2023 Fall Forum Speaker Bios

Jonathan R. Black
Associate
Caplin & Drysdale

Jonathan R. Black joined Caplin & Drysdale in 2019 as an Associate in the Tax Disputes & Tax Litigation and Complex Litigation practice groups. Prior to private practice, Mr. Black served for over five years as an attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service, where he defended the IRS in Tax Court, drafted regulations and other published guidance, and advised the IRS and the Department of Justice on a myriad of legal issues. He also provided IRS attorneys training on administrative law and legal ethics. In addition to his near decade of experience in tax law and litigation, Mr. Black has prior careers in property development, procurement, and analytics.

Benjamin Eisenstat
Member
Caplin & Drysdale

Benjamin Z. Eisenstat is a Member in Caplin & Drysdale’s Washington, D.C. office, where he assists individuals and corporations in all manner of civil and criminal tax controversies. Over the past decade, Mr. Eisenstat has helped clients effectively return to tax compliance and move forward with their lives, whether that involves correcting tax issues prior to contact from the government, navigating IRS audits, or defending against criminal investigations.

Mr. Eisenstat has consistently achieved favorable results for his clients. In the criminal context, he has a strong record of persuading the government not to bring forth an indictment.  And when cases have reached the plea and sentencing stage, Mr. Eisenstat has successfully advocated for substantial downward departures and variances from the sentencing guidelines, including a recent case where a client received a non-incarceratory sentence despite a guidelines range of 24 to 30 months in prison. In the civil context, he consistently helps his clients minimize their tax and penalty exposure.  To that end, Mr. Eisenstat recently assisted a captive insurance participant in achieving a full concession from the IRS in a docketed case in the U.S. Tax Court.

Mr. Eisenstat is also active with the American Bar Association’s Section of Taxation. He is currently a Co-Chair of the Civil and Criminal Tax Penalties – Criminal Litigation Sub-Committee.

Alan J. Fine, CPA, JD
Armanino LLP

Alan has more than 29 years of tax experience and has closely with insurance companies for 27 years. He specializes in the taxation of insurance companies and is responsible for serving insurers writing fidelity, personal and commercial lines, medical and life insurance, and other professional malpractice coverage.

His areas of specialties include consulting and compliance tax services, captive insurance services and structuring and review of complex GAAP and statutory accounting tax provisions. Alan has authored a number of pieces on issues involving insurance tax and captive insurances companies. He regularly consults with insurance companies in tax planning and minimization, and he represents clients on tax issues before the Internal Revenue Service and state and local authorities.

Prior to joining Armanino, Alan was a partner in the Tax practice at Brown Smith Wallace, where he also led the Insurance industry group. Alan received his B.S. in accounting from Indiana University – Bloomington and holds a J.D. from the St. Louis University School of Law.

Brian Johnson
Managing Director
Risk International Actuarial Consulting

Brian joined Risk International Actuarial Consulting, at that time Bartlett Actuarial Group, in 2004 as a consulting actuary. He has more than 25 years of experience as a property and casualty actuary. In his career, he has worked for Insurance Services Office, Reliance Insurance Company, American International Group, and GMAC Insurance. He has extensive experience with all property and casualty lines of business, including property, professional liability, medical malpractice, workers’ compensation, general liability, commercial automobile and trucking, and many of the emerging lines of business in the insurance world, such as cyber liability and reputational risk.

Brian serves his clients not only as an actuary, but as an experienced risk and insurance consultant. He brings his vast business experience to the table to provide his clients with new ideas and considerations about their risk management programs.

Brian is an Associate in the Casualty Actuarial Society, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. He holds the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation from the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters and Insurance Institute of America. He was graduated from Bucknell University in 1995 with a BS in Mathematics.

Originally from Baltimore, Maryland and Atlantic City, New Jersey, Brian and his wife love living in the Lowcountry of Charleston, South Carolina. They enjoy bicycling, kayaking, and spending time outdoors.

Ed Little
Counsel
Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A.

Ed is Counsel at Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A. His practice focuses on commercial transactions and insurance regulatory matters. His insurance regulatory practice primarily involves advising U.S. insurance companies doing business in Delaware on matters relating to compliance with the Delaware Insurance Code. This includes insurance company and agency formations, change of control transactions (including mergers and acquisitions), insurance holding company system registrations, and regulated investment activities.

Andrew J. Rennick CPCU
Partner
Womble Bond Dickenson (US) LLP

Andrew is an experienced attorney who guides captive insurance companies in corporate formation, insurance regulatory and day-to-day governance issues. He is a frequent author and speaker on captive insurance topics and is a faculty member for the International Center for Captive Insurance Education. Andrew also serves as a director and member of the regulatory liaison committee of the Delaware Captive Insurance Association.

In addition, Andrew has extensive experience in the areas of general corporate law and business counseling in connection with issues involving entity formation and governance. In the community, he serves as a Guardian ad litem for the Office of Child Advocate, representing the interests of abused and neglected children in Delaware and is Committee Chair of Swarthmore Cub Scout Pack 112.

Kerrie Riker-Keller
Senior Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer
Intuitive Captive Solutions

As Chief Compliance Officer for Intuitive Captive Solutions (ICS), Kerrie works with executive teams to manage all compliance, governance, claims handling and formation related issues. She is also responsible for overseeing all insurance examinations, the production of all insurance policies and reinsurance contracts and the handling reinsurance claims for ICS’s clients.

Prior to ICS in 2014, Kerrie was Manager of Compliance and Operations at CenturyLink Investment Management Company where she oversaw the firm’s SEC Investment Advisor and ERISA compliance programs for the company’s $17 billion in employee benefit plan assets. Kerrie also served as Assistant Vice President for Trust Company of the West, was the Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Administrative Officer for Acacia Wealth Advisors, LLC, and held the position of Chief Compliance Officer at Osher Van de Voorde Investment Management. The early part of her career was spent working at Bernstein Investment Research and Management and Ernst & Young, LLP.

Kerrie has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of California Santa Barbara and earned an MBA from California Polytechnic State University Pomona.

Charles Ruchlenman
Member
Caplin & Drysdale

Mr. Ruchelman is a Member in Caplin & Drysdale's Washington, D.C., office, where he concentrates his practice in tax litigation and controversies with the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities. He also represents clients in general tax matters.

Mr. Ruchelman has extensive experience in resolving tax matters at all stages of tax disputes including IRS examinations, IRS appeals, post-appeals mediation, trial court litigation, and appellate litigation. He has litigated cases in the U.S. Tax Court, various U.S. district courts, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

Building on his experience with the TEFRA partnership provisions, Mr. Ruchelman has spent a significant amount of time studying, speaking on, and writing about the new IRS tax and collection procedures relating to partnerships and limited liability companies that were recently enacted under the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. Since enactment of the new statute, Mr. Ruchelman has spoken on panels with a Tax Court judge, government officials from the Treasury Department and IRS Office of Chief Counsel, as well as other practitioners before the American Bar Association, American Institute of CPAs, DC Bar Association, and Bloomberg/BNA.

Mr. Ruchelman is an active member of the firm’s Complex Litigation group. While at the Department of Justice, he participated in two separate two-month long trials with extensive pre-trial discovery in U.S. district court. In private practice, Mr. Ruchelman regularly takes and defends depositions, engages in formal discovery including managing large document reviews, and engages in extensive motions practice.

Joanne Shaver
Senior Risk Consultant
Captives Aon

Joanne is a Senior Risk Consultant with Aon’s Risk Finance and Captive Consulting (RFCC) Practice. In this role she is responsible for providing captive consulting, including captive feasibility studies, and, captive utilization, and strategic reviews.

Prior to joining Aon in 2022, Joanne worked as a captive consultant for Intuitive Captive Solutions and as a captive manager for Wilmington Trust SP Services. She has spent 9 years combined in captive consulting and captive management services. Joanne also served as Principal of Cover & Rossiter, a Wilmington, Delaware based CPA firm, where she started her career in the captive insurance industry in 2005. During her time at Cover & Rossiter, she was responsible for the growth of the firm’s captive insurance company practice, which included audit and tax related services.

Joanne’s expertise includes extensive experience as a service provider of captive insurance services. She focuses on captive solutions and has expertise in accounting, taxation, captive operations and management and alternative risk solutions.

Jeff Simpson
Partner
Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP

Jeff focuses his practice on the formation, regulation and governance of captive insurance companies. He assists with all matters in the lifecycle of a captive. Jeff’s clients rely on him for practical business advice to help them reach their goals. He is known for his creativity, problem solving and thought leadership. His long tenure in the industry includes time spent as a captive manager, which gives him a unique perspective. Jeff has a thorough understanding of the myriad issues that impact captive insurance arrangements. He is active in a number of industry associations and is a faculty member with the International Center for Captive Insurance Education. Jeff is a founder and former director of the Delaware Captive Insurance Association and is an active member of several other captive insurance industry associations, working closely with regulators. He is a director of the Self-Insurance Institute of America and chairs its Enterprise Risk Captive Advocacy Working Group, which focuses on government advocacy for the captive insurance industry. Jeff also has experience as an entrepreneur, as outside general counsel for small businesses and in business-side positions in financial institutions.

Michael J. Stafford, Jr. CFA
Managing Director, Director of Fixed Income Investments
ASB Investment Management

Michael is a Managing Director of Fixed Income Investments for both ASB Investment Management and Chevy Chase Trust. He manages investment portfolios for institutional and high-net-worth clients.

Prior to joining Chevy Chase Trust and ASB, Michael served as Chief Investment Officer of The St. Paul’s (now Travelers) life insurance subsidiary and Portfolio Manager with Bank of America, Legg Mason, and First National Bank of Maryland. He has 25 years of experience managing portfolios.

Michael graduated from Georgetown University and earned an MBA from Loyola College of Baltimore. He is a past president and director of The Baltimore Security Analysts Society and has taught investment analysis in the MBA program at Johns Hopkins University. He is a CFA charterholder.

Stephen C. Taylor
Director of Bureau of Captive and Financial Insurance Products
Delaware Department of Insurance

Stephen C. Taylor is the Director of the Bureau of Captive and Financial Insurance Products for the Delaware Department of Insurance. As Director, Stephen is responsible for managing the establishment and regulation of captive insurance companies in the State of Delaware.

Previously, Stephen was Commissioner of the District of Columbia Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking where he served as the District of Columbia’s chief financial services regulator for the insurance, securities, and banking industries, and served in national leadership roles with state financial services regulator organizations. Stephen also held various General Counsel and executive roles for the District of Columbia’s Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, Office of the Attorney General, Department of Banking and Financial Institutions, and Office of the Chief Financial Officer. He also served as Policy and Assistant General Counsel for The Surety & Fidelity Association of America. Stephen also consults on financial services regulatory and legal issues.

Stephen represented the District of Columbia as a Commissioner with the Uniform Law Commission for over ten years. He also served as a Director on the District of Columbia Health Benefit Exchange Authority and the DC Economic Partnership. Stephen earned his L.L.M. in Taxation and ERISA/Employee Benefits Certification as well as his juris doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University.

Michael W. Teichman
Director
Parkowski Guerke & Swayze
President
Delaware Captive Insurance Association

Michael W. Teichman is a Director at Parkowski, Guerke & Swayze, P.A., joining the firm in June 2003. He concentrates his practice in the representation of traditional and captive insurance companies in both regulatory, transactional, and litigation matters. Mr. Teichman also represents clients in the areas of environmental regulation and litigation and serves as corporate and transaction counsel to Delaware based entities. He frequently serves as special Delaware counsel in the preparation of Delaware corporate opinions.

Mr. Teichman is the President of the Delaware Captive Insurance Association and has served on its board of directors since its inception. Mr. Teichman has been accepted into the Federation of Regulatory Counsel (FORC), a professional organization made up of attorneys possessing special expertise in the field of insurance regulation. Mr. Teichman is also the treasurer of the Delaware Bar Association Environmental Law Section.

Prior to joining Parkowski, Guerke & Swayze, Mr. Teichman was a partner with Reed Smith, LLP. Prior to entering private practice, he served as a Deputy Attorney General in the Delaware Department of Justice. During his tenure as a Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Teichman first served in the Criminal Division as a criminal prosecutor, and later represented the Delaware Department of Insurance.

Mr. Teichman served as a commissioned officer in the United States Navy from 1986 to 1991. He received a B.A. from Villanova University in 1986 and a J.D. from Temple University School of Law in 1994. He was admitted to practice law in Delaware in 1994.

Travis Terzer
Senior Associate
CapVisor Associates, LLC

Travis Terzer is a Senior Associate at CapVisor Associates, LLC. His primary responsibilities are business development and marketing. His coverage includes the continental USA along with offshore insurers while representing all CapVisor services designed for the commercial and ART insurance markets. Mr. Terzer will also supervise and participate is the firm’s future systems and quantitative initiatives using his extensive engineering and analytical background.

Prior to joining CapVisor in August of 2020, Travis worked for 2 years at American International Group (AIG) as an analyst in project management and the Infrastructure Services Investment Committee working with data and analytics with regards to the Technology project portfolio.

Travis is enrolled in ICCIE to earn an ACI designation as well as in FINRA training for his Series 65 licensing.

Mr. Terzer graduated from Clemson University, College of Engineering, where he received his BS in Industrial Engineering.

Patrick Theriault
Managing Director
Strategic Risk Solutions

Patrick is responsible for the firm’s United States captive management activities. In this role he oversees the operations of our offices in Arizona, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Washington D.C. In addition, Patrick provides assistance to the SRS consulting group with captive implementation and feasibility projects.

Patrick joined SRS in 2011 having previously been with the company for five years until 2005. He has over 20 years of experience in captive management, insurance accounting, and consulting services. Patrick most recently managed the operations of Wilmington Trust Captive Management Services managing the delivery of captive management services to clients in several US domiciles. He was formerly Director of Finance and Operations for SRS Vermont. Patrick has experience with captive programs for single parent firms, risk retention groups, and publicly held admitted insurance carriers. His captive domicile experience includes Arizona, Bermuda, Cayman, Delaware, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, and Washington D.C.

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