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MARKETING PERSONNEL


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Geoffrey L. Adams
Executive Vice President

As Executive Vice President, Mr. Adams leads our Corporate Client Division, which includes our employee, executive and voluntary benefit practices. He has been consulting on a wide range of health and welfare benefit plan issues for over 20 years.

Prior to joining The Warner Companies, Mr. Adams held several management positions with Aon Consulting and Mercer Human Resource Consulting where he was instrumental in successfully serving the executive compensation and benefit plan needs of corporations in the Fortune 500 marketplace. He has extensive experience in all aspects of executive welfare benefits and nonqualified benefit plans, including Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans and Deferred Compensation arrangements.

Mr. Adams earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature with honors from Rutgers University and has completed post-graduate work at the Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania. He is an active member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and is past President of the Baltimore Chapter of WEB and past Instructor in the Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) program through Towson University.


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Benjamin S. Carson, Jr.
Consultant

As Consultant, Mr. Carson focuses on total financial planning for individuals with an emphasis on investment management and insurance planning. He also serves as a consultant for the design and implementation of executive and employee benefit programs for corporations of varying sizes.

Prior to joining The Warner Companies, Mr. Carson worked as a Financial Consultant with an international financial services firm. He has held sales and account management positions in varying other industries, and has received several awards and honors for excellent client service and his entrepreneurial spirit.

Mr. Carson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership from Tufts University. He also maintains Life and Health insurance licenses in the state of Maryland, New York and the District of Columbia, and is a registered representative with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm holding the Series 6 and 63.


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Kelly Crawford
Vice President

Ms. Crawford specializes in Voluntary Worksite Benefits and serves as a consultant to design and implement voluntary benefit solutions for corporations of varying sizes.

As Vice President of the Voluntary Benefits Division, she is also responsible for developing collaborative relationships with other professionals in the Voluntary Benefits arena.

Ms. Crawford has over 15 years of experience in Voluntary Benefits sales and account management.Prior to joining The Warner Companies, she was State Manager for The Abacus Group and held several sales and management positions with Northwestern Mutual Financial Network and American Fidelity Assurance Company. Her accomplishments as an Account Manager are extensive. She has received numerous awards for sales production and leadership.

Ms. Crawford attended Oklahoma State University and University of Central Oklahoma, and she holds Life and Health insurance licenses.

Apart from Ms. Crawford’s business and professional activities, she has dedicated her time as a volunteer for Team in Training, a fitness training program designed to help participants complete marathons, half marathons, and triathlons, all to support fundraising efforts for children suffering from Leukemia and Lymphoma.


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Bernard D. Fish, CLU
Senior Vice President

Mr. Fish specializes in estate planning, business succession planning, qualified plan distribution planning, and retirement planning for professionals, business owners, and corporate executives. He is a Chartered Life Underwriter, an Insurance Advisor in the State of Maryland, and a registered representative with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority [FINRA] member firm.

For thirty years, Mr. Fish provided design, actuarial and administration services for qualified retirement plans for corporate business and professional clients. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Pension Consultants and Administrators, Inc. during the early years of ERISA (1974-76). Later, he served as an adjunct member of the Bar Association's Subcommittee on Pensions until selling his pension practice in 1990. Mr. Fish is a member of the Baltimore Estate Planning Council and serves as Immediate Past President; the Baltimore Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals; and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors of Baltimore. He is a past president of the Baltimore Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the Maryland Association of Health Underwriters.


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Ed Gerace
Senior Vice President

Mr. Gerace specializes in the development and implementation of employee benefit and welfare plans. He has over twenty-five years of experience working in the Human Resources field.

Mr. Gerace was the Human Resources Director for a large manufacturing company in the Baltimore area where he managed a department of professionals responsible for all employee benefits, legal compliance, labor negotiations, manpower staffing, and development along with other managerial responsibilities. In 1990, he accepted a position with a local benefits company in the Employee Benefits Department, and joined The Warner Companies in 1995. He is an active member of the National Association of Health Underwriters and Baltimore Life Underwriters Association.


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Thomas J. Gramigna
Senior Vice President

Mr. Gramigna specializes in total financial planning services to law firms, business owners, physicians, corporate executives and professional athletes. Prior to joining The Warner Companies, he provided financial planning for clients for one of the Top 28 largest insurance companies.

Mr. Gramigna holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland, where he received N.C.A.A. Academic All-American Status for excellence in golf. He is a registered representative with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority [FINRA] member firm, holding the Series 6, 63, and 65 licenses.  Mr. Gramigna also holds a New Jersey State Life and Health insurance license. Presently, Mr. Gramigna is a candidate for Certified Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and Certified Financial Planner (CFP).

Apart from Mr. Gramigna’s business and professional activities, he is an avid golfer. He has dedicated his time to several New Jersey community services, junior golf programs, and charitable organizations.


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Arthur P. Jensen, CPA
Senior Vice President

Mr. Jensen specializes in advanced tax, financial and estate planning. His background includes advising on reorganizations, mergers and acquisitions, compliance and technical rulings and advice at both the District Director and National levels. He has assisted both corporate and individual clients with particular attention towards creative tax and financial planning and tax minimization strategies.

Prior to joining The Warner Companies, he worked for prominent CPA firms, including over twenty successful years in large international accounting firms, including KPMG Peat Marwick and Deloitte & Touche. Most of his years were as partner in charge of tax services for the local office. He added to his valuable experience when he was selected for a one year assignment in the Washington National Tax Office of KPMG dealing with complex and unusual tax situations. He also served as liaison between his firm and the IRS and United States Treasury Departments.

Mr. Jensen is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants, the International Association of Financial Planners, and the Wealth Counsel LLC Study Group. He is a past president of the Baltimore Association of Tax Counsel, a past Chairman of the Chesapeake Tax Conference, past Co-Chairman of the Advanced Tax Institute and former Treasurer of the Baltimore city Rotary Club. In addition to his CPA license, he holds health and life insurance licenses, and is a registered representative with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm. He has spoken before numerous groups on tax and financial topics.


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Bruce Knox
Senior Vice President

As Senior Vice President, Mr. Knox specializes in the innovative design and marketing of compensation and benefit programs for corporations, professional partnerships and not-for-profit organizations. He has over 30 years of experience in the benefits and insurance industry.

Prior to joining The Warner Companies, Mr. Knox was President of Retirement Capital Group (RCG) Professional Firm Executive Benefits Practice. Mr. Knox was the Managing Member of DLG, LLC and its predecessors dating back to 1973.

In June of 1995, he developed the Balanced Benefit Plan – a unique employee benefits concept that allowed publicly held companies to reduce the cost of providing active and retiree group life insurance. In the late 1980’s, Mr. Knox created the Preferred Risk Consortium Concept as a more effective group life insurance strategy. Since that time, more than 100,000 participants from hundreds of organizations have been placed in the Consortium.

Mr. Knox has consulted with major life insurance carriers in the development of unique and proprietary products; designed to provide employers with more efficient ways to provide group life insurance to their employees.

Mr. Knox holds the professional designation of Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU). He has over 30 years of continuing education in the insurance industry, and is a registered representative with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm, holding the Series 6 and 63 licenses and offering securities through Retirement Captial Group Securities.

Mr. Knox is not affiliated with M Financial Group or M Holdings Securities, Inc.

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Peter A. Ladas, CLU, ChFC, MSFS
Senior Vice President

As Senior Vice President, Mr. Ladas specializes in the innovative design and marketing of executive compensation and benefit programs, as well as advanced liability funding and securitization techniques for corporations, financial institutions, professional partnerships and not-for-profit organizations. He has over 30 years of experience in the executive benefits and insurance industry with specialization in the advanced uses of insurance products for use by Corporations (COLI) and Banks (BOLI).

Prior to joining The Warner Companies, he was a Managing Director for Marsh & McLennan’s Executive Benefit division, where he served in various roles as a Senior Consultant, National Sales Leader and National Bank Owned Life Insurance (BOLI) Leader. He has also held various executive benefit consulting positions in other leading global risk management and consulting firms such as Alexander & Alexander, Johnson & Higgins, and Sedgwick.

Mr. Ladas earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Management with a minor in Psychology from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL and his Master of Science Degree in Financial Services from The American College in Bryn Mawr, PA. He holds multiple state Life/Health/Variable Contracts insurance licenses and is a registered representative with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) member firm holding the Series 6, 63, and 22 licenses. Mr. Ladas’ professional designations include Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Master of Science in Financial Services (MSFS). He is a member of the Association for Advanced Life Underwriters (AALU) and the National Association of Financial Professionals.


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Rick Oliver
President of Sports Management

As President of our Sports Management Division, Mr. Oliver works closely with clients in all aspects of their baseball career. While contract negotiation is of utmost importance, Mr. Oliver works diligently to help clients on all off field endeavors as well.

After completing three years at West Virginia University, Mr. Oliver was selected in the 1st round of the free agent draft by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1971. After a seven-year career as a professional baseball player, he joined the Rouse Company, a nationally known developer of distinctive shopping malls.

As the Vice President and General Manager of Rouse Company, Mr. Oliver was responsible for the successful operation of some of the nation’s most prestigious shopping centers, including Fashion Island in Newport Beach, California, and locally the Owings Mills Mall and White Marsh Mall in Baltimore, Maryland.

After working for one of the best shopping center developers in the country, Mr. Oliver began working closely with Ron Shapiro of Shapiro, Robinson which represented some of the most high profile players in baseball. These players included Cal Ripken Jr., Kirby Puckett, Eddie Murray, Willie Randolph, Dante Bichette, among others. During these fifteen years, Mr. Oliver was primarily responsible for the recruiting, advising, and servicing of some of the top draft choices in the country. They include Trot Nixon (1st round, 7th overall), Brian Anderson (1st round, 3rd overall), Jake Westbrook (1st round), Sean Casey (2nd round), Scott Elarton (1st round), Michael Tucker (1st round), Ben Davis (1st round), and Gavin Floyd (1st round), among others.

In addition, this past year, Mr. Oliver used his strong international ties to sign one of his major league pitchers, Seth Greisinger, to a huge two year contract worth $6.5 million.

Mr. Oliver’s professional baseball experience, combined with his extensive business expertise gives him a unique perspective to share with our clients. In addition to his professional activities, he has been active with fundraising activities for the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, Carver Center of Arts & Technology, University of Maryland Cancer Center, and the Youse-Corrigan Foundation in Baltimore, Maryland.


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Bob J. Pfaff, CLU
Consultant

Mr. Pfaff has thirty years of experience in the financial services industry. He specializes in counseling closely held corporations and medical group practices. He concentrates on Disability Income and Long Term Care planning with expertise in the area of negotiated employee benefits and custom designed Disability and Long Term Care contracts for key executive and physician groups.

Mr. Pfaff received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland in 1969, and the professional degrees of Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant from the American College in the early 1980’s.

He is an active member of the Society of Insurance Professionals, a registered representative with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority [FINRA] member firm and a licensed insurance advisor with the State of Maryland. He serves as Secretary/Treasurer of the Chesapeake Health Plan Foundation, a philanthropic group dedicated to the needs of Baltimore’s inner city children.


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Le Phan
Senior Vice President

Ms. Phan specializes in Voluntary Worksite Benefits, and as Senior Vice President she oversees the Voluntary Benefits Division at The Warner Companies. As Senior Vice President, she is responsible for developing strategic partnerships with other professionals in the Voluntary Benefits arena. She also serves as a consultant to design and implement voluntary benefit solutions to corporations of varying sizes.

Ms. Phan has over 10 years of experience in the Voluntary Benefits field. Prior to joining The Warner Companies, she launched independent marketing strategies for the voluntary worksite portfolio at The Abacus Group. Through her ability to anticipate worksite marketing trends combined with her extensive expertise in designing voluntary benefit programs that enhance employers benefit packages, she was able to grow a portfolio of clients that resulted in annual premiums in excess of $5 million. She has also held several sales and management positions at GE Financial Assurance and ReliaStar Life Insurance Company.

With a background that encompasses experience in a consultative role that lends a solid base of knowledge, Ms. Phan is able to identify the needs of an employer and target a voluntary program that will ensure a competitive employee benefit package.

Ms. Phan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from The University of Nebraska. She also holds Life and Health insurance licenses.


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Jeff Randazzo
Director of Player Development

As Director of Player Development, Jeff Randazzo works closely with clients on and off the field, by providing career development advice before, during, and beyond their careers as professional athletes.

In 1999, Jeff received a full athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee to play basketball and baseball. During his career at Cardinal Ohara High School, Jeff was named MVP in both baseball and basketball, and then was named Athlete of the Year by the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily Times. The Minnesota Twins selected Jeff in the 4th round of the free agent draft, just after he graduated high school. Jeff decided to forgo his college career and pursue his dream of playing professional baseball.

A left handed pitcher, Jeff spent 6 years playing professional baseball, 2 of which he was an All-Star. He was also the Twins number eleven prospect. On his way to spring training in 2002, Jeff was involved in a near fatal car accident, which shortened his career as a professional baseball player.

Jeff’s professional baseball career, business expertise, athletic background and his ability to handle adversity has given him a special perspective on not only the game of baseball, but also the game of life. He is active in his community organizing baseball leagues for the youth and supplying equipment for surrounding community leagues.


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John Russell, CFP
Vice President

Mr. Russell specializes in estate planning, including business continuation planning for family owned and closely held businesses. He provides his clients with the investment and insurance products necessary to implement a financial plan.

Mr. Russell completed the curriculum of the College of Financial Planning in 1992 and earned the designation of Certified Financial Planner in March of 1993. He served in the U.S. armed forces and is a Veteran of the Vietnam conflict. Prior to joining The Warner Companies, Mr. Russell was successful in implementing and managing a retail investment department for a regional bank in Pennsylvania. He is a member of the International Association for Financial Planning and the York County, PA Estate Planning Council. He has been an active member of the Board of Directors for the Towson University Foundation and is on the Board of Advisors for the Towson University School of Business and Finance.


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Ilene Salcman
Executive Vice President

As Executive Vice President, Ms. Salcman is responsible for developing collaborative relationships with other professionals in the wealth strategies arena, as well as recruiting additional personnel for the company. She brings a highly unique perspective to counseling affluent clients and successful companies since she was first introduced to The Warner Companies from the perspective of a client.

Prior to joining The Warner Companies, Ms. Salcman served as Executive Vice President of one of the largest Health Systems on the East Coast, where she was a proven business leader with various types of health care organizations. She has extensive experience in strategic planning, development and marketing.

Her accomplishments as an executive in the health care field are broad. She implemented and managed executive compensation and benefit plans, and has been honored by the Academy of Health Care Marketing and received awards for several marketing campaigns.

After receiving a BA from Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, Ms. Salcman received her MBA/MPH from Columbia University, New York, New York. She is a Registered Representative with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority [FINRA] member firm, and holds health and life insurance licenses. Her current Board activities include the Fund for Educational Excellence, where she is a member of the Executive Committee as well as the Chairman of the Marketing/Development Committee. She is also a board member and Vice President of the Friends of Modern Art at the Baltimore Museum of Art.


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Joseph W. Semet
Vice President

Mr. Semet specializes in Corporate Employee Benefits and serves as a consultant to design and implement employee benefit plans for corporations of varying sizes. He serves clients on both a local and national level.

Prior to joining The Warner Companies, Mr. Semet worked as a Benefit Consultant for Model Consulting, an employee benefits firm located in Trevose, Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Penn State University. He is a registered representative with s Financial Industry Regulatory Authority [FINRA] member firm.  He also has a New Jersey State Life and Health insurance license.

Mr. Semet has been a featured speaker at Wharton’s Small Business Development Group and is a board member of the Bridesburg Boys and Girls Club in Philadelphia, PA.


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Phillip Snyder, CLU
Senior Vice President

Mr. Snyder specializes in the design and implementation of non-qualified programs designed to meet the specific needs of executives and professionals. Since 1973, he has served a broad-based clientele, including both privately held and publicly traded companies.

Mr. Snyder received his Bachelor of Arts degree from The University of Maryland at College Park, with follow-up study at The Johns Hopkins University. He received his Chartered Life Underwriter designation from The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He is a registered representative with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority [FINRA] member firm.

Mr. Snyder is a member of the National Association of Life Underwriters, the Baltimore Association of Life Underwriters, the Baltimore Estate Planning Council, The Society of Financial Service Professionals, and the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting. In addition, he is a Past President of the Baltimore Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and is a past board member of the Baltimore Association of Life Underwriters.


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Lee Warner
AEP, CLU, ChFC, CFP
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
As Chairman, Mr. Warner provides corporate leadership to the organization for company expansion, strategic alliance relationship development, contractual negotiations, and financial controls. Mr. Warner also steers the design process in Wealth Strategies.

Mr. Warner has specialized in comprehensive financial plan consulting for affluent individuals, public and privately held companies since 1977, with a specific focus on creative estate planning, executive benefit and compensation design. He holds a BS degree in Business Administration and Economics from Western Maryland College, and has earned professional designations as an Accredited Estate Planner, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, and Certified Financial Planner. He is a licensed insurance advisor with the State of Maryland and many other states nationwide. Also, he is a registered representative with a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority [FINRA] member firm.

Mr. Warner has served as President and member of the Board of Directors for both the Baltimore Association for Financial Planning and the Baltimore Estate Planning Council. He is an active member of the International Association for Financial Planning, the National Association of Life Underwriters, the Association for Advanced Life Underwriters, and the Society of Financial Service Professionals. He is also a member of the Top of Table and the International Twenty-five Million-Dollar Forum, and is listed in the Who's Who Registry of Global Business Leaders and Who's Who in Finance and Industry. Mr. Warner serves as Chairman of AmericasBank and board member of the Carson Scholars Fund. He has been frequently quoted by the national print media and has spoken on radio and television concerning tax planning and executive benefit issues.


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Matthew Werden
Vice President

Mr. Werden specializes in Corporate Employee Benefits and serves as a consultant for the design and implementation of employee benefit plans sponsored by corporations of varying sizes.

Mr. Werden's experience in the insurance and benefits industry has been grounded in the belief that exceeding his client's expectation is paramount. Prior to joining The Warner Companies, he worked as a Benefit Consultant for a Baltimore-based employee benefits administrator where he helped build and mentor the firm's direct sales force. Mr. Werden also developed his sales and account management expertise while employed by one of the prominent organizations in the National Football League.

Mr. Werden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from University of Maryland, College Park. He also holds a Maryland Life and Health insurance license.


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