Gerald T. Bannach, CLU, FLMI, ARA — President and CEO
Gerald (Jerry) Bannach brings more than 25 years of group disability insurance and reinsurance experience to his position as President and CEO of Custom Disability Solutions. As President and CEO, Bannach leads a team of more than 140 employees, located in Maine, Connecticut and Minnesota, in the delivery of comprehensive customized reinsurance solutions. He is responsible for the development and implementation of CDS’ business strategy and goals. Prior to joining CDS in 2006, Bannach served as Vice President, Disability Reinsurance at ING RE where he oversaw the P/L for ING RE’s Group Disability Reinsurance line of business. Bannach held a number of positions of increased responsibility during his tenure at ING RE from 1998 to 2006. For 12 years previous, Bannach was employed for two years in Liberty Mutual’s Minneapolis sales office, and for 10 years at Unum Provident where he held various positions in Unum’s Rochester, NY; Portland, ME; and Minneapolis, MN offices. Bannach holds a BA from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Paul Fields — Senior Vice President, Chief Finance Officer
With more than 30 years in reinsurance and finance, Paul Fields brings both his expertise and understanding of the industry to Custom Disability Solutions as Chief Finance Officer. Prior to joining CDS, Fields held a variety of financial positions including management of reinsurance and corporate financial reporting, contract development and administration and treaty negotiation with disability reinsurers including Unum , Duncanson & Holt and Integrated Disability Resources. As Chief Financial Officer at CDS, Fields is responsible for legal, contracts, compliance, pricing, valuation and accounting. Fields graduated from the University of Maine, Orono with a degree in Economics and Accounting.
Shawn Dutremble — Vice President, Underwriting
As Vice President of Underwriting, Shawn Dutremble is responsible for developing and implementing Custom Disability Solutions’ underwriting goals, and delivering customer-centric outcomes that advance the business strategies of CDS and its clients. Prior to joining CDS in July 2006, Dutremble served as National Account Risk Leader at The Standard. He led a national account team that was responsible for the growth and profitability of national accounts (2500 lives and above) for The Standard’s Eastern Region. As Regional Accounts Service and Risk Team Leader at The Standard, Dutremble managed the underwriting and contract team for the Atlanta, Charlotte and DC Sales offices. Before joining The Standard in 2001, Dutremble held the positions of Customer Contract Manager, and Case Underwriter at UnumProvident. Dutremble holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting from the University of Southern Maine.
Tony Michaud — Vice President, Claims and Client Support Services
Tony Michaud is responsible for leading our claim organization’s strategic and operational activities as well as fostering strategic planning around our reinsurance clients’ organic growth. Throughout his more than 23 years in the industry, Michaud has focused on creating customer-centric teams focused on understanding client needs, supporting specific growth initiatives and delivering exceptional service. Prior to joining CDS, Michaud served as Director, Account Management at UnumProvident from 2001 to 2004, where he led a team of eight Account Managers, who were responsible for servicing over 150 policies. While at UnumProvident, Michaud demonstrated his leadership ability and customer service skills as a Disability Benefit Specialist and then as a manager in Unum’s Disability Claims Organization. Michaud holds a degree in Computer Science from Andover College.
William Sproul — Vice President, IS Operations
As Vice President of IS Operations, William (Bill) Sproul oversees Custom Disability Solutions’ IT department and is responsible for implementing internal/external reporting systems. He has over 40 years of experience in the reinsurance industry, starting in 1975 with Union Mutual, Unum and then UnumProvident. Throughout his 40-year career, Sproul has held leadership roles in a number of departments including: Director, TPA Claims; Second Vice President, Sales and Underwriting; and Supervisor, Client Services. Sproul graduated from the University of Maine with a degree in Business Administration.
Scott Wiley — Vice President, Chief Actuary
With almost 30 years of experience working on both the direct and reinsurance side of disability actuarial operations, Scott brings his industry experience and expertise to CDS as Vice President and Chief Actuary. In this role, he is responsible for directing in actuarial staff charged with developing competitive and profitable disability products and actuarial analysis tools that meet the needs of our reinsurance customers. Prior to joining CDS in 2012, Scott worked for 14 years at Disability RMS as the Senior Pricing Actuary primarily responsible for LTD manual rate studies, competitive rate analysis, and product development. Before joining DRMS in 1998, he worked at Unum on both the direct and reinsurance side in a variety of disability roles including pricing, valuation, and financial reporting. Wiley graduated from the University of Maine, Orono with a degree in Finance.
Jennifer Agger — Director, Claim Operations
As Director of the Claims Operation, Jennifer is responsible for the administration of Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Claim Department and our Customer Service & Intake Centers. Jennifer has nearly 20 years experience in lines of Disability Insurance starting her industry career at Unum in Individual and Long Term Disability in their Psychiatric & Cardiac Units where she established excellent relationships with the National Accounts she managed. Agger transitioned to Custom Disability Solutions in 2001 and has held various leadership roles. She has worked with the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work Program and held the Special Investigations Unit Coordinator position conducting investigations and served as a liaison with regulatory and law enforcement personnel.
Cheryl Littlefield — Director, Finance
Cheryl has worked in the reinsurance and financial accounting arenas for more than 25 years. She currently directs a staff of seven accounting and tax professionals and is responsible for all aspects of reinsurance accounting management. Cheryl has extensive knowledge of disability claim payment issuance, tax accounting, premium billing and accounting and financial reporting. Prior to joining CDS, she held similar financial management positions with disability reinsurers Duncanson & Holt and Integrated Disability Resources. Cheryl holds an HIAA designation and attended the University of New England.
Mark Murphy — Director, Compliance
Mark heads up CDS’ Compliance and Legal team, which includes an attorney who has disability litigation experience both as in-house counsel and in private practice, a senior compliance specialist who has done disability state filings for over 20 years, and two appeals specialists. In addition to state filings, legal support and appeals, Mark is also responsible for all CDS contracting and compliance efforts. Mark began his career as a Compliance Analyst with The Hartford in 1992 before moving to the reinsurance arena. Mark holds the FLMI, HIA, MHP, and AIRC designations and has spoken several times in recent years at national and regional meetings of the Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals (AICP). He has a BA in History from Trinity College (CT) and an MA in History from the University of Connecticut.
James Pochepan — Director, Client Support Services
Jim leads CDS’ Client Support team by promoting activities around client-centric and profitable relationships, facilitating new business development, developing proactive business plans and overseeing new client implementation. During his 16 years with CDS and its prior companies, he served the organization in several disability reinsurance management positions including Manager, Distribution Development Services, Sr. Account Executive, Claims Account Manager, Benefits Services Consultant, Settlement Specialist and Sr. Disability Benefits Specialist. Jim also served seven years as a Staff Assistant to U.S. Senator William S. Cohen (R-ME) and graduated from the University of Maine with a BA in Journalism and Broadcasting.
Jennifer Simpson — Director, Human Resources
As Director of Human Resources, Jennifer Simpson is responsible for the design and implementation of human resource strategies, policies and processes. Simpson also oversees corporate training and development initiatives, recruiting and facility administration for the division. She has over 10 years experience in the disability reinsurance industry and has served in the Human Resources department since 2003. Prior to joining CDS, Simpson held various positions with reinsurer Duncanson & Holt. Active in the community, she serves as a co-chair for the annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. She is currently completing her Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maine.