of the Center for Competitive Florida at Florida TaxWatch. Prior to that position, he served as the Associate Director of the Center for Economic Forecasting & Analysis (CEFA) at Florida State University and has many years of experience in the private sector in management roles at international manufacturing companies.

Dr. Parrish is currently an Adjunct Instructor in the Masters in Applied Economics Program at Florida State University.  He earned a B.S. in Agricultural Business and Economics from Auburn University, an M.B.A. from Bellarmine University, an M.S. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a Ph.D. in Economics from Auburn University. He regularly publishes research reports and articles on the Florida economy and Florida’s competitiveness.

Mike Van Slooten Related Seminars and Products

Head of Business Intelligence

Aon Reinsurance Solutions

Mike Van Slooten leads the Business Intelligence team, which operates within Aon’s Reinsurance Solutions division, reporting to Nick Frankland in London. The team’s principal focus is tracking developments in the global reinsurance market, with the aim of delivering data and insight that benefits Aon’s reinsurance and retrocession clients.

Mike joined Aon in 2010, having previously performed similar roles at other major broking firms for 13 years. His background is in reinsurance counterparty credit risk analysis.

Stephen Andrews, CPA Related Seminars and Products

Director, Tax Services

Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs

Stephen Andrews is a Director in the Tax Services Department at Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. CPAs (THF). Since 2010, Stephen has been providing tax compliance and consulting services for multiple entity types. These services have been provided to clients primarily in the insurance industry.

His current responsibilities include coordination of the insurance tax compliance practice.  These responsibilities include federal and multi-state tax return compliance, premium tax compliance, income tax provisions on the statutory basis of accounting, consolidated income tax provisions on the GAAP basis of accounting, and representing taxpayers during the examination process with the Internal Revenue Service and State Departments of Revenue.

In addition, he assists clients with planning issues including change in accounting method evaluation, entity choice analysis, valuation allowance considerations, DTA admissibility projections, and research for various other tax and reporting issues.

Stephen received his bachelor’s degree in accounting and his master’s degree in taxation from Florida State University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Wes Strickland Related Seminars and Products

Outside Counsel

Florida Property & Casualty Association/Colodny Fass

Wes Strickland serves as outside counsel to the Florida Property & Casualty Association. Mr. Strickland is a shareholder with the Colodny Fass law firm, where he heads the Insurance Regulatory and Corporate Transactions Practice in the firm’s Tallahassee office. He has been ranked by Chambers & Partners as one of Florida's top insurance lawyers.

With over two decades of experience handling insurance regulatory law and complex corporate transactions, he provides counsel to both domestic and international insurers and reinsurers, among others. He represents property and casualty insurers, as well as life and health entities, self-insurance funds, and various insurance-related entities in diverse regulatory matters.

Mr. Strickland has supervised multi-state compliance surveys and licensing matters for insurance companies, third party administrators, managing general agents, wholesale brokers, reinsurance intermediaries, insurance agencies, and manufacturers and sellers of service contracts and extended warranties. He routinely handles issues such as insurance holding company compliance, market conduct and financial examinations, company formation, multi-state expansion, corporate amendments, investment limitations, credit for reinsurance, and affiliate transactions. He has managed a wide variety of complex corporate and transactional matters for domestic and international insurers, holding companies and investors, including mergers and acquisitions, start-ups, stock offerings, restructurings, mutual holding company conversions, joint ventures, and reinsurance transactions.

Mr. Strickland also prepares and negotiates a wide variety of contracts and agreements, including managing general agent agreements, third party administrator agreements, insurance agency and broker agreements, cost allocation agreements, IT vendor agreements, and joint insurance marketing and affinity marketing agreements.

A member of The Florida Bar, Mr. Strickland is a graduate of Florida State University College of Law and Florida State University.

Daniel Linton Related Seminars and Products

Daniel Linton is a senior consulting actuary with Pinnacle Actuarial Resources, working from Nashville, Tennessee. He has been in the property casualty industry since 2005, focused on loss reserving, loss forecasting, captive feasibility studies, capital modeling, and cost allocation mechanisms.

Mr. Linton has been actively engaged at industry events promoting the actuarial profession. He has spoken at the Association of Governmental Risk Pools, Casualty Actuaries of the Southeast, and the Conference of Consulting Actuaries.