President & Chief Executive Officer

Knut Olson is President & CEO of National Guardian Life Insurance Company and is a member of the Board of Trustees. Olson joined NGL in 2019 with nearly 30 years of insurance experience, beginning as an insurance agent and advancing to various leadership roles managing life insurance, annuities, investment products and insurance operations.

Executive Vice President & President of BrightBenefits

Danny Bentley joined NGL as Executive Vice President and President of BrightBenefits, NGL’s dental and vision insurance business launched in November 2019. With more than 35 years of experience Bentley is a leader in fostering innovation and driving organizational change.

Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer

Jeremy Ragsdale joined NGL in 2020 and has more than 25 years of leadership expertise encompassing all aspects of a life insurance company, including advance markets, distribution, executive leadership, IT, marketing, new business, operations, product, project and risk. His role brings the Marketing, Strategic Partner Development, Sales and Business Development, Emerging Markets and Product teams together to strengthen and grow our business.

Senior Vice President, Chief Culture and Communications Officer

Jessica Grann joined NGL in 2004 and has led the marketing communications team encompassing strategic planning, creative design, media planning and purchasing, direct marketing, public relations, and sales promotions. She focuses on all aspects of the NGL brand as she advances culture through human resources, talent development and corporate communications.

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Joining NGL in 2020 John Horbal is responsible for leading NGL's finance from an accounting, financial planning and analysis, and corporate development perspective. He is also the CFO of Commercial Travelers Life Insurance Company where NGL launched a dental and vision business "BrightBenefits” and subsequently acquired PrimeCare, LLC. He has 20 years of broad financial management experience.

Senior Vice President, Chief Distribution Officer

Patrick Juarez joined NGL in 2015 with more than 20 years in the insurance industry. He is responsible for managing marketing and sales strategies for NGL’s product lines, including preneed, AssetGuard individual and group products for long term care, Medicare Supplement, limited benefit medical, dental and vision.

Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer

Timothy T. Matson, CFA is responsible for managing NGL’s investment portfolio. Matson has more than 33 years of experience in the investment management industry, with an extensive background in fixed income, equity, alternative assets, and insurance general account investment management.

Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer

Kimberly Shaul, JD has 30 years of legal and insurance experience and joined NGL in 2014. She is responsible for leading and directing all legal matters relating to NGL and its subsidiaries and has provided legal expertise on a variety of insurance regulatory and compliance issues.

Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer

Nancy Stoddard, FSA, MAAA, oversees the information technology and service operations teams. She joined NGL in 2018 with 40 years of experience in the insurance industry in various roles including leading Actuarial, Finance and Operations. Stoddard is focused on driving operational efficiencies and collaborating on strategic initiatives that provided excellent customer service for both internal and external customer needs.

Vice President, Strategic Partner Development

John Baker began his career in the funeral service industry nearly 30 years ago working for a family-owned funeral group. He joined NGL in 2013 and concentrates on developing and managing the Preneed sales department.    

Vice President, Sales and Business Development

Cameron Black focuses on developing and nurturing Preneed partnerships with NGL’s marketing organizations, independent agents and agencies. Black has more than 10 years of experience in the insurance industry managing sales for top funeral homes.

Vice President, Technology

Stacie Govier began her career with NGL in 2014 and has more than 13 years of experience in project and agile delivery. She oversees the strategic delivery and application development teams, as well as NGL’s infrastructure and help desk teams. Her passion is aligning teams to build better customer-centric solutions, while continuously improving how technology is maintained and supported. 

Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer

Marita LaChapell, CPA.PFS, CLTC, CKA has more than 30 years of experience designing and implementing enterprise systems, compensation strategies, and driving organizational change through continuous improvement. She oversees and manages all aspects of the Risk, Audit, Policy Accounting, Reinsurance and Tax departments.

Vice President and Appointed Actuary

Scott Michels joined NGL in 2020 and has 23 years of experience in the financial services industry, primarily as an actuary. He is focused on directing and managing the valuation area of the actuarial financial reporting team. Additionally, he serves as the Appointed Actuary and is responsible for reserve adequacy, asset/liability analysis, valuation, forecasting and other various actuarial related matters.

Vice President, Investment Services

David Puckett joined NGL in 2020 and has 28 years of experience managing insurance company assets. He works closely with NGL's Chief Investment Officer in managing the investment portfolios and external manager relationships, as well as providing support for various NGL strategic initiatives.

Vice President, Policy Administration

Joanna Trygstad, MBA oversees the policy administration services, claims, underwriting, agent support and customer services for NGL’s Preneed line of business. She has nearly 15 years of experience in a variety of areas, including operations, human resources and strategy leadership roles, with a focus on organizational and operational effectiveness initiatives.

Vice President, Chief Risk Officer

Robert Walkowiak, CPA, CFA, CIA, CRM has more than 30 years of experience leading organization sin risk management efforts. He oversees the area of risk and manages an enterprise risk management framework to help facilitate management of NGL’s top risks.