Executive leadership

Rich Bielen is president and chief executive officer of Protective Life Corporation. In his more than 35 years of financial services experience, more than 30 of those have been with Protective. He joined the Company in 1991 with responsibility for its securities portfolio then became chief investment officer and treasurer in 2002. Subsequently, he transitioned to the role of vice chairman and chief financial officer in 2007, then president and chief operating officer in January 2016. On July 1, 2017, he became the Company’s seventh president and chief executive officer of Protective.

He began his career at Arthur Andersen and Co., where he served from 1983-1986. He then joined Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. as a sales analyst focused on new product development before moving into the position of senior vice president.

Bielen holds the position of chairman of the board of trustees for Children’s of Alabama and at-large director of the Alabama Innovation Corporation. In addition, he serves on multiple boards for The American Council of Life Insurers, United Way of Central Alabama, Birmingham Business Alliance and Leadership Birmingham. In March 2020, Bielen was nominated to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and in September 2024, he will assume the role of Chair of the board of directors for ACLI.

A Certified Public Accountant, Bielen earned a master’s degree in business administration in addition to a bachelor’s degree from New York University.

Steve Walker was named vice chairman, finance and risk for Protective Life Corporation in June 2022. He joined Protective in 2002 as chief financial officer for the asset protection division then served as chief accounting officer and controller from 2003 until assuming his preceding role of executive vice president and chief financial officer in January 2016.

Walker has more than 39 years of insurance industry experience, including previous work as chief financial officer for Aon Integramark and more than 15 years in various financial and operational roles at Assurant Group.

He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of CPAs.

Walker is actively involved in the community, serving as a member and past board president of the Children's Aid Society of Alabama, member and past chairman of the Alabama Insurance Planning Commission, and a member and past president of the Alabama Insurance & Risk Management Education Foundation. Additionally, he is a graduate of the 2013 class of Leadership Birmingham and of the 2022 class of Leadership Alabama.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration in accounting from the University of West Georgia, and a master’s degree in business administration from Georgia State University.

Scott Adams is the executive vice president, corporate responsibility, strategy and innovation for Protective Life Corporation. In his role, Adams leads Protective’s community engagement and corporate social responsibility activities in addition to overseeing several corporate functions, including the Protective Life Foundation, brand and social engagement and corporate communications. In addition, he works with executive leadership on the development of strategy and innovation in support of the Company’s growth initiatives.

Prior to joining Protective as the senior vice president and chief human resources officer in 2006, Adams served as an executive search consultant for the wealth and investment sector with Anderson and Associates, a boutique executive search firm. He spent 18 years with Bank of America and predecessor companies. From 1996 to 2004, he was senior vice president and human resource executive for the wealth and investment management business of Bank of America.

Adams serves on the boards of The World Games 2022, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama and UAB Athletics Foundation. He recently served as a member of the Alabama Innovation Commission.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Washington and Lee University.

Lance Black assumed the role of executive vice president, acquisitions and corporate development for Protective Life Corporation in March 2022, most recently having served as the company’s senior vice president, acquisitions and corporate development since June 2021. He is responsible for Protective Life Corporation’s acquisition and capital markets segments. Prior to his current area of responsibility, he served as senior vice president, treasurer and stable value products. In that role, he was responsible for the institutional funding business segment (stable value), in addition to capital raising and cash management for the corporate holding company and subsidiaries, asset/liability management, managing rating agency relationships, and projection of corporate earnings and capital.

Prior to joining Protective in 2003 as the vice president of investment strategy, Black worked for Wachovia Corporation (now Wells Fargo) for over a decade and was last a director in the insurance corporate and investment banking unit of Wachovia Securities.

Black holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder.

Mark Drew joined Protective Life Corporation in 2016 as executive vice president and chief legal officer. Prior to joining Protective, Drew was in private practice at Maynard Cooper Gale for 28 years and served as the managing shareholder from 2006-2016. His corporate work there included counseling private and public companies, including banking and financial institutions, at both the board and transactional level. He also has significant experience handling mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures at the international level.

Drew serves on the boards of The Westervelt Company, Business Council of Alabama, Birmingham Museum of Art, and the Greater Alabama Council - Boy Scouts of America. He received his Juris Doctor from Wake Forest University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Wake Forest University.

Wendy Evesque is executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Protective Life Corporation. She leads Protective's focus on people and culture, including efforts that support talent acquisition, diversity and inclusion, leadership development and total rewards. Evesque joined Protective in March 2005 and was named CHRO in 2017.

Prior to joining Protective, Evesque served as vice president and human capital partner with United Health Group for more than a decade, providing human resources and acquisition support to health plans across the country.

She currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Friends of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, and is a member of the Board of Visitors for the University of Alabama Culverhouse School of Business.

Evesque earned a Bachelor of Science degree in commerce and business administration from the University of Alabama, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Wade Harrison was named executive vice president, chief retail officer for Protective in June of 2022. He provides strategic leadership for the protection, retirement and asset protection retail businesses and supporting capabilities. Harrison, who has nearly 30 total years of experience in the insurance industry, initially joined Protective in 2014 as senior vice president and chief product officer.

Prior to joining Protective, Harrison worked for COUNTRY Financial for 13 years, serving in executive and senior leadership roles in areas of life/health operations, financial services operations and investment services. Before joining COUNTRY, he was a consultant for Tillinghast – Towers Perrin.

Harrison is active with several industry groups including LL Global, the parent company of LIMRA, LOMA and Secure Retirement Institute, and the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). He currently serves on the Board of Directors for LL Global and the Life Insurance Committee of the ACLI. Locally, he is on the board of the Mid-Alabama chapter of the American Red Cross, a member of the University of Alabama Actuarial Advisory Council and a 2020 graduate of Leadership Birmingham.

Phil Passafiume assumed the role of executive vice president, chief investment officer for Protective Life Corporation on March 1, 2022, having most recently served as the company’s senior vice president, chief investment officer since June 2020. He has also previously held the title of senior vice president, director of fixed income, where he was responsible for general account investments pertaining to corporate bonds, MBS, ABS, CMBS, CLOs, private placements and bank loans. Passafiume, who has more than 23 years of investment management experience, serves on Protective’s P&A, ALM, investment policy, retirement, enterprise risk management and internal controls committees. Prior to joining Protective Life in 2003, he was a senior analyst/portfolio manager for ING Investment Management in Atlanta, Georgia.

In addition to being a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Passafiume has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Kentucky and a master’s degree in finance from Georgia State University. He is on the investment committee for United Way of Central Alabama and serves as vice president/board member of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, a member of the board of directors of the EyeSight Foundation of Alabama Board of Trustees, and as the diocesan finance trustee of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama.

Paul Wells is the executive vice president, chief financial officer for Protective Life Corporation. Wells joined the Company in 2004 as assistant vice president, manager of SEC reporting and later held the roles of vice president and chief financial officer for the life and annuity division beginning 2007 and as senior vice president and chief financial officer for the life and annuity division beginning 2014. Before assuming his current role in June of 2022, he served as senior vice president, chief accounting officer since 2017.

Prior to joining Protective, Wells worked for BBVA Bank and PwC. He currently serves on the board of The Bell Center as well as various advisory boards for Samford University’s Brock School of Business. Wells, a Certified Public Accountant (inactive), earned a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Samford University and a master of accountancy degree from the University of Alabama.

Cissy Williams, executive vice president and chief operations officer for Protective Life Corporation, is responsible for the strategic vision of customer experience and information technology. She oversees the delivery of our most important promise to beneficiaries through our claim operation, building our future through leadership of business transformation and acquisition integration, as well as accountability for in-force customer operations and enterprise shared services.

Prior to joining Protective in her previous role as its first customer experience leader in 2015, Williams served in leadership positions in the development and delivery of operational strategies at Unum. She led strategy development and planning, enabling Unum’s three companies to leverage more enterprise assets to create and sustain business value.

With a lifelong commitment to serving her communities, Williams is a strong advocate for organizations that support women, families, education and economic development. She currently serves on the core group of Prosper Birmingham. Williams earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and master’s degree in business administration from Wake Forest University.

In June 2021, Deep Banerjee was promoted to senior vice president & treasurer for Protective Life Corporation and is responsible for capital raising and cash management for the corporate holding company and subsidiaries, asset/liability management, managing rating agency relationships, and the institutional funding business segment (stable value). Before assuming his current role, Banerjee held the position of Protective’s vice president, strategic risk since September of 2020.

Prior to Protective, he spent over a decade at S&P Global Ratings where he was a credit analyst covering the insurance industry. Banerjee, who is well regarded in the industry as an insurance sector analyst, holds a bachelor’s degree from Marietta College and is a frequent presenter at industry conferences.

Kathryn Cox is the senior vice president and president, Protection Division for Protective Life Corporation and is responsible for sales, new business operations, product development and underwriting for this business segment.

Cox joined Protective in July 2022 and has more than 30 years of industry experience. She previously served as senior vice president, business development for Reinsurance Group of America, where she led the team responsible for coordinating with each U.S. product line and fee-based service and driving business growth over U.S. Mortality Markets.

A graduate of Maryville College with a degree in actuarial science, Cox is a Certified Public Accountant and has earned the distinctions of Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) and Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI).

She currently serves on LIMRA and LOMA's Life Insurance Advisory Board and has previously served in the capacity of actuarial liaison for The Association of Home Office Underwriters Program Committee and as chair of the College of Arts and Sciences National Leadership Council at Maryville University, among other activities.

Scott Karchunas is senior vice president and president, asset protection division for Protective Life Corporation. As an employee of Protective and its subsidiaries since 1988, he has served in a variety of roles within the Company, including senior executive vice president, senior vice president of sales and marketing, division vice president and regional vice president. Altogether, he has over 30 years of experience in the automotive finance and insurance industries.

In addition to contributing to various trade journals and speaking at industry events, Karchunas is an accredited member of the Association of Finance and Insurance Professionals. He serves on the board of Ronald McDonald House Charities of St. Louis and is actively involved in several committees.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame, where he is also a member of the University of Notre Dame’s Sorin Society. Subsequently, Karchunas achieved a master’s degree in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis, where he holds membership in the William Greenleaf Eliot Society.

Matthew Kohler is senior vice president and chief information officer for Protective Life Corporation, where he ensures the alignment of Protective’s technical and business strategies. His responsibilities include collaborating with key business leaders to evaluate new technology, delivering the tools and data necessary to execute objectives, and providing direction and perspective across the organization.

An employee of Protective since 1998, Kohler most recently served as senior vice president, chief technology officer and prior to that as the head of the business solutions department, providing development support for the life, annuity and corporate business functions. He also previously held the role of application development manager, which oversaw several systems areas including agency, telelife, illustrations and agent support.

Kohler earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing research with minors in mathematics and statistics from Florida State University in addition to a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Laura Y. McDonald is Protective Life Corporation’s senior vice president, chief mortgage and real estate officer. She is responsible for Protective’s commercial mortgage loan and real estate portfolio. McDonald joined Protective Life in 2013 and has over 29 years of commercial real estate lending and corporate banking experience. Previously, she worked for Capmark Finance (formerly known as GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corporation) and SouthTrust Bank. Prior to SouthTrust, McDonald worked in the audit division of Arthur Andersen, LLP.

McDonald was awarded the Dai-ichi Life President’s Award in 2020 in recognition of brand enhancement and corporate value creation as well as her contribution to resolve social issues. She also serves on the advisory board of the UAB O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center in the current role of president elect 1. McDonald has also served on the executive leadership team of the American Heart Association’s Heart Ball, the Beyond Blue Host Committee benefitting the Mike Slive Foundation, the capital campaign to redevelop The Bell Center, as a past board chair of the American Cancer Society and the capital campaign for the expansion of the Ronald McDonald House. In addition, she is an alumna of Leadership Birmingham’s Class of 2019 and is a current member of the Tocqueville Society of the United Way of Central Alabama.

McDonald earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from The University of Alabama and is also a Certified Public Accountant – State of Alabama (inactive).

Pooja Rahman joined Protective Life Corporation in June 2021 as senior vice president and chief risk officer. She is responsible for leading Protective’s enterprise risk management (ERM) function and overseeing implementation of the Company’s strategic risk appetite. As part of this mandate, Rahman leads the ERM group in managing programs covering insurance, actuarial, product design and pricing, investment risk, market risk, hedging and risk mitigation, operational, regulatory, and reputational matters.

She has over two decades of risk, finance, and legal experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining Protective, she most recently served as head of financial risk at New York Life.

Rahman earned her Juris Doctor from Drake University Law School, her master’s degree in business administration from the University of New Orleans, and her bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Mumbai. Outside of work, she is proud to serve on the national board of Easterseals.

Aaron Seurkamp is senior vice president and president, retirement division for Protective Life Corporation. His responsibilities include the annuity and executive benefits business lines where he oversees product development, distribution and new business operations. He also directs the management of Concourse Financial Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Protective.

Since joining Protective in 2004, Seurkamp has served in various leadership positions for both the life and annuity product lines, most recently serving as senior vice president, life and annuity executive. Prior to that, he served as Protective’s chief distribution officer for life and annuity.

In addition to his work at Protective, Seurkamp is chair of LIMRA and LOMA's Annuity Advisory Board, a member of the ACLI Annuities Committee and a member of the President’s Advisory Council for The American College of Financial Services. He is also active in the community serving as the secretary of the board of directors for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy.

Seurkamp earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in finance from Xavier University. He has also achieved the executive scholar designation with a concentration in finance from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.