Kevin Croft

 

Kevin Croft, Distinguished EMC Associate Professor of Practice and Director of the Kelley Center for Insurance Innovation, teaches Finance, Risk Management and Insurance classes. Professor Croft began his career at the Principal Financial Group where he was involved in a diverse set of roles including insurance product pricing, financial statement preparation, reserve determination, developing asset liability management solutions, managing mutual funds, and investing non-affiliated insurance portfolios. Prior to joining Drake, Professor Croft served as senior vice president and head of structured products at American Equity where he co-led the investment team managing a $52 billion portfolio and oversaw growth in the structured products portfolio from $2.7 billion to $12.9 billion.

Nick Gerhart

 

Nick is responsible for proactively seeking out and developing opportunities to optimize company growth through innovation that is consistent with Homesteaders’ core values, purpose and vision. A proven change agent, strategist and executive leader, Gerhart previously served as Commissioner of the Iowa Insurance Division, where he transformed that department and increased the State of Iowa’s international prominence through his thought leadership and the creation of the Global Insurance Symposium held annually in Des Moines. He also previously served as Chief Administrative Officer for FBL Financial.

Barnes Kelley

 

Barnes, Associate General Counsel, is committed to serving the legal and insurance needs of The Weitz Company, a full-service construction company, general contractor, design-builder, and construction manager. By serving these needs, he supports its core purpose, to “Build a Better Way,” which includes delivering the highest levels of safety, integrity, and market leading innovation.  Barnes previously worked for EMC Insurance in various roles over an eight-year career.  Before that, he was an attorney in private practice with The Bradshaw Law Firm.  Barnes is a graduate of Drake Law School, holds his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (“CPCU”) designation and currently serves as Vice President of the Iowa Chapter of the CPCU Society.

Scott Jean 

Scott joined EMC Insurance Companies as an intern in 1991 before starting his career there as an Actuary. He was promoted to Vice President and Chief Executive Officer in March 2020. Reporting to him are EMC’s three Executive Vice Presidents and Field Operations. Scott received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Iowa State University and is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). He and his wife, Natausha, have five children and live in West Des Moines, IA. He enjoys spending time with his family, golfing and running.

Matt Junge

 

Matt Junge leads Swiss Re’s property treaty underwriting for the United States market. In this role, he is responsible for treaty underwriting strategy and portfolio steering, as well as leading a team of reinsurance underwriters, actuaries and catastrophe modelers who are responsible for Swiss Re’s property treaty reinsurance portfolio across the United States. He has served in a variety of property and casualty underwriting roles with Swiss Re for the last 16 years, including leading flood and parametric product development from 2018 – 2022. He is a strong advocate for closing the natural catastrophe protection gap. Matt is a graduate of Drake University and holds his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation. 

Erin Osier 

As an Account Executive for our Property Casualty division, Erin assists clients with the procurement and monitoring of their risk management portfolios. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and an MBA from the University of Colorado. With over 23 years in the industry, she has vast experience as an underwriter, captive consultant, and carrier relationship manager. Active in the industry, Erin serves on insurance carrier agency advisory boards, has been a member of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) Iowa Chapter since 2007, serving in various positions, including President in 2015. She has also earned her Associate in Risk Management (ARM) and Certified Risk Manager (CRM) designations and participates in BrokerTech Ventures.

Dusan Stojanovic

 

Dusan Stojanovic has 25 years of banking industry experience, most recently with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines where he served for 12 years, mainly in the roles of Chief Risk Officer and Chief Operating Officer. FHLB Des Moines is among the largest of 11 federally chartered, wholesale banking cooperatives, serving 1300+ financial institution members – commercial banks, savings institutions, insurance companies, and credit unions headquartered in 13 states and three U.S. territories.

Prior to joining the FHLB, Mr. Stojanovic was a bank supervisor in various capacities with the Federal Reserve System, as well as the Vice Governor for Bank Supervision with the National Bank of Serbia.

Travis Vander Linden

Travis Vander Linden is an Assistant Director of Technology Risk Management at Principal Financial Group, responsible for building the firm’s Technology Risk program including over a decade of experience in enterprise, cyber, and technology risk management disciplines. He holds an MBA from the University of Iowa (with certificates in Leadership and Business Analytics), a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Real Estate from the University of Northern Iowa, and holds the Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) designation from ISACA.

Steven Walsh

 

Steve Walsh, CPA, is the VP – Enterprise Risk Officer at EMC Insurance. In this role, he takes a proactive and strategic approach to navigating uncertainty and strengthening organizational resilience. His oversight spans enterprise risk management, third party risk management, business continuity, and procurement, with a focus on aligning analysis of risk with EMC’s strategy and business objectives to drive informed decision making and long-term value. Steve has over 20 years of experience, spending the last 12 years at EMC Insurance serving in roles including head of investor relations prior to its publicly-traded holding company’s going private transaction, AVP Strategic Research and Analysis Manager, and has spent the last four years in his current role. Prior to his time at EMC, he served in various SEC financial reporting and audit roles. Steve received his B.S.B.A in accounting from Creighton University.

Rebecca Young

 

Rebecca Young is the Chief Risk & Audit Officer at F&G leading teams responsible for risk management, internal controls, and internal audit.  She is a risk and controls expert and has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry.  She is a collaborative partner and is known for successfully meeting critical enterprise needs, developing new strategies, and effectively leading teams through change.  Prior to F&G, Rebecca served as the Head of Internal Controls at American Equity where she was responsible for building an in-house internal controls team.  She was also an Audit Director at Wells Fargo with responsibility for the Chief Accounting Officer organization and data management.  Her career includes Transamerica as a Controller and Ernst & Young as a Senior Manager serving insurance clients.  Rebecca’s enjoys spending time volunteering for not-for-profit boards including the Des Moines Symphony, where she is the President of the Board of Trustees, and Meals from the Heartland.  She is a Certified Public Accountant.