Leadership

Jack H. Brier

Chairman of the Board, President and CEO

Jack H. Brier

Career Highlights

  • President of Brier Development Co. Inc.

  • Kansas Secretary of State, 1978-1987

  • President, Kansas Development Finance Authority, 1990-1993

  • Attended Shawnee Mission public schools

  • Earned Business Administration degree from Washburn University

  • Graduate studies in Public Administration at the University of Kansas

  • Former Board Member, AmVestors Investment Group, Inc.; AmVestors Financial Corporation; and Columbian National Title Insurance Company

Bill Graves

Director

Bill Graves

Career Highlights

  • Recently served as President and CEO of American Trucking Associations, the national trade and safety organization of the United States trucking industry. Under his leadership, ATA advanced several safety initiatives

  • Governor of Kansas, 1995–2003. As governor, Graves signed into law an historic 10-year, $13 billion comprehensive transportation program improving highways, railroad infrastructure, airports and public transit service in Kansas, financed by higher user fees

  • Involved in the trucking industry his entire life. For almost 70 years, members of his family have operated fleets including Graves Truck Line

  • Serves on the Board of OpenForce, a Phoenix, AZ transportation technology firm

  • Earned a degree in Business Administration from Kansas Wesleyan University in his hometown of Salina and attended graduate school at the University of Kansas

Jennifer Schmidt

Director

Career Highlights

  • Earned her B.A degree in political affairs and international relations from Texas Christian University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Kansas.

  • Admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

  • Serves as a lecturer at the University of Kansas School of Law.

  • Previously served as a professor of political science and pre-law and Pittsburg State University.

  • Serves as the president of Apricity Programs.

  • Member of the 2006 class of Leadership Kansas.

  • Involved in numerous philanthropic organizations and political campaigns and is a past fellow of the Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics.

Jim Poolman

Director

Jim Poolman

Career Highlights

  • President of Jim Poolman Consulting Inc.
  • Elected North Dakota Insurance Commissioner in 2000 and 2004
  • Served four terms in the North Dakota House of Representatives
  • Former Vice President of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners
  • Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of North Dakota

John R. Helms

Director

Career Highlights

  • Earned B.S. degree in Business Administration from Kansas State University

  • Has been a practicing CPA for the past 44 years

  • Was previously one of the owners of Wendling Noe Nelson & Johnson LLC for 32 years, which specialized in reimbursement, audit, as well as consulting services for hospitals in several states

  • Served as supervisor and later the manager of the financial statement audits of Security Benefit Life, Missouri Farm Bureau, and American Home Life Insurance Company for several years

  • Previously a member of the board of directors for Cair Paravel Latin School for nine years and rejoined the board in 2021 as its treasurer

  • Is a current member of the Kansas Board of Accountancy and has been since 2012, and has held three terms as the vice-chair in addition to three years as chair of the board

  • Has been a member of the Enforcement Resources Committee of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy since 2018 and has been elected to the Nominating Committee

  • Involved in the board of the directors for the Kansas Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association for the past six years, as well as a member of the Chapter’s program committee and has been active within the program for more than ten years

Jeff Brown

Vice President

Jeff Brown

Career Highlights

  • Former Group Life Actuary of Fortis Benefits Insurance Company, 1995-2001
  • Former Senior Vice President and Actuary of Amerus Annuity Group
  • Vice President of Finance and Business Intelligence of Aviva USA, 2008-2011
  • Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and member of the American Academy of Actuaries
  • Former Board Member, Cair Paravel Latin School
  • Earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics (Actuarial Science Specialization) from Washburn University

Bob Boaldin

Former Board Member

Director Emeritus

It is with great sadness we report the passing on December 29, 2016, of founding director Bob Boaldin. Bob was with us since the company was formed and we appreciate his many contributions to our growth and development.

bobb

James Concannon

Former Board Member

Director Emeritus

With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of our founding director, James Concannon, on June 17, 2023. James played an integral role since the inception of our company, and we are deeply grateful for his countless contributions to our growth and development.

James Concannon