LEADERSHIP
Executive Committee & Officers
The Executive Committee is responsible for the management of IRES and has the authority to act on behalf of the entire Board of Directors. The actions of the Executive Committee are reviewed annually by the entire Board of Directors. The Executive Committee consists of not more than seven (7) members of the Board of Directors elected annually by the Board. It is comprised of the Officers of the IRES and Members-At-Large. No state may have more than one member on the Executive Committee at any one time. The 2011-2012 Officers and Executive Committee members of the IRES are:
Note: Executive Committee contact information is available to members. Please contact IRES staff for any other needs.
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President Thomas Ballard, CIE, MCM Georgia Having graduated in 1973 from West Virginia Tech, Tom started his insurance career by working for the next fifteen years in property/casualty claims for two different carriers. He was then asked to join the Kentucky Department of Insurance as an independent contractor to help get the Market Conduct Examination process started in 1987. He has since been involved in examinations for various states. He has been a member of IRES since 1987 and was one of the first to obtain his Certified Insurance Examiner distinction by completing the course work required. He also has his Market Conduct Management, Fellow of Life Management, Certified Fraud Examiner and Associate of Life and Health Claims Certificates. He has served on the IRES Board of Directors for several terms and actively participated on four of the standing committees. He is presently chair of the Meetings and Elections Committee and serves on the Executive Committee. |
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Immediate Past President Leslie Krier, AIE Washington Leslie Krier joined the Washington State Office of Insurance Commissioner as a Market Conduct Examiner in 1994, performing market conduct examinations of life and health companies. In 2000, she became the Chief Market Conduct Examiner for the State of Washington. In December 2006, Leslie was promoted to Market Conduct Oversight Manager. She is currently responsible for creating and managing a market analysis program and the ongoing market conduct functions for Washington state. She participates in various NAIC work groups and is active in IRES. Leslie has earned the Fellow, Life Management Association (FLMI) designation and Accredited Insurance Examiner (AIE) designation. |
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President-Elect Mark Hooker, CIE, MCM West Virginia A 1984 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Mark Hooker initially began his insurance career July 1, 1990 in Columbia SC- spending seven years multi-line insurance agent with the Southern Farm Bureau group following five years of service in the Army as an officer. While at the Southern Farm Bureau Group, Mark became a multiple year recipient of the company's "Round Table" and "All-Star" awards. After returning to his native home of Charleston W. Va., he was employed as an underwriter with West Virginia's then monopolistic state workers compensation fund where he was quickly promoted to Senior Underwriter. Mark began his regulatory work as a Market Conduct Examiner with the State of West Virginia in 2002. Since then he has assumed the roles of Chief Market Conduct Examiner and Market Analysis Chief. He currently holds the Certified Insurance Examiner, Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter, Certified Workers Compensation Professional, Market Conduct Management, Accredited Advisor in Insurance, Associate in Underwriting, Associate in Insurance Services, and Life Underwriting Training Council Fellow designations. Mark has served on the IRES Accreditation and Ethics Committee since 2007. |
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Vice President Holly Blanchard, AIE Nebraska Holly Blanchard is the current Life and Health Administrator for the Nebraska Department of Insurance. As the Administrator she assists companies with product development while ensuring consumer protection. Before being promoted to the Life and Health Administrator, Holly worked in the Market Conduct Division of the Department of Insurance as a Market Conduct Examiner serving as an Examiner in Charge. Her duties included performing exams on Producers and Insurers. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society, and is the co-chair for the Membership and Benefits committee of the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society. She is also actively involved in the Finance Committee and the Education Committee for IRES. Ms. Blanchard sets in on many NAIC task forces and serves on the Nebraska Department of Insurance’s Health Care Reform Task Force. She has worked in the insurance industry for over 14 years in varying roles. Prior to coming to the Nebraska Department of Insurance she worked in the industry as a Corporate Trainer and a Rescission/Reformation Specialist. She has also performed research for a Property and Casualty Company while attending college at the University of Nebraska. |
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Treasurer Joe Bieniek, AIE, MCM NAIC Joe Bieniek is Senior Regulatory Services Advisor at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners NAIC). The Regulatory Services Division is responsible for oversight of all regulatory functions and staff support functions of the NAIC. The division is comprised of four areas of endeavor; Actuarial and Statistical Services, Financial Regulatory Services, Market Regulation and Financial Analysis. Joe provides advice and staff support for various Committees, he prepares responses to inquiries from insurance departments, state agencies, federal regulatory agencies, academics and the public. He has had numerous speaking engagements and written articles on insurance compliance and general topics related to insurance. Before joining the NAIC in 2006, Joe spent nine years at Wolters Kluwer Financial Services and over 20 years of his insurance career with the nation’s largest personal lines stock company. He has handled all lines of insurance in a variety of capacities. Joe currently serves as an elected Board member of the Kansas City Chapter of the CPCU Society and as Chair of the Regulatory and Legislative Interest Group Committee of the CPCU Society. His insurance industry experience and background combine to fashion a professional who has: established effective compliance procedures; developed successful relationships nationwide; and implemented software products and introduced process changes that improved efficiencies and streamlined communication. |
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Secretary Parker Stevens, CIE, MCM Unaffiliated Parker Stevens is currently a Senior Insurance Examiner for Examination Resources, LLC out of Atlanta, GA and has been with them since 2009. His primary task is to conduct Loss and Exposure Exams for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) which is under the direction of the State Board of Administration. Prior to working with Examination Resources, LLC Parker worked for INS Regulatory Insurance Services as a contract Examiner-In-Charger from 2000 to 2009 and conducted Market Conduct Exams for various states. Parker has been a member of IRES since 2000 and has served on the Al Greer Award Sub-committee, Chartrand Communication Award Sub-Committee, Education Committee (Market Regulation Section Co-Chair), Meeting and Elections Committee (Elections Audit Sub-Committee), and was Vice Chair of the Membership and Benefits Committee. This year Parker will serve IRES as the Chairman of the Accreditation and Ethics Committee. He holds the following designations: Fellow, Life Management Association (FLMI), Associate, Insurance Regulatory Compliance (AIRC), Certified Compliance Professional (CCP), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Insurance Examiner (CIE), and Market Conduct Management (MCM). Parker graduated from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Studies and a minor in Leadership Studies. Parker, his wife Susanna, and their two little girls Isabella and Juliana reside in Wilmington, NC. |
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Member At-Large Angela Ford, CPCU, CIE, FLMI North Carolina Angela Ford was appointed Senior Deputy Commissioner of the Public Services Group with the North Carolina Department of Insurance in 1996. She has been involved in the insurance arena for 30 years. Ms. Ford began her insurance career as a personal lines underwriter and earned the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation in 1998, the Certified Insurance Examiner (CIE) designation in 1998, and the Fellow Life Management Institute (FLMI) designation in 2000. Ms. Ford is an active participant in the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society (IRES). She served as an instructor for the NAIC/IRES Regulating the Marketplace Program. Angela was the 1999 IRES President and currently serves on the IRES Board of Directors. She was an outstanding nominee of the 1995 North Carolina Governor’s Award for Excellence. Angela received the Paul L. DeAngelo Memorial Teaching Award in 2002. This award is given in recognition of excellence in insurance education and annual gives honor to individuals who have continually committed themselves to insurance regulatory education through their commitment to increasing and improving insurance regulatory knowledge and through excellence in educating regulators, industry, and the public. Ms. Ford holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in mathematics from North Carolina State University. She resides in Garner, NC. |