Fidelity Security Life Chair Passes President Titles to Sons: Executive Changes

Two grandsons of the founders of Fidelity Security Life Group are rising into top-level leadership positions.

Richard “Dick” Jones — the chairman, president and CEO of the Kansas City, Missouri-based life, health and annuity issuer — announced earlier this week that his sons, Bryce Jones and Brad Jones, will become heads of Fidelity Security’s life insurance company subsidiaries.

Richard Jones will continue to be the chairman of the parent company.

Fidelity Security Life

Forrest and Dorothy Jones, the owners of a Kansas City-based insurance agency, started Fidelity Security Life in 1969.

Fidelity Security Life now sells supplemental health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance and annuities. It has about $300 million in capital and generates about $1.3 billion in premium revenue per year.

Richard Jones succeeded his father as president and CEO of the company in 1982, and he received his parents’ stock in the company in 1994.

Richard Jones and his wife used a generation-skipping trust to transfer a majority of their shares in the company to Bryce Jones, Brad Jones and a third son, Richard Jones Jr., in 2016, according to a company history in a financial examination report filed by Missouri insurance regulators in 2018.

Bryce Jones’ and Brad Jones’ New Roles

Bryce Jones will be the president of Fidelity Security’s main Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company subsidiary.

Bryce Jones has a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and a master’s degree in business from Indiana University. He worked at Guaranty Bank as a commercial banking officer and at Navigant Consultant as a senior consultant before moving to Fidelity Security in 2009.

Bryce Jones’ brother, Brad Jones, will be the president of two of Fidelity Security’s other subsidiaries, Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company of New York and Fidelity Security Assurance Company.

Brad Jones has a bachelor’s degree from SMU and a law degree from the University of Missouri.

TIAA

TIAA — a New York-based annuity issuer and asset manager — has hired Kourtney Gibson to succeed Doug Chittenden as chief institutional client officer.

Chittenden is retiring after a 38-year career with TIAA.

Gibson has been executive vice chairman of Loop Capital, a Chicago-based investment services firm. She started there as an intern in 1998 and worked her way up through roles as an associate and a vice president until she became a partner at the firm and, eventually, its president.

She serves on the boards of lulemon athletica, Viterbo University and the University of Miami. She is also a board member and immediate past chairman of the Chicago Scholars Foundation, a program that helps first-generation college students get into college, earn their degrees and find jobs.

Gibson holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami and a master’s degree in business from Northwestern University.

CNO

CNO Financial — a Carmel, Indiana-based issuer of life insurance, annuities and specialty health insurance products — has named Brian Schneider vice president, enterprise risk management and chief risk officer.

Schneider has been the company’s vice president, enterprise risk management since 2021.

Previously, he was director of enterprise risk management at CNA Insurance. He also has worked in risk management at Liberty Mutual and at other companies.

He has a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in business from the University of Illinois.

Ameritas

Ameritas — a Lincoln, Nebraska-based life insurer — has promoted Aaron Berthold to vice president, service, and John Webb to vice president, compliance, retirement plans.

Berthold was previously second vice president, customer service. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master’s degree from Doane College.

Webb was second vice president, compliance and risk in retirement plans. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a bachelor’s degree in music from Berea College. He has a master’s degree in business from Montreat College.

Webb is past president of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries Benefits Council of Greater Cincinnati and currently serves as the chapter’s treasurer.

The Standard

Standard Insurance Company — a Portland, Oregon-based arm of Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company — has hired Jodi Hoover to be second vice president of policyholder services.

Hoover has been head of customer acquisition and experience in the worksite division at Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. She also has worked in enrollment, operations and related fields at Lincoln Financial and Trustmark.

She has a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University.

Protective Life

Protective Life — a Birmingham, Alabama-based arm of Dai-ichi Life Holdings — has hired Kara Adame to be head of office, federal affairs.

Adame previously was the head of the Washington office for Mutual of Omaha.

She serves as the co-chair for the Cybersecurity Working Group at the American Council of Life Insurers.

From 2015 through 2021, she was the director of political affairs at MetLife.

She has worked on Capitol Hill as a scheduler for Sharon Day, a Republican National Committee co-chairman, and as a regional victory director for the RNC in Maryland.

Adame has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Missouri.

ACLI

The American Council of Life Insurers — a Washington-based group for life and annuity issuers — has hired Marti Thomas to be vice president, taxation, trade and international.

Thomas was previously a principal at Williams and Jensen. She advised clients on financial services, tax, health care, education, manufacturing and technology issues. Prior to that role, she worked for Gephardt Government Affairs, the Duberstein Group, the Bank of New York Mellon and Goldman Sachs Group.

She was an advisor to former U.S. House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo., and was a deputy assistant secretary and assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Thomas has a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan and a law degree from Georgetown.

Mayer Brown

Mayer Brown — a law firm specializing in corporate and regulatory insurance — announced the addition of Vikram Sidhu as a partner in its New York office, in its Corporate & Securities practice and Global Insurance Industry Group.

He has been managing director of the New York office at Clyde & Co. He has worked on deals involved life and health insurers and other types of insurers.

He has a bachelor’s degree from Cornell and a law degree from Harvard.

Verisk

Verisk — a Jersey City, New Jersey-based data analytics firm, has named Maroun Mourad to succeed Rich Della Rocca as president, claims solutions.

Della Rocca is retiring from Verisk in July, after working for the company for 27 years.

Mourad has been Verisk’s president, global underwriting, for life insurance lines and other lines, since 2020.

He began working for Verisk in 2015. Previously, he worked for companies such as Gen Re, AIG, Zurich Insurance and Vanguard Risk Solutions.

He has a bachelor’s degree and a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley.

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