Speaker Biographies
Shlomo Benartzi
Professor and Co-Chair of the Behavioral Decision-Making Group, UCLA Anderson School of Management
Professor Shlomo Benartzi is a leading authority on behavioral finance with a special interest in consumer finance and participant behavior in defined contribution plans. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, and he is currently co-chair of the Behavioral Decision-Making Group at The Anderson School at UCLA.
Professor Benartzi is also co-founder of the Behavioral Finance Forum (www.behavioralfinanceforum.com), which is a collective of 30 prominent psychologists, consumer behavior experts and behavioral financial economists and 30 major financial institutions from around the globe. The Forum’s mission is to help consumers make better financial decisions by fostering collaborative research efforts between prominent academics and industry leaders.
Professor Benartzi has supplemented his academic research with practical experience, serving on the ERISA Advisory Council of the U.S. Department of Labor, the advisory board of Morningstar, and the Investment Advisory Council of the Alaska State Pension.
Professor Benartzi holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from Cornell University, and a B.A. from Tel-Aviv University.
Walter W. Bettinger II
President and Chief Operating Officer, The Charles Schwab Corporation
Walter W. Bettinger, II is responsible for leading Schwab's operating businesses: Schwab Investor Services, which includes Schwab Corporate and Retirement Services, and Schwab Institutional®. Also reporting to Bettinger is Schwab Financial Products, the unit responsible for Charles Schwab Bank, N.A., Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc., the Schwab Mutual Fund OneSource® platform, and the firm's offerings of separately managed accounts, insurance and annuities. He also has responsibility for all operations and technology capabilities within the firm.
In his role, Bettinger oversees the strategy, development and delivery of a full range of brokerage, investment and banking services to over seven million investor accounts, 5,000 independent investment advisors and thousands of corporate retirement plans, representing over $1.3 trillion in client assets. In addition to leading the company's domestic and international field branch network with primary offices in over 300 locations across the United States and in London, Hong Kong and Puerto Rico, Bettinger also has ultimate responsibility for client service centers in Orlando, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Denver, Phoenix, Austin, Reno and San Francisco.
Prior to assuming his current role, Bettinger served as executive vice president of The Charles Schwab Corporation and president of Schwab Investor Services. In addition, he has held the roles of chief operating officer, Individual Investor enterprise; president, Schwab Corporate Services; president, Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Inc.; and chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of The Charles Schwab Trust Company.
Before joining Schwab, Bettinger founded The Hampton Company, a provider of retirement plan services to corporations and their employees, in 1983 at the age of 22. In 1995, The Charles Schwab Corporation acquired Hampton.
Bettinger is a summa cum laude graduate of Ohio University with a degree in finance and investments. He has also completed the General Management program offered by the Harvard Business School.
Christian P. Bodle, CPA, QKA
Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Chris Bodle has worked in the financial services industry since 1985 and has been with Schwab since 2004. He has extensive knowledge in retirement services daily administrative recordkeeping, process improvements and compliance and control matters. Chris is currently responsible for our Sponsor Support Services team in Cleveland, Ohio. As manager of Sponsor Support Services, Chris oversees the daily plan administrative functions, asset maintenance activities, conversion operations functions and compliance and control matters for Retirement Plan Services.
Prior to joining Schwab, Chris held the position of Vice President and Regional Director for Investmart, Inc., where he managed all facets of retirement service for three offices within that firm. Prior to that, Chris was Senior Vice President and Division Manager of Retirement Plan Services at KeyCorp. Chris started his career at Ernst & Young, where he spent eight years on their audit staff.
Chris is a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration. In addition, Chris is a Certified Public Accountant and a Qualified 401(k) Administrator through the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA).
Mark Coffrini
Senior Vice President, Schwab Corporate & Retirement Services
Mark Coffrini, Senior Vice President, Schwab Corporate & Retirement Services, is responsible for the Plan Administrator Services (PAS) Division of the Charles Schwab Corporation. PAS supports the following products: the Charles Schwab Trust Company (CSTC), Schwab Retirement Technologies (SRT), and Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA).
Mr. Coffrini has more than 20 years experience in the retirement services industry, with focus areas in trust and recordkeeping. Prior to joining Schwab in 1999, he was
responsible for operations, servicing and project management for the MasterWorks
bundled
He holds a B.A. in economics from the University of California at Davis and holds series 7, 24, and 63 licenses.
David L. Davidson, CPC, QPFC
Principal, Retirement Plan Services, LLC
Dave is an owner of Retirement Plan Services, LLC and serves primarily as a pension consultant. He is a graduate of Iowa State University and completed his graduate work at Drake University. Dave was both a pension administrator and internal consultant for Principal Financial Group before joining RPS in 2001. Dave currently holds a number of designations from the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries. He also serves as a member of the Charles Schwab Trust Company advisory board.
Michael Dickman
Director, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Mike Dickman is Director of Education and Advice for Schwab Retirement Plan Services and is responsible for strategic direction of Schwab’s Education Consulting group, leading a national team of Education Consultants. He has been working in 401(k) participant education and plan sponsor consulting since 1994 and has been with Schwab since 2000.
Mike specializes in customized education strategy and branding for employer groups around the U.S. He and his team have won several awards including Signature Awards from the Profit Sharing Council of America (PSCA) and Pension & Investments’ Eddy Awards.
Mike is a Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) and has a Master’s degree in Financial Planning from Golden Gate University. His undergraduate degree is in Accounting, and he is NASD Series 7 licensed.
Sherrie Grabot
President, GuidedChoice
With experience as both a former plan sponsor and plan provider, Ms. Grabot has a strong understanding of what participants and retirement plans require to succeed. This insight has guided her in founding and leading GuidedChoice.
In the 1980s, Sherrie was responsible for building some of the earliest 401(k) software products and recordkeeping systems. In the early 1990s she was the first to automate a 401(k) plan at the desktop. As Manager of HR Systems and Financial Programs at Apple Computer, Inc., she spearheaded the automation of Apple’s 401(k) plan. She then joined T. Rowe Price as Vice President and Regional Client Manager, responsible for their West Coast institutional practice.
In 1995 she began development of our first product, GuidedSavings, as a business unit within Trust Company of the West (TCW). In 1999 TCW spun off the business, and Sherrie established GuidedChoice, Inc. as an independent service company. As an active member of the ERISA Advisory Council, she continues to be a leader in the evolution of 401(k) at the national level.
Jonathan R. Hall
Retirement Consultant, BNY Mellon Asset Management
Jonathan R. Hall is a Retirement Consultant for BNY Mellon Asset Management with a focus on expanding BNY Mellon’s presence and Defined Contribution asset base among the Advisor Sold/Intermediary Channel and other major DCIO and Annuity platforms.
Prior to BNY Mellon, he worked as the East Coast Business Development Consultant for MFS Investment Management. During the past nine years, Jonathan held various positions within MFS’ sales company including Senior Relationship Manager and New Business Conversion Analyst. He has worked in the asset management industry since 1994. Prior to MFS, Jon worked at Putnam Investments in the retail distribution group.
Jonathan is a graduate of Framingham State College and holds Series 7, 6 and 63 licenses from the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) and a Massachusetts Insurance license
Dr. Kevin A. Hassett
Renowned Economist
Dr. Kevin A. Hassett is one of the nation’s leading economists. A resident scholar and director of economic policy studies at the renowned American Enterprise Institute, Dr. Hassett was a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and an associate professor of economics and finance at the Graduate School of Business of Columbia University. He holds a B.A. from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Hassett is exclusively represented for lectures by Leading Authorities, Inc., based in Washington, D.C.
With expertise in all aspects of the economy, Dr. Hassett was an economic advisor to the Bush campaign in the 2004 presidential election and was the chief economic advisor to John McCain during the 2000 primaries. He has also served as a policy consultant to the U.S. Department of the Treasury during both the former Bush and Clinton administrations and provides advice regularly to numerous Fortune 500 companies. Furthermore, Dr. Hassett is a member of the Joint Committee on Taxation's Blue Ribbon Dynamic Scoring Advisory Panel and its Estimating Review Panel.
In addition to being a distinguished economist, Dr. Hassett is the author, coauthor or editor of seven books on economics and economic policy, including his most recent, Toward Fundamental Tax Reform, which was published in May of 2005, and he is a weekly columnist for Bloomberg. He has published scholarly articles in the American Economic Review, the Economic Journal, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Journal of Public Economics, and many other professional journals. His popular writings have been published in the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic Monthly, USA Today, the Washington Post, and numerous other outlets. His economic commentaries are regularly aired on radio and television including recent appearances on the Today Show, the CBS Morning Show, Newshour with Jim Lehrer, Hardball, Moneyline, and Power Lunch.
Ray Henderson
Principal, Business Health Pty Ltd.
Ray Henderson, a DWS Scudder Representative, is one of four Principals of Business Health Pty Ltd. Business Health was established in 2000 to provide practical “down to earth” assistance to businesses in the financial services industry.
Ray has over 30 years industry experience in a variety of senior management, business development and operational roles. He was also a founding director of one of Australia’s leading Broker Dealers and is involved in a number of financial planning firms’ advisory boards. He lived in Boston in 2006.
Business Health has spent over six years researching and developing a range of business tools including the Business HealthCheck (a web based business diagnostic) and the CATScan (client survey). These tools and other research give Business Health a unique view of advisory practices from the perspective of the business owner and the client.
Business Health has clients in the U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa.
Robert Imrie, CPC, QPA
Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Bob Imrie oversees ERISA Compliance & Consulting Services for Schwab Corporate Services. The ERISA Compliance &s Consulting group is responsible for all document services (which includes prototype, volume submitter and summary plan descriptions), compliance testing and annual plan reporting (which includes discrimination, coverage, top-heavy and annual additions testing and signature-ready 5500 Annual Plan Returns and ERISA Audit Kits) as required by ERISA. In addition, consulting services includes comparative benchmarking, plan design, contribution formula projections, cross-tested benefits, 410(b) average benefit testing, merger & acquisition and non-qualified plan support.
Bob has been with Schwab since 1993 and has been responsible for the ERISA Services since 1999. In addition to ERISA Services, he has also been responsible for oversight of the Defined Benefit Plan, Defined Contribution Services, and Client Services areas.
Bob graduated from the University of Akron with his BA degree in Applied Mathematics. He is a current member of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) and has earned the Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA) and Certified Pension Consultant (CPC) designations. He also holds his Series 7 license.
Francis J. Kelly
Managing Director & Head, Government Affairs – Americas, Deutsche Bank AG
Frank J. Kelly, a DWS Scudder Representative, is Managing Director and Head of Government Affairs – Americas, overseeing legislative and regulatory matters for the bank in the region. He is responsible for maintaining the bank’s relationships with the White House, Congress and federal agencies and state government relations. He also co-manages the bank’s transatlantic political/regulatory relationships. Frank also serves as the region’s chief political analyst advising clients on global political risk issues and their potential impact on markets and industry sectors.
Additionally, he heads up the Bank’s U.S. Investment Advisory Group (USIAG) which advises non-US companies with strategic counsel regarding mergers and acquisitions requiring critical regulatory and political approvals.
Previously, Frank was Senior Vice President & Head of Government Affairs for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. and a member of the firm’s senior management team. Prior to this, he was with Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. where he served as Vice President and head of marketing and communications for the firm’s global investment banking and capital markets group. He also served as executive assistant to the global head of that group.
Frank previously served at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as the chief spokesman and Deputy Director and then acting Director of the Office of Public Affairs, Policy Evaluation, and Research. He previously was at the U.S. Department of Justice as Assistant to the Director of the Office of Policy Development (focused on international issues including terrorism, narcotics interdiction, and intelligence policy). He began at Justice as a speechwriter and spokesman for the Attorney General for international affairs.
Prior to this, Frank served as Deputy Associate Director of the White House Office of Political Affairs during the Reagan Administration. He started in the Reagan Administration as a writer for President Reagan. He also served briefly as a writer for President George H.W. Bush before joining the Department of Justice.
Frank is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the American Council on Germany as well as a member of the board of directors of the Atlantic Council of the United States. He also serves on the board of advisors of the European Institute. Additionally, he is on the board of directors of the Youth Leadership Foundation in Washington, D.C. and Gabriel Home’s of Northern Virginia.
Michelle LeCates
Senior Vice President, The 401(k) Company
As the Senior Vice President of Plan Consulting for The 401(k) Company in Austin, Texas, Michelle is responsible for Plan Consulting, Plan Conversions and Product Development. Her experience, since joining The 401(k) Company in March of 1995, includes supervising the Conversions and Account Management Departments, coordinating new client conversions, overseeing existing client plan mergers and acquisitions, managing client relationships, proactively consulting with clients on legislative changes, implementing new products and services, and spending time as a Sales Consultant. Michelle graduated with a BS in Accounting from Park University in Austin, Texas, and graduated with a BBA in Marketing and General Business from Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas. Michelle is designated a Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) by the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries.
James D. McCool
Executive Vice President, Schwab Corporate & Retirement Services
James D. McCool is responsible for Schwab's bundled retirement plan services including recordkeeping and related services, stock option plan services, defined benefit and nonqualified plan services, trustee and custodial services through the Charles Schwab Trust Company, services to third-party retirement plan administrators (TPAs), and the Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account®. He is a member of the company's Management Committee.
McCool began his career in the retirement plan servicing industry in 1984 as one of the initial employees of The Hampton Company, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of The Charles Schwab Corporation in 1995. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of Schwab Corporate & Retirement Services. Prior to that he was senior vice president and general manager of the Plan Administrator Services enterprise and has held management positions in several departments including client and participant services, employee education, daily valuation operations, product development, conversion, and ERISA compliance and consulting.
He is active in government affairs on issues of regulatory reform affecting defined contribution plans and has provided expert testimony at SEC hearings on the retirement plan industry. He is a frequent speaker on retirement plan issues before various industry groups as well as professional organizations in the investment, legal and actuarial professions. McCool was appointed to the ERISA Advisory Council in 2005, and served as a delegate for the 2002 National Summit on Retirement Savings. McCool has also served as chairman of the The SPARK/ National Defined Contribution Council (NDCC) Institute Investment Advice Task Force, which was charged with developing educational materials for key members of U.S. Representative John A. Boehner's Education and the Workforce Committee.
McCool earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from the University of Akron. He is a member of the The SPARK/NDCC Institute and the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) and holds multiple NASD licenses.
Catherine Miller
Vice President, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
Catherine Miller is Vice President of Participant Programs & Delivery. She has been with Schwab since 1996, serving the first four years as a Director in our Client Services Department and the past seven years working directly with the Participant Experience. Catherine’s area of responsibility includes Participant Education and Communication, Schwab Advice Services, and the various Service Centers within Schwab Corporate Services.
Catherine has been in the retirement plan industry since 1990, and has held management positions in Compliance, Client Services, Education & Advice and Participant Service Centers. She also spent several years with a regional public accounting firm specializing in employee benefit plan audits, corporate taxation, and business valuation.
Catherine holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of Akron and an MBA from the Weatherhead School of Business at Case Western Reserve University. She is also NASD Series 7, 63, 9, 10, 66 and 24 licensed.
Tom Modestino
Senior Analyst, Cerulli Associates
Tom is responsible for Cerulli Associates retirement initiatives, focusing on the development, distribution, and strategic positioning of retirement plans and related topics. He authors research studies for the The Cerulli Report™ series, such as The State of the 401(k) Marketplace, and contributes to The Cerulli Edge™. Tom has over 14 years of financial services industry experience, with particular concentration in the insurance and retirement plan markets.
Prior to joining Cerulli Associates, Tom was Manager of Client Strategy at New York Life Investment Management. During his 4 years at NYLIM, Tom oversaw plan sponsor marketing initiatives including qualitative and quantitative research, marketing events and communications programs. Tom previously spent 3 years with Manulife (John Hancock), where he was a manager in marketing strategy group concentrating on qualitative and quantitative research, industry and competitive analysis. Formerly, Tom spent 6 years as a Group Insurance Marketing Manager with Sun Life of Canada.
Tom received his B.A. from Boston College and has completed the American College CFP Certification Curriculum. He has passed NASD Series 6 and 63 and insurance licensing exams. He also completed the Fellow Life Management Institute (FLMI) designation.
Deborah H. Pritchard
Vice President, The Newport Group
Deborah Pritchard oversees all Client Service and Technical Operations at Newport. Prior to joining the firm, Deborah served as chief operating officer for TrustMark, a wholly owned subsidiary of Charles Schwab. While at TrustMark, she also held positions as director of consulting, director of quality assurance, and director of client relationship management. Deborah began her career in employee benefit consulting with Booke and Company, Actuarial Consultants. Deborah is a graduate of Wake Forest University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. She currently holds NASD licenses Series 6, 63 and 26.
Dave Thompson
Field Vice President, Schwab Corporate & Retirement Services
As Vice President of Sales and Business Development for Schwab Corporate and Retirement Services, Dave Thompson oversees Sales, Consultant Relations, Retirement Investment Services, Proposals and Business Acceptance teams. Dave is a member of Corporate and Retirement Services Senior Management Team and has also been named Investment Officer to the Charles Schwab Trust Company. Dave joined Schwab in 1998 to build a national consultant relations effort around Schwab’s growing defined contribution bundled services offering, and served as the primary contact for consultants and advisors working in the corporate benefit plan marketplace.
Before joining Schwab, Dave spent 12 years with Fidelity Investments, where he was Vice President of Consultant Sales for the Tax-Exempt Services Company and an officer of the Fidelity Management Trust Company. Other responsibilities included leadership positions in sales development, client relationship management and plan implementation and conversion.
A featured presenter in numerous industry conferences, including the Securities Industry Association and the Investment Management Institute, Dave holds the NASD Series 6, 7, 26 and 63 licenses and is a graduate, cum laude, of Bowdoin College.
Marcia Wagner
ERISA Attorney, The Wagner Law Group
Marcia S. Wagner is a specialist in pension and employee benefits law. Ms. Wagner advises executives and professionals on the legal requirements of qualified retirement plans, including plan design, document drafting, plan administration, plan qualification requirements, and fiduciary responsibilities. She is especially expert in issues concerning pension plan investments. Clients include plan sponsors of all sizes, plan administration professionals, pension investment managers and advisers, large financial institutions, accountants, plan participants and plan fiduciaries.
Ms. Wagner has successfully resolved IRS plan audits, obtained hundreds of favorable IRS determination letters, including ones involving multiple employer-sponsored plans and plan terminations, and negotiated favorable closing agreements with the IRS. She has represented plan sponsors in their dealings with the U.S. Department of Labor on such matters as prohibited transactions and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and has counseled clients on numerous other special situations, such as ESOP transactions, plan mergers and plan-to-plan transfers of assets. She is involved in all phases of plan design, plan document preparation, and advising clients on government reporting and disclosure requirements.
Ms. Wagner is also an expert on a variety of other employee benefits issues and executive compensation matters, including non-qualified retirement plans, “rabbi” trusts and all forms of deferred compensation. In each of these areas, she is familiar with the problems and concerns uniquely applicable to non-profit organizations, municipalities and government agencies. Ms. Wagner is similarly experienced in the area of tax-advantaged employee benefit plans such as group health insurance and “cafeteria” plans and is expert in the HIPAA privacy rules.
As a counselor to business executives, she has also dealt with all aspects of tax planning, including equity-based and non-equity based compensation packages (e.g., all forms of stock options, phantom stock, stock appreciation rights, etc.). She brings to her specialty in pensions and benefits a unique business perspective stemming from her broad experience representing owners and managers and companies of all sizes.
A summa cum laude graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Law School, Ms. Wagner has practiced in Boston for approximately 19 years. Ms. Wagner is a frequent lecturer and author in the ERISA/employee benefits area and has authored a Bureau of National Affairs Tax Management Portfolio, entitled “Plan Disqualification and ERISA Litigation”, for which she has received the BNA Distinguished Author Commendation, and has also authored, among other books and articles, the following: BNA Tax Management Portfolio: “ERISA Litigation, Procedure, Preemption and Other Title I Issues”, and BNA Tax Management Portfolio: “EPCRS - Plan Correction and Disqualification”.
Steve Young
Famed NFL Quarterback
Steve Young learned first-hand about communication, teamwork, and what can be achieved with hard work during his 15 seasons as a professional football quarterback. He gained national fame setting records throwing for the San Francisco 49ers.
More than an MVP. During his career with San Francisco, he won three Super Bowl titles – two as a backup and one as a starter – including a record six-touchdown performance in a 49–26 victory over the San Diego Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX that earned him the game’s Most Valuable Player award. When Young retired after the 1999 season, his resume included being the highest-rated QB in NFL history, two league MVP Awards (1992 and 1994) and the renown of being the only signal caller in league annals to win four consecutive passing titles. He has been seen recently co-hosting the Super Bowl pre-game, half-time and post-game shows on ABC. He is also a popular studio analyst on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown TV series.
In addition to his gridiron fame, he is also a licensed attorney, an acclaimed inspirational speaker, a sought-after spokesperson for major companies – Visa, PowerBar, Sun Microsystems among them – and a supporter of numerous charities and foundations.
Young’s charitable contributions are vast. He founded and chairs the Forever Young Foundation, which is actively involved in children’s charities nationwide. Recently, FYF has focused on a project in two Children’s Hospitals. Both The Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University and Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City are the recipients of new, state of the art, interactive recreational-therapy rooms called Forever Young Zones.
A new game plan. Currently, he is cofounder and a managing director for Sorenson Capital, a new private equity investment firm headquartered in Utah, aimed at making small to middle market buyouts and growth equity investments. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of CRS Retail Systems, Inc., a leading provider of POS and analytical software to the retail industry, and former Chairman of the Board of Found, Inc., which was acquired by CRS Retail in October 2002. Additionally, Young sits on the board of Foundry Networks and is a partner in University Technology Ventures. Young was also active with the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, excelling as the Medals Plaza Volunteer Chairperson, and managing over 25,000 volunteers during the Olympics. In 2003, Steve was appointed by President Bush as a member of the newly formed President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation, working to inspire Americans to volunteer and make a difference in their communities.
