GuideOne Leadership

Bernie has brought a wealth of knowledge to GuideOne from both an industry and leadership perspective since he joined the Board of Directors in 2011. Prior to being appointed CEO in 2022, Bernie spent 23 years with CNA Insurance in various underwriting and operating leadership roles, culminating in becoming the company's CEO. After that, he served as the chief operating officer for the American Medical Association, where he oversaw operations and successfully managed national policy issues for the 300,000-member organization.

Andy is a trusted leader with decades of experience in the corporate insurance industry. He leads GuideOne's legal team and is responsible for internal auditing, enterprise risk management, compliance and regulatory compliance. Before joining GuideOne in 2015, Andy served as a consultant and regulatory counsel for The Goldwater Taplin Group. He also held a number of leadership roles after his insurance career began at The Hartford, including Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Aspen’s North American insurance and reinsurance operations as well as for Endurance’s U.S. insurance operations. Andy is a veteran of the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, where he served as Special Assistant to the General Counsel of the Navy at the Pentagon. He earned his Master of Laws degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law, Juris Doctor degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law, and bachelor’s degree from Western New England University.

Ken leads GuideOne’s finance team and is responsible for investments, accounting, financial planning, reinsurance, reserving, capital management, procurement and facilities. Ken brings more than 30 years of experience to GuideOne, with a wealth of knowledge in all aspects of finance and accounting. Ken joined GuideOne in 2021 after most recently serving as the Chief Financial Officer at Aspen US Insurance. Prior to that, he was Executive Vice President and Global Controller for Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd. and senior financial executive at Marsh McLennan. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Lycoming College and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Tim leads GuideOne’s Core Commercial business segment, in addition to guiding the success of CGA Insurance Services. He came to GuideOne in 2018 as Vice President, Chief Actuary, and brought forward-thinking ideas, insightful analyses and well-articulated trends to each of our business units to support their objectives. Before joining GuideOne, Tim served as Vice President, Actuarial Reserving of CNA Financial Corporation’s Specialty Lines business. He earned his Bachelor of Art degree from Michigan State University and completed the executive Master of Business Administration program at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA).

Brian is responsible for the management of claims policies, guidelines and governance, risk control and for maintaining a superior customer service experience in our Customer Care Center. Before joining GuideOne in 2017, Brian served as Associate Vice President of Claims at Nationwide Agribusiness. Prior to that, he held various roles with Travelers Insurance. Brian earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa and his Master of Business Administration from Drake University. He has obtained several designations and certifications, including Charter Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Claims (AIC).

Adam leads GuideOne’s Actuarial team and is responsible for overseeing the company’s enterprise risk management strategies and its evaluation of financial risk exposures. He returned to GuideOne in 2022, where he previously served as Director, Actuary Reserving. Most recently, he served as Assistant Vice President, Commercial Lines Pricing - Middle Markets, at Nationwide. Adam’s diverse actuarial background in reserving, pricing, planning and forecasting, and actuarial operations span a variety of roles at CNA Insurance and Travelers. Adam earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics and Mathematics from Indiana University Bloomington and his master’s degree in Actuarial Science from Ball State University.

Naomi is responsible for leading GuideOne’s HR strategy, specifically in the areas of talent acquisition, talent management, training and development and compensation and benefits. She most recently served as the Vice President of Strategic HR Partnership for Rite Aid, leading a geographically dispersed team to deliver strategic solutions and day-to-day execution in support of 45,000 associates. Prior to that, Naomi spent over 16 years in senior HR leadership roles for Nationwide Insurance and later at CNA Insurance. Naomi earned her bachelor’s degree in human services at Buena Vista University.

Paul is responsible for developing and executing all facets of the company’s programs strategy, as well as reinsurance purchasing across all GuideOne business segments. He joined GuideOne in 2021 with over 25 years of leadership, reinsurance buying and reinsurance brokerage experience. Since arriving, Paul has been heavily involved in strategy for all business segments across GuideOne and has been instrumental in aligning the company’s reinsurance solutions with its financial and long-term capital goals.

Joseph (Joe) is responsible for leading GuideOne’s culture of underwriting excellence through partnership with our business unit underwriting, claims and operations teams. He oversees underwriting governance and technical referrals and provides portfolio and account-level risk insight across all lines of business. With three decades of experience across a wide array of property & casualty insurance areas, he previously held executive roles at AIG and Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty before joining GuideOne in 2022. Joe holds a bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a law degree from Seton Hall University.

Shane is a collaborative trusted leader with 25 years in the property casualty insurance industry. He leads GuideOne’s shared Information Technology Services team in support of our evolving organizational needs with a renewed focus on the simplification of our processes, meeting commitments, and focusing resources on value-added work, processes and tools. In Shane's tenure at GuideOne, he has helped to modernize our Commercial Underwriting Systems, virtualizing our server/desktop resources, and his teams have been featured by Forrester in an economic study after successfully migrating all of GuideOne's server infrastructure to the Cloud in less than 60 days.

Chris is a known leader in delivering on large operational initiatives. As VP of Operations, he leads efforts to simplify operational complexities through working across all parts of the organization to identify and remove inefficient processes and streamline workflows. Chris joined GuideOne in 2013 with the charge of building out a Project Management Office to support the delivery of large initiatives. Over time he has taken on various other responsibilities across Strategic Planning, Underwriting Support Services, and driving special projects on behalf of the Senior LeadershipTeam. Chris has worked across all areas of the company and in doing so has built solid relationships and has a reputation for collaboration and execution.

Lori leads GuideOne’s corporate communications and marketing functions in addition to managing the GuideOne Foundation. She is a proven leader with more than 30 years of communications, marketing and customer service experience. Lori and her team are responsible for leading the company’s strategic brand and marketing initiatives, as well as advertising, creative services, social media, and internal and external communications to deliver measurable results. Prior to joining GuideOne, Lori was Senior Marketing Manager for LCS, where she led new business development initiatives. Before that, she was Marketing Director and Public Information Officer for the Iowa State Fair, directing the full range of marketing and in-house agency functions for the nationally renowned institution. In addition, she has held numerous marketing leadership roles with Simon Property Group and Westfield. Lori is a member of the Public Relations Society of America and actively supports the Greater Iowa Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. She is a graduate of Iowa State University with a BBA in marketing.