Deanna Garen
Senior Vice President
Prudential Financial, Inc.

Deanna Garen is senior vice president of Strategic Planning & Development for Prudential Retirement, a unit of Prudential Financial. In this role, she is responsible for the development and implementation of Prudential Retirement's overall business strategy. Garen also oversees merger and acquisition activities, competitive intelligence, strategic communications, government affairs, and serves as the organization’s business liaison for Corporate affairs.

Prior to joining Prudential, Garen was head of Communications & Education for CIGNA's full-service retirement business, which was acquired by Prudential in April 2004. She was responsible for the development and delivery of education services for retirement plan participants, including web-based solutions. She was also responsible for Studio C, CIGNA’s award-winning, in-house design studio. In prior roles, Garen was responsible for creating informational, enrollment and education materials for retirement plan clients, and also managed the delivery of the organization's compliance advisory services.

Before joining CIGNA, Garen gained experience from the client perspective of benefits planning through various benefit program development and management roles with prominent organizations, including Packard Bell NEC.

Garen is a member of the Worldwide Employee Benefits Network and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. She is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Human Capital magazine, and has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg TV and a variety of other broadcast outlets as an expert source on retirement-planning issues. Garen has also been quoted in publications such as Plan Sponsor Magazine, Pensions & Investments, Defined Contribution News, and IOMA’s Managing Benefit Plans, and is a frequent speaker at retirement industry conferences. She earned a bachelor's of arts degree in organizational communications from California State University, Sacramento and holds a NASD Series 7 license.

Bill Arnone
Employee Financial Services
Ernst & Young

Based in New York, Bill Arnone is responsible for the strategic positioning, design, management and marketing of retirement and financial education and counseling in employer-sponsored programs. He has over 25 years of experience in retirement income policy and planning, as well as in assisting large organizations in the realignment of their defined benefit, defined contribution and hybrid plans with their business imperatives and human resources objectives.

Prior to joining Ernst & Young, he was Principal, Benefit Consultant and National Director of Financial & Retirement Planning Services for Buck Consultants, Inc.

Mr. Arnone joined Buck in 1981 after serving as Director, Senior Security Services, for the New York City Department for the Aging. He also served as Consultant on Employment of Older Workers for the Florence V. Burden Foundation in New York. He previously was Executive Director of Helping Aged Needing Direction in the Bronx.

Mr. Arnone has published numerous articles on retirement, particularly focusing on Social Security and Medicare. He is co-author of Ernst & Young’s Retirement Planning Guide (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001). He is an Associate Editor of The Columbia Retirement Handbook (Columbia University Press, 1994). He has extensive experience in organizational work with the aging, including the New York State Delegations to the 1981 and 1995 White House Conferences on Aging. He was also appointed as a delegate to the 2002 National Summit on Retirement Savings.

Mr. Arnone has served on the Board of Trustees of the Employee Benefit Research Institute. He is also a Founding Member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and served on the Academy's Board of Directors from 1986 to 1994. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Buckley Country Day School, Long Island, New York.

Mr. Arnone graduated from Fordham College with a B.A. in political science in 1970. He received a J.D. from New York University Law School in 1973. Mr. Arnone was selected as one of the first Charles H. Revson Fellows on the Future of New York City by the Columbia University School of Business for 1979-1980.

Rick Cobb
Executive Vice President
Challenger, Gray & Christmas

Rick Cobb is executive vice president of global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Founded in the 1960s, the firm has provided job search counseling to discharged professionals making the transition to reemployment.

Cobb has been with Challenger for 18 years. As executive vice president he oversees all relationship development and transition counseling for North America. He also serves on the senior management team responsible for developing and maintaining the firm’s worldwide business strategy. A dynamic speaker, Cobb is frequently asked to present to business organizations on issues related to employment and workforce development. He is one of the firm’s media spokesperson, alongside CEO John A. Challenger.

Cobb has been active in the Society of Human Resources Professionals and the Chicago chapter of Junior Achievement, serving as a board member for two years. Cobb earned a bachelor’s degree from Drake University, where he studied marketing and speech communications.

Gene D. Cohen, MD, PhD
Author, and Director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities
George Washington University

Gene D. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. is the first Director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at George Washington University (GW), where he also holds the positions of Professor of Health Care Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Within the GW Center, he has just launched a new public education program on aging targeting the young; the program is called SEA Change — an acronym for Societal Education about Aging for Change. Dr. Cohen served as the first Chief of the Center on Aging of the National Institute of Mental Health – the first federal center on mental health and aging established in any country.

Dr. Cohen’s most recent book, The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain, was released by Basic Books in January 2006. His first book on creativity and aging written for the general public, The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life, was published in 2000 by Harper Collins/Avon Books, and was the focus of a one-hour PBS program; the paperback version and Japanese translation were released in 2001. He is also the author of more than 150 publications in the field of aging, including several edited text books and his individually authored book The Brain in Human Aging.

Dr. Cohen has additionally been very active in the dissemination of knowledge about aging on national television and in other major media. He has been on Nightline interviewed by Barbara Walters, the MacNeil/Lehrer Show, CBS Nightly News, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, Good Morning America, the CBS Early Show, and in a series of public service messages with George Burns (the latter was awarded a public service gold medal media award).

Dr. Cohen is a graduate of Harvard College (with Honors) and the Georgetown University School of Medicine and has a doctorate in Gerontology from The Union Institute. He is the recipient of the Public Health Service (PHS) Distinguished Service Medal (the highest honor of the PHS).

Jon Coppelman
Vice President
Lynch Ryan and Workers Comp Insider

Jon is Senior Vice President at Lynch Ryan & Associates, a management consulting firm specializing in risk and human resource management for insurers and employers. Since 1990 he has trained over 4,000 employers across the country, ranging from The Fortune 500 to Main Street businesses, in the fundamentals of workers’ compensation and disability management. Known for his user-friendly materials and for his highly entertaining presentations, he has educated and motivated companies of all sizes to take control of complex risk issues. He is a featured writer for the Workers Comp Insider, the nation’s first corporate webblog dedicated to risk management issues.

Jon’s consulting clients have included insurance companies (The Travelers, Harleysville Insurance Company, Hanover Insurance, The Renaissance Insurance Group, PennNational Insurance) and a wide variety of organizations (Humana Hospitals, Crozer-Keystone Hospitals, Godiva Chocolates, Huffy Service First, the Georgia Fast Food Association). He has provided expert testimony to improve workers’ comp legislation in several states.

David D. Corbett
CEO/Director
New Directions Inc.

David D. Corbett is a nationally recognized authority on creating meaningful alternatives to retirement-- in particular, how individuals and society must come to grips with the 20- to 25-year bonus of active, healthy years that may be in their futures.

Corbett is the founder of New Directions, Inc., which helps executives and professionals (and often their adult children) develop new career and post-career opportunities that also help them achieve their life goals. In the mid 1990’s, he launched the Life Portfolio Program™ to help individuals step away from grueling full-time schedules and move on to more balanced and flexible portfolios that include part-time work, continued learning, more leisure and family time, and giving back.

Corbett also created the Foundation for New Directions, where client volunteers mentor low-income individuals seeking new jobs or self-employment.

Corbett speaks widely–often stressing that careers and financial assets are only part of a larger search for purpose and legacy. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Fortune, CFO Magazine, Kiplinger’s and other major business publications. Corbett has also addressed business and service associations around the nation, as well as the alumni of leading graduate schools including Stanford, Kellogg, Harvard, Tuck, Wharton, Fuqua, Michigan and Yale.

Educated at Northwestern University (B.A.) and New York University (M.B.A.), he worked for Johnson & Johnson in marketing. He then spent 12 years in executive recruiting, most recently at Korn/Ferry International, before starting New Directions in 1986.

He is an adviser to the MIT AgeLab, a trustee of the U.S.S. Constitution Museum and Andover-Newton Theological School, and a former member of the national board of A Better Chance (ABC). He also served as an officer in the U.S. Navy.

Corbett’s new book, Portfolio Life – New Paths to Work, Purpose and Passion Over 50— is being released in October by John Wiley & Sons (Jossey Bass). It is his challenge to potential “retirees” to respond creatively to this new bonus of time and opportunity, and to discard forever the dreaded word retirement.

Scott Sleyster
Executive Vice President, Full Service Retirement
Prudential Financial, Inc.

Scott Sleyster is executive vice president for Prudential Retirement's Established Markets business. In this role, he is responsible for the operating and financial performance of Prudential’s Full Service Retirement and Institutional Investment Products businesses. The Full Service Retirement business provides defined contribution, defined benefit, non-qualified and total retirement solutions capabilities to corporate, multi-employer, public and non-profit clients and their plan participants. The Institutional Investment Products business includes funding agreements, guaranteed investment contracts, retail notes, single sum annuities, structured settlements and other guaranteed products. Collectively, these businesses represent over $125 billion in assets under administration, serve over 3,000 clients and provide benefits to over 3,000,000 plan participants.

Since joining Prudential, Sleyster has served in a variety of leadership positions. Most recently he led the Full-Service Retirement business and was responsible for the distribution, product development and client service aspects of the business as well as its overall financial performance. Prior to that, he was President of Prudential’s Guaranteed Products business. Earlier in his career he served as chief financial officer for Prudential’s Employee Benefits Division in addition other roles in treasury, derivative and investment management units. Before joining Prudential, Sleyster was a trust investment officer at Commerce Bankshares in Clayton, Missouri.

Under his direction, Prudential has supported legislative efforts to promote the formation of new retirement plans, expand coverage under existing plans and increase overall levels of retirement savings. He was appointed by President Bush and Congress as a delegate to the National Summits on Retirement Savings in both 2002 and 2006. In 2005, he was named a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging. In 2003, he presented testimony to the Congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce at a public hearing on The Pension Security Act: New Pension Protections to Safeguard the Retirement Savings of American Workers.

Sleyster is a member of the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s Board of Trustees and the Corporate Executive Board’s Retirement Services Roundtable. He is a member of The New York Society of Security Analysts, Inc. (NYSSA), the Association for Investment Management and Research, and he serves on the Board of both the Society of Professional Administrators and Record Keepers and the Metro-Hartford Alliance. He has an MBA from Northwestern University and earned finance degree, with distinction, from the University of Missouri. He also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and NASD Series 7 and 24 designations.

Charles H. Klippel
Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel
Aetna

Charles H. Klippel, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel _ Health, joined Aetna’s Law Department in 1981. After a brief assignment as an investment attorney, he became the department’s first full-time health lawyer. In that capacity, he supported Aetna’s entry into the HMO market in 1982, the formation of the company’s first PPOs a few years later and the development in 1986 of PARTNERS National Health Plans, the company’s joint venture with Voluntary Hospitals of America.

In 1988, Mr. Klippel joined the international law group within the Law Department, supporting the company’s life insurance operations in Europe, Canada and Australia, as well as its entry into Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and other Asia markets. During this period, he also served as Chief Counsel for Aetna’s global investment management network based in London and Hong Kong.

Mr. Klippel returned to health law in 1992, supporting various business activities including network contracting, specialty products, new product development, and mergers and acquisitions. He served as lead counsel to Aetna’s physician practice management business, as well as its early e-health initiatives.

Following the acquisition of U.S. Healthcare in 1996, Mr. Klippel was appointed General Counsel of Aetna’s International Division, where he also served as Chief Compliance Officer. In that capacity, he supported the development and operation of the company’s life, health, pension and investment activities around the world. He served as a director of a number of the company’s international businesses, and was the Chairman and Executive Manager of Aetna’s health operations in New Zealand.

In 2000, Mr. Klippel assumed his current role managing legal support for the company’s health operations.

Mr. Klippel is Adjunct Professor of Health Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is a member of the Leadership Council of the Harvard School of Public Health and President of the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Northern Connecticut.

Christopher Matz
National Director
Group Long-term Care Insurance
Prudential Financial, Inc.

Christopher Matz is responsible for providing leadership and overall direction for the Prudential Group Long-term Care Insurance sales functions. Additionally, he brings product expertise and specialized support to Group Insurance sales personnel across the United States. He has extensive experience in a variety of leadership positions, including sales, marketing, underwriting, and customer service.

Matz brings 15 years of insurance experience to Prudential. Prior to joining Prudential, Matz was responsible for LTC sales for Aetna in the mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions. He also worked in LTC operations at Aetna, including management of Account Management, Claims, and Sales Support. Past leadership positions include roles at The Hartford, HealthNet, Colonial Medical Insurance Company, and Managed Care of America. At Managed Care of America, Matz oversaw their Southeastern operations in Atlanta, Georgia that included underwriting, self-funded health plan claims administration, sales and marketing. As Vice President of Colonial Medical, Matz had complete oversight of the group medical division of Colonial Insurance Group. During his tenure at Colonial Medical, he was instrumental in creating and developing domestic and international PPO arrangements. He was the Director of Client Administration and Contracts at The Hartford. In this capacity Matz had management responsibility for the installation and policy production of group life and disability products in support of the sales operation nationwide.

Matz attended Allegheny College in Meadville, PA.

Joel Rice
Of Counsel
Fisher & Phillips, LLP

Joel Rice is Of Counsel in the Chicago office of Fisher & Phillips LLP. He has handled a wide range of employment-related litigation matters before administrative agencies and in the federal and state courts. Among other matters, Joel has handled the defense of race, age, disability, sex and national origin discrimination claims, as well as state law claims for wrongful discharge, breach of contract, fraud, defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and malicious prosecution. Joel has substantial experience in complex, multi-party employment discrimination and civil rights litigation, including class actions, on behalf of insurance companies and hospitality industry clients. Joel also counsels a wide range of clients concerning the gamut of EEO-related issues and wage and hour questions. He has trial experience at the administrative level, and before state and federal courts. He is a member of the trial bar for the Northern District of Illinois, and has been admitted to practice before several U.S. Courts of Appeals. Joel has given presentations before business groups on topics including the Americans with Disabilities Act and recent developments in sexual harassment law. He has also written several articles for Defense Research Institute publications on a number of employment law-related subjects.

Jack L. VanDerhei
PhD, CEBS, EBRI Fellow
Employee Benefit Research Institute

Jack VanDerhei is a faculty member at Temple University's School of Business and Management (Department of Risk, Insurance, and Healthcare Management) and the Research Director of the EBRI Fellow's Program. He is currently the project director of both the Defined Contribution and Participant Behavior Research Program and the Retirement Security Research Program.

Dr. VanDerhei has more than 100 publications devoted to employee benefits and insurance but his major areas of research include (1) the financial and fiduciary aspects of private defined benefit and defined contribution retirement plans and (2) Social Security reform. Currently his research agenda primarily focuses on analyzing a proprietary longitudinal database of 10 million 401(k) participants from 30,000 plans. This has already resulted in publications with respect to participant contribution behavior, asset allocation, account balances and loan activity. Future publications will explore retirement preparedness and withdrawal activity.

He is the editor of Benefits Quarterly and Search for a National Retirement Income Policy (University of Pennsylvania Press), a co-author of Pension Planning: Pension, Profit-Sharing, and Other Deferred Compensation Plans (Irwin/McGraw-Hill) and a member of the Advisory Board of the Pension Research Council at the Wharton School and the National Academy of Social Insurance.

He received his BBA and MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

James Weil
Consultant, Aging and Retirement

James B. Weil is currently on sabbatical while he reconstructs a 200 year old barn. He is recognized as one of the nation’s foremost authorities on issues of business and aging

From 2001 through May, 2005, Weil was Managing Director of Successful Aging at LifeCare, Inc., a privately owned work-life company. There he was responsible for developing new business practices designed to help organizations address and manage the needs of their aging workforces.

Prior to joining LifeCare, Weil was Vice-President of MetLife, where he held senior positions in marketing and sales, strategic planning, and national accounts. In 1984, he established MetLife’s Long-Term Care Insurance business, and managed its growth from inception through 1996. In 1996, Weil established the MetLife Mature Market Group, a corporate division responsible for orchestrating all issues related to marketing to the fifty-plus population. Upon his retirement from MetLife in 1999, the company had established its position as the nation’s largest group long-term care insurance provider and one of the most frequently quoted business organizations on issues of aging.

In early 2000, Weil co-founded and was named President of Vital Aging, a caregiver information and resource company, formed as a strategic partnership with the National Council on the Aging.

Weil is a Registered Financial Gerontologist. He is Immediate Past Chair the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for Caregiving. He serves on the Leadership Council of the Business Forum on Aging, and the Advisory Council of the Institute for the Future’s “Boomers, the Next 20 Years.” In the recent past, Weil has served on the Boards of Directors of Elderhostel and the American Society on Aging. He was co-founder and first chair of the Business Forum on Aging. He has also served on the Long-Term Care Advisory Boards of the States of Florida, Texas, and New York, and the Employee Benefits Research Institute. He has been an advisor to three aging-related Robert Wood Johnson Committees: Lifecare at home, Adult Day Care, and Supportive Services for Older Persons.

Weil has been a one-to-one volunteer for the Mid-Fairfield (Connecticut) Hospice, and also served as the organization’s Board Chair. His work as a balanced and passionate advocate for successful aging earned him the Humanitarian Award from the National Silver Haired Congress, and the Leadership Award from the American Society on Aging.

Previously, John was Chief Operating Officer of Modex Therapeutiques, a Swiss biotechnology company, and served as Vice President, Development, at CytoTherapeutics where he managed the manufacturing, clinical research, development groups, and managed the business development and licensing function. Additionally, he was Worldwide Sales and Marketing Manager for I-Bus systems, a computer manufacturer in San Diego, CA, and founded Tall Trees Systems - a start-up Silicon Valley firm.

He has served on a wide variety of boards including: Modex Therapeutiques; Chairman, Quonset Davisville Management Corporation; Chairman, Providence Convention and Visitors’ Bureau; Board Member, RI Economic Policy Council; Chairman, Small Business Loan Fund; and Board Member, RI Industrial Facilities Bond Agency.

John was educated at the Boston Latin School, Columbia University, where he received a B.A. in English from Columbia College, and at MIT where he earned a M.S. degree in Management of information technology and strategy from the Sloan School.

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Steven A. Sass
Associate Director for Research
Center for Retirement Research at Boston College

Dr. Sass joined the Center’s staff in January 2002. Previously, he was an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and founding editor of the Bank's quarterly economics magazine, The Regional Review. Sass is the author of The Promise of Private Pensions: The First Hundred Years (Harvard University Press, 1997), The Pragmatic Imagination: A History of the Wharton School 1881-1981 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982), and with Alicia Munnell, Social Security and the Stock Market (Upjohn, 2006). Dr. Sass has taught at Rutgers and Brandeis University and was an Assistant Research Professor at the Wharton School and a Research Associate of the Pension Research Council. He earned his B.A. from the University of Delaware and his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University.

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Brad Lawson is President/CEO of YourEncore, Incorporated. Mr. Lawson co-founded YourEncore in October 2003.

Lawson is known for being an entrepreneurial executive, exhibiting significant experience in building and managing professional services and business consulting organizations.

Lawson has served in senior sales and marketing roles for companies such as Tandem Computers and Sun Microsystems. In 1996, Mr. Lawson co-founded Allegiant Technology Group where he focused the business on customer relationship management. The success he achieved during his time with Allegiant resulted in the Ernst & Young 2000 Entrepreneur of the Year award in the category of Technology and Business Consulting.

In addition to his professional role, Mr. Lawson is a volunteer member of the Multiple Sclerosis Society where he helps to organize a variety of running events – such as “Run for Research” – to assist with the organization’s fundraising goals. An active runner himself, Lawson enjoys participating in a variety of running and racing events and has run several marathons and half-marathons.

Mr. Lawson is a native of Indiana and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Evansville.

Lawson is married to Sandy Swaim of Indiana. They have two grown children and reside in the Indianapolis Metropolitan area.

About YourEncore, Inc.

Your Encore is an expert services provider that recruits and manages an extensive network of scientists, engineers, and product developers, most recently retired, making them available to high profile member companies such as Eli Lilly & Co., Proctor & Gamble, The Boeing Company, and many more.

YourEncore is based in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. For more information, visit www.yourencore.com.

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Robert Sinclair
Director, Accessible Technology Group
Microsoft Corporation

As director of the Accessible Technology Group (ATG) at Microsoft, Robert Sinclair is responsible for the company's worldwide accessibility strategy to develop software and devices that make it easier for people to see, hear and use their computers. Sinclair and his team are responsible for all product planning, engineering, documentation, industry collaboration, government affairs and marketing related to accessible technology at Microsoft. The group provides the expertise Microsoft needs to create technology that is more accessible, and makes Windows an outstanding platform that other companies can use to develop accessible products.

Sinclair is one of the chief architects of Microsoft User Interface (UI) Automation, Microsoft's innovative cross-platform accessibility model. He also has 15 patents pending, most for advances in accessible technology. While Sinclair's team focuses on helping Microsoft and partner companies create technology that empowers individuals with disabilities and other difficulties, the benefits of those solutions are not limited to those who experience physical or cognitive impairments—and neither is his vision for accessible technology.

Sinclair joined Microsoft in 1997 as a developer support engineer in the Premier Support Group, where he provided technical and business support for some of the company's largest customers. In 1998, he transitioned to the Accessible Technology Group as a program manager. Over the next five years, he held a variety of roles in ATG, eventually becoming group manager in charge of development, testing, and program management. A talented nature and wildlife photographer, Sinclair left ATG in 2004 to join Microsoft's digital photography group, a job that allowed him to combine his personal love of photography with his professional passion for technology. A year later, an opportunity arose to return to ATG as director. "Making technology easier for people to use is something I've always been extremely passionate about, ever since I began writing software."

A native of Irving, Texas, Sinclair earned bachelor and master degrees in computer science from New Mexico State University, where he focused on software usability and user-centered design. While still in graduate school, he founded a successful software consulting company that helped businesses synchronize their workflow and technology. Later, he worked in a variety of roles in the software industry, including graphic design, development, testing, documentation, training, and public relations.

Christine Durst
CEO
Staffcentrix LLC

Christine Durst, founder of the Virtual Assistance industry, is co-founder and CEO of Staffcentrix, LLC.

Prior to founding Staffcentrix, Chris was the CEO of one of the Internet's most successful Virtual Assistant practices, with clients drawn from the first wave of businesses in North America, Europe, and Australia migrating to the Web. Her experience also includes independent management consulting in the Boston region, advising such Fortune 100 companies as Data General Corp., Kraft Foods, and 3M.

Chris has consulted extensively on corporate training programs, and has advised and mentored thousands of successful "eEntrepreneurs" internationally. At ease among more conventional corporate leaders, Chris has also negotiated strong relationships with such companies and organizations as Microsoft, Ernst & Young, and the United Nations Development Programme.
Chris co-developed The Portable Career & Virtual Assistant Training Program for Military Spouses™ and The e-Entrepreneur Training Program for Foreign Service Spouses™ for the US armed forces and the US Department of State.

As an international authority on Virtual Outsourcing, Chris has appeared often in the media, including Forbes, Business Week, Inc. Magazine, Fast Company, the Singapore Straits Times, and the London Times.

Chris has been honored for her entrepreneurial leadership by Ernst & Young (nominated for Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2000) and Working Woman Magazine, and is a past honoree of Chase Bank’s select "Working Woman of the Month."

Chris is the company's lead trainer and frequently presents at a wide variety of venues including the Dept. of Defense Spouse Employment Conference, The National Association of Realtors©, Chase Bank, Dept. of Labor Workforce Innovations Conference, The Association of Job Search Trainers Conference, and Small Business Administration Roundtables.

Claudio Giugliemma
CEO
Qualilife SA

Claudio Giugliemma is the founder and CEO of QualiLife Inc. a Swiss company specialized in development and distribution of Award winning software solutions.

With over 20 years of experience in IT developments, in the past 7 years he specialized in Accessibility and Usability. In year 2000 he founded the company QualiLife, with the main goal to provide a new generation of software solutions, able to make fully accessible all technologies to anyone, regardless the age, ability and knowledge.

This new approach to the IT has incredibly increased the use of computers in several areas like at home, at work, in hospitals, retirement homes, etc.

Claudio believes that technology should serve the people, and not the opposite. One way to do it is to design and develop technologies starting from the real needs and abilities of the users.

Claudio was born in the Southern part of Switzerland (Italian speaking part) 40 years ago, and lives now in Lugano.

Ed Vitalos
Associate Partner, Maturing Workforce
IBM Global Business Services

Mr. Vitalos is an Associate Partner in the Human Capital Management Practice of IBM’s Global Business Services (GBS). His expertise is the definition, development and launch of new service and product offerings, a role he has fulfilled at firms including SAP, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG. Mr. Vitalos’ previous focus areas include Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence; Enterprise Portals; Electronic Content/ Document Management and Knowledge Management. Immediately prior to joining IBM, he led the development and roll out of the SAP NetWeaver Partner program. He currently leads the GBS Maturing Workforce Initiative and other Innovation projects within the Human Capital Practice.

Mr. Vitalos was awarded an MBA in Marketing from Babson College where he graduated with High Distinction as well as an AB in Political Science from Muhlenberg College.

Ken Cool, PHD
President
Emeriti Retirement Health Solutions

Kenneth Cool is president of the Emeriti Consortium and served as co-director of the faculty retirement behavior study that led to the development of the Emeriti Program. Previously, he was director of academic planning and program development at Vassar College for many years. He taught foreign languages and literatures early in his career before entering higher education administration. He received the bachelor’s degree from Davidson College and the Ph.D. from Duke University.

George Castineiras
SVP, Retirement Income
Prudential Financial

In his role as SVP of Retirement Income for Prudential Retirement, George Castineiras leads the team charged with exploring new and existing opportunities to develop and distribute a products and services to help individuals produce a stream of income in retirement, not simply draw down on their retirement savings.

Previously, Castineiras was SVP, National Corporate Sales for Prudential Retirement's Full-Service retirement business, and led a national sales team in representing Prudential's comprehensive defined contribution, defined benefit and non-qualified products and services to corporate plan sponsors with up to $2 billion in retirement assets. Prior to that, Castineiras was SVP of Sales, Western Region, for CIGNA Retirement & Investment Services, leading a team that represented CIGNA's retirement solutions to corporate plan sponsors.

Castineiras earned a dual bachelor's degree in business administration and finance & economics from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. He holds a NASD Series 26 license.