Executive leadership

Rich Bielen is Protective Life Corporation’s Chief Executive Officer. In his more than 40 years of financial services experience, more than 30 of those have been with Protective. He joined the Company in 1991 with responsibility for the company’s securities portfolio before becoming Chief Investment Officer and Treasurer in 2002. Subsequently, he transitioned to the role of Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer in 2007, President and Chief Operating Officer in January 2016 then President and Chief Executive Officer in July 2017. 

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 belongs to the Board of Trustees for Children’s of Alabama, the Board of Directors for Innovate Alabama and the Board of Directors for ProAssurance. In addition, he serves on 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 held the position of the 2025 Chair for The American Council of Life Insurers Board of Directors. 

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

Paul Wells was named President and Chief Financial Officer for Protective Life Corporation on January 1, 2026. He plays a pivotal role in executing Protective’s strategic objectives while also leading a unified financial organization, including the areas of accounting and reporting, financial planning, actuarial, tax, risk management, treasury, stable value products, asset liability management, investments and acquisitions. Wells joined Protective in 2004 as Manager of SEC Reporting and later held the roles of Chief Financial Officer for the Life and Annuity Division beginning in 2007 and Chief Accounting Officer beginning in 2017.  He was named Chief Financial Officer in 2022.

Prior to joining Protective, Wells worked for BBVA Bank and PwC. Wells is a 2024 graduate of Leadership Birmingham and a 2025 graduate of Leadership Alabama. He currently serves on the board for Cornerstone School, the United Way of Central Alabama and the Dean's Advisory Board 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.

Wade Harrison was named Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer on January 1, 2026, having previously served as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer since November 2024. He provides strategic leadership for the Protection, Retirement, Asset Protection and Employee Benefits retail businesses and supporting capabilities, including the company’s marketing, operations and technology functions. Harrison, who has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, initially joined Protective in 2014 as Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer. Subsequently he transitioned into the role of EVP, Chief Retail Officer in June 2022. 

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 and currently serves as vice chair of the LL Global Board of Directors and on the Life Insurance Committee of the American Council of Life Insurers. Locally, he lends his expertise as a member of the Risk Management and Insurance Advisory Board at Samford University's Brock School of Business, the Corporate Board of the UAB Center for the Arts and the University of Alabama Actuarial Advisory Council. Harrison is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Birmingham and belongs to the 33rd Class of Leadership Alabama. 

Harrison, a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, received a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in addition to a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. 

Lance Black assumed the role of Executive Vice President, Acquisitions and Corporate Development for Protective Life Corporation in March 2022, previously 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.

Before 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 serves on the boards of the Hope Institute and the Westminster School at Oak Mountain. He 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.

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, leadership development and total rewards. In addition, she oversees the Protective Life Foundation, community engagement and sustainability teams, which help shape the company’s culture. Evesque joined Protective in March 2005 and was named to her current role 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. In addition, she is a member of the board of visitors for the University of Alabama Culverhouse School of Business.

Evesque earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration from the University of Alabama and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

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, where he 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 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 in 2013 and has over 31 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 board president. 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 Alabama’s Class of 2023 and 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).