EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

President – Jeff Lamb

Jeff Lamb, CPCU is the Executive Underwriting Officer for Markel Corporation's Product Line team, overseeing wholesale underwriting.  Prior to this position, Jeff held roles at Markel as Managing Director for the Mid South Region and Director of Business Development, and as Chief Underwriting Officer for Investors Underwriting Managers, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Markel Corp.  Markel is an international specialty insurer that ranks as the seventh largest surplus lines writer in the United States.  Jeff has been in the insurance industry for 20 years with experience as a wholesale broker in St. Louis, underwriting manager in Dallas, TX, excess umbrella underwriter in New York City, Lloyds of London Intern, NAPSLO Intern, and Michigan Insurance Bureau Actuarial Intern.

Jeff is a cum laude graduate of Olivet College.  Jeff is a CPCU and received his MBA from the College of Insurance (now St. John’s University School of Risk Management).  Jeff is Vice President of the Executive Committee of Gamma Iota Sigma Grand Chapter, International Insurance, Risk Management and Actuarial Science Fraternity.  Also, he is a member of the NAPSLO Internship Committee.

Immediate Past President – Alan F. Hoffmann

President, Hoffmann & Associates Insurance Services, Inc.

Alan graduated from The Ohio State University in 1986 in Business Administration where he majored in Insurance and Risk Management. Alan is currently the President and owner of Hoffmann & Associates Insurance Services, Inc., an Independent Insurance Agency. Hoffmann & Associates Insurance Services specializes in property and casualty and health insurance protection for businesses and individuals. Alan started the agency in May of 2004 after selling his interest in DHA Insurance Agency which he had been with since 1990. He is an alumnus of the Alpha Chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma and has acted as an Alumni Advisor of the Alpha Chapter. Alan has served on the Executive Committee since 1990 and served as International President from 1998 to April 2011.

Executive Vice President - Alan C. Williams, Ph.D., CPCU, CLU

Dr. Williams is retired from the College of Business at The Ohio State University, former Executive Director of the Griffith Foundation for Insurance Education, past national President of the Professional Fraternity Association and a past national President of Gamma Iota Sigma.

Immed. Past President – John D. Meder

Managing Director, Wells Fargo Insurance Services

John is a graduate of The Ohio State University where he majored in Insurance and Risk Management and was a member of Gamma Iota Sigma. He has held several positions on the Grand Chapter including the Presidency for two years. His background includes various management positions within the insurance industry. He is currently a Managing Director of the Cleveland and Youngstown offices of Wells Fargo Insurance Services, the fourth largest insurance brokerage firm and the largest bank-affiliated insurance brokerage firm in the United States.   During his career John has effectively directed insurance transactions both nationally and internationally and specializes in representing the insurance needs of real estate, private equity, higher education, and retail companies / institutions. In addition to Wells Fargo Insurance Services, John had also worked as a risk manger for The Galbreath Company, a leading real estate and development firm in the United States.

Secretary – Lance Lancour

Lance is a 2002 graduate of Olivet College and currently works for Oakland Companies in Troy, MI. Lance was a member of Gamma Iota Sigma for three years and held several positions including the Vice President of Public Relations for the Alpha Alpha Chapter. He also served as the International Student Representative to the Executive Committee for the 2001-2002 program year. In addition he was the first recipient of the Alan C. Williams Leadership Award.  Lance's background includes being a Commercial Middle Market Underwriter for The Hartford and a Client Representative for Marsh USA, Inc.

Treasurer - Brian Bowerman

Brian graduated from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Insurance.

In June of 1988, he joined Westfield Companies as a Claims trainee.  Following claims assignments in Columbus, Cleveland, Gaylord, MI and Mentor, Ohio. Brian managed Westfield Claims’ agent draft authority program known as Agency Claims Services.  During this time, Brian also had responsibility for several Claims Training initiatives. 

In 1995, Brian became Asst. Vice President of Training and Development where he was responsible for corporate-wide education and training.  He worked closely with the Westfield Agents' Association in developing The Association Perpetuation Plan (TAPP), a program focusing on agency perpetuation and producer education.  Brian completed his CPCU designation in 1998.

In the summer of 1998, he joined Westfield Services as Vice President of Agency Operations.  In this position Brian oversees teams involved in our wholesale agency operations, service center operations, and agent continuing education.  Brian earned his Certified Structured Settlement Counselor designation in 2001 and participates in the operation of Westfield Services’ structured settlement brokerage.  He serves on the Board of Trustees as Treasurer for Gamma Iota Sigma, a collegiate insurance and risk management fraternity organization, and President of the Ohio Association of Professional and Specialty Lines Offices (OAPSLO).

Brian, his wife Mary, and their three daughters live in Macedonia, Ohio near Cleveland.

Vice President - Christopher Place

Chris is a 1996 graduate of Central Michigan University and a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.  He currently works as a consulting actuary with Towers Watson in Southfield, MI, where he is responsible for managing relationships with large clients (Fortune 1000).  His consulting experience relates primarily to the design, funding, and financial management of employee benefit programs.  Chris serves as the Associate Development Leader for the Michigan Retirement Line of Business of Towers Watson, and he has also participated in the development and review of actuarial science programs at several universities.

While at CMU, Chris was an active member and officer of the Nu Chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma.  He was elected to the Gamma Iota Sigma Board of Trustees in 2002 and joined the Executive Committee in 2004.

Vice President- Cyndi Hornby

Cyndi Hornby is the coordinator and a professor in the Business – Insurance program at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, Canada.  Cyndi is a Chartered Insurance Professional (CIP) from the Insurance Institute of Canada, holds the Canadian Risk Manager (CRM) designation from RIMS, is a graduate of the Insurance program at Fanshawe College and was a registered insurance broker for many years before leaving the industry to pursue teaching full time.  Cyndi also teaches for the Insurance Institute of Canada in their CIP program and is a director for the Southwestern Ontario Chapter of the Insurance Institute of Ontario.

Alumni Representative - Josh Hart

Industry Representative - John Hammond, CPCU

Regional President, Chartis - Great Lakes Region

Mr. Hammond has been with Chartis for sixteen years and is currently the Regional President for the Great Lakes Region.  In that capacity, he oversees Chartis’ operations for the states of Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and West Virginia.  Prior to moving to Cleveland to assume his current role, Mr. Hammond was the Branch Manager for the Chartis St. Louis office. Before assuming the role in St. Louis, he was in the Chicago office and held positions as an Assistant Vice President and Central U.S. Manager for the Financial Institutions Group as well as Regional Underwriting Manager for Chartis’ Specialty Workers’ Compensation Division. He is on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Greater Cleveland and Gamma Iota Sigma. Mr. Hammond is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University and has a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He is also a recent graduate of Leadership Cleveland.

Faculty Representative - R.B. Drennan, Ph.D.

Dr. Drennan is Associate Professor and Department Chairperson of the Risk, Insurance and Healthcare Management Department in the Fox School of Business and Management at Temple University and Program Director for the Risk Management and Insurance Program. Dr. Drennan received his BS degree in economics and mathematics from Southern Methodist University and AM and Ph.D. degrees in insurance and risk management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He conducts research on health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and has published in the Journal of Insurance Regulation, Benefits Quarterly and The Journal of Insurance Issues. He has done consulting work for the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the American Society of Health Care Risk Management (ASHRM). He has conducted numerous executive training sessions for the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) Program and most recently CIGNA. Dr. Drennan has received three teaching awards and one award for Outstanding Faculty Service while at Temple. His teaching interests include employee benefits and risk management. Dr. Drennan has served as faculty advisor for Sigma since 1991 and has been on the faculty at Temple since 1988.

Student Representative- Aaron Augustyniak

Aaron is a senior from Naperville, Illinois majoring in Insurance and Finance at Illinois State University. This past summer Aaron was part of two different internships both domestic and internationally.  The first internship was one of the Katie School International Internships to London, England where he had incredible time and learned a great deal about Lloyd’s and the London market. Aaron encourages anyone interested in insurance to pursue an international internship through the Katie School, as it was one of the best and most valuable experiences of his life.  After he got back, Aaron worked as an intern for COUNTRY Financial here in Bloomington, IL. There he met numerous people and learned a great deal about the life and health market domestically.  Aside from being very active with Gamma, Aaron is also on the Illinois State Club Baseball where he served as vice president last year. Aaron also enjoys, traveling around to other schools, hanging out with friends and road cycling.  Aaron loves being involved and is very thankful to be a part of Gamma.  If you ask him, he would highly recommend anyone involved with insurance to join Gamma Iota Sigma.

Executive Director - Noelle Codispoti

Noelle Codispoti joined Gamma Iota Sigma as its first employee in January 2011. She previously spent six years with ACE USA in both their New York City and Philadelphia offices. Most recently, she served as Underwriting Manager, ACE Professional Risk, with responsibility for managing the General Partners’ Liability underwriting unit. Noelle received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Temple University in 2005 with a dual major in Actuarial Science and Risk Management. She held various officer positions within the Sigma Chapter starting in her freshman year, including serving as President from the Fall 2003 until the Spring 2005.  Additionally, Noelle served on the Executive Committee of the Grand Chapter as the International Student Representative during the 2004-2005 academic year.  Noelle has been recognized for her leadership with Gamma Iota Sigma as a student through the receipt of the Warren L. Weeks Award in 2004 and the Alan C. William Leadership Award in 2005.   She holds the Associate in Risk Management designation from the Insurance Institute of America.  Noelle has been a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of GIS since 2004, and also serves as a member of the Griffith Foundation Leadership Council and the Risk and Insurance Management Society's Student Advisory Council.