CUNA Mutual Group

Tom Merfeld, Senior Vice President, is the Chief Risk Officer at CUNA Mutual Group. Merfeld is accountable for assessing, coordinating and managing all risks in the organization. He is also responsible for overseeing the asset liability management program, the Chief Actuary role and CUNA Mutual Group's corporate coverages. Tom is the chair of the Risk Management Committee and a member of the Investment Committee. Tom began his career with CUNA Mutual in 1994 within MEMBERS Capital Advisors as head of asset liability management. Since that time, he has had additional responsibilities in the areas of investment strategy, risk management and investment product development. He led the Credit Union Financial Solutions Group which is responsible for delivering investment and financial services to credit union institutions. Prior to joining CUNA Mutual, Tom was Chief Financial Officer of Savers Life Insurance Company, Kansas City, Missouri; Investment Analyst with Franklin Savings Association, Ottawa, Kansas; Assistant Economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri. Tom was awarded a PhD from Marquette University, an MBA from Rockhurst College and an MA and BBA, from the University of Iowa. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation from the Association of Investment Management and Research. He has also earned the Certified Public Accounting (CPA) designation from the Kansas Board of Accountancy. A frequent speaker at insurance industry asset liability management conferences, he has published in several actuarial journals, including the Journal of Actuarial Practice and Risk and Reward, in recent years.

Susan J. Albrecht is senior vice president of CUNA Mutual Group's International Division. CUNA Mutual is the leading provider of financial services to credit unions and their members worldwide. Albrecht joined CUNA Mutual in January of 2006 and is responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of the company's International Division, including strengthening the company's brand, reputation and value in the international credit union marketplace. She came to CUNA Mutual Group from Arch Insurance Group, Minneapolis, MN, where she was senior vice president-construction and environmental insurance practice. Prior to that, Albrecht was president/CEO of Interstate Insurance Group, Chicago, IL, a $1.2-billion specialty property and casualty subsidiary of Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. Albrecht has also held senior leadership positions with Security Life of America, Minnetonka, MN and The St. Paul Companies, St. Paul, MN. A native of Cudahy, WI, Albrecht attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Marquette University.

Gordon Bacon is the General Manager of CUNA Mutual Group. Gordon joined CUNA Mutual in 1998 as UK Training & Development Manager before becoming General Manager in 1999. Gordon began his career in 1980 as a retail manager in the West End of London, moving on to work in the City for Hill Samuel Financial Services and AEGON Financial Services from 1987 until 1993. Gordon then had five years with BUPA helping them to establish the Direct Sales Force and Critical Illness Cover programme. Gordon is responsible for ensuring that CUNA Mutual Group is the No. 1 provider of financial services to the credit union movement in the UK. An important part of that mission is creating a profitable and sustainable mutual company which can provide and develop the products and services that credit unions need to help them compete, and in turn, best serve their members. Gordon was born in Derbyshire and lived in London for 12 years. In 1993 he moved to Nottinghamshire where he now lives with his wife, Janet, and their two children, Olivia and George. He has a BSc (Hons) degree in Psychology and studied Fine Art and Photography at college in Chesterfield. Gordon has been a credit union member for five years.

Karl Cheese joined CUNA Mutual in 2002 as Financial Controller & Administration Manager before recently being promoted to Deputy General Manager. Karl also has full responsibility for compliance. Karl did his training for the accountancy professional exams with KPMG where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. He then spent four years as a wine importer before moving into the healthcare industry.

Mr. Walls is a Lending Protection Manager for CUNA Mutual Group. He graduated with the 1995 class of Community High School. His philosophy and goal for CISD is to promote the district in a positive manner and provide the best possible opportunities for all students.

As chief operations officer of TruHome Solutions, Keith Varney is responsible for the strategic vision and long-term direction of the mortgage company. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Varney served as vice president of Mortgage Operations at CommunityAmerica Credit Union a $1.5 billion dollar credit union located in Lenexa, Kansas. In late 2004, Mr. Varney was appointed to the role of COO of TruHome Solutions when CommunityAmerica planned and executed the vision of offering mortgage services to other credit unions. Mr. Varney is a 20-year veteran of the mortgage industry. He has held several key executive positions in mortgage companies over the years and has continuously demonstrated his ability to build and grow strong foundations of success. He served his country for 4 years in the Air Force and also attended Marshall University and Central Missouri State University. Associations with regional and national committees include the Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors, American Credit Union Mortgage Association and the CUNA Mutual Group National Advisory Committee. Originating from Ohio, Mr. Varney has lived in the Kansas City area since 1983 and is actively involved with the United Way and Children's Miracle Network.

Mr. Massey joined the Financial Advisory team in November 2002. His financial service background includes being a financial planner for CUNA Mutual Group and AXA Advisors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from SUNY Albany. He has also earned NASD Series 7 and Series 66 licenses which are held with Linsco/Private Ledger, as well as the NYS Life and Health Insurance license.

Tim is the direct marketing account services leader of CUNA Mutual Group. He has over twenty five years experience working in advertising agencies in Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia; all with a strong focus on financial services clients.

Chuck Eikel is recently retired Staff Writer/Editor for the CUNA Mutual Group. After 25 years as a public relations professional with the company, Eikel wrote for Dimensions magazine, its external publication, as well as the company's employee publications. For Dimensions, his regular column was Risk Management, advice for credit unions on loss prevention. He was also a contributing writer/editor for the CUNA Mutual Group's Annual Report. In addition, Eikel continues as a Credit Union Development Educator (DE), graduating with the first DE class in 1982. The DE program includes approximately 350 credit union volunteers worldwide and requires rigorous initial training and on-going education. It also requires participants to make a commitment to initiate development projects and carry the message of credit union philosophy, history and advocacy to communities as well as abroad. He is a recipient of the Horizon Award, the DE Program's highest award for DE activity. His father was Charles F. Eikel, Jr. (Charley), a credit union pioneer and organizer in Louisiana and some 14 other states who later served as President of CUNA Mutual Insurance Society for 17 years until his retirement in 1973. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Eikel holds a Master of Arts degree in history from West Chester College in Pennsylvania.

Located in Brisbane, Bernard is Chairman of Enertrade (electricity and gas), Burrell Stockbroking and the Advisory Committee of the Motor Accident Insurance Commission in Queensland. Bernard was the Chief Executive of Suncorp for ten years and led the transition of SGIO (Queensland) and its subsidiaries to Suncorp in 1986. This repositioning and rebranding was a major accomplishment. In his time as Chief Executive, Suncorp implemented it Allfinanz strategy. Bernard's past directorships also include Bank of Queensland. Bernard is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Brendan lives in Melbourne and is a Director of Early Childhood Management Services Inc. Prior to joining the credit union sector, Brendan held senior positions within the stockbroking, trustee, commodity trading and construction industries. Brendan joined Victorian Teachers Credit Union in 1991 and was appointed General Manager in 1994. After retirement from that role in 2002, Brendan held an interim contract as CEO of Members Australia Credit Union Limited before merging with Education Credit Union. Brendan continues to work with credit unions on a consultancy basis. Formerly the National Vice President and a Director for the Australian Institute of Credit Union Management (AICUM) and president of the Victorian Division for seven years, Brendan holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne, is a Fellow of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants, and Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Previously, Tim served as Vice President and Senior Financial and Operations Officer International, accountable for Finance, Actuarial, Operations, and Marketing functions in International, excluding Canada. He has held a variety of actuarial and financial management positions within International and the Corporate Actuarial department.