Bryan L. Bear is vice president of Finance at Taylor Guitars. He oversees all aspects of accounting operations and tax compliance reporting for the three locations of Taylor Guitars—its headquarters in El Cajon, California; Tecate, Baja California, Mexico; and Amsterdam, Netherlands. Bear is also instrumental in developing and oversight on the financial and operational reporting for Taylor Guitars.

Bear is a member of the Taylor Guitars 401(k) committee.  The Taylor Guitars 401(k) plan was the recipient of PLANSPONSOR’s Plan Sponsor of the Year award in 2019 for the $25MM – $50MM category.

Bear holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from San Diego State University and a master’s degree in business administration from San Diego State University. He became a Certified Public Accountant in 1991.

Kevin T. Hanney, CFA, is Senior Director, Pension Investments, for Raytheon Technologies Corporation (RTX) where he is responsible for oversight of the firm’s non-U.S. defined benefit, U.S.-based defined contribution and other forms of retirement benefit plans.  Kevin holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and previously worked in various roles in the asset management industry, moving into the capacity of plan sponsor in 2000.  He was recognized in 2012 through the inaugural Innovator Awards sponsored by Pensions & Investments magazine and the Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA) for his role in designing the Lifetime Income Strategy, a game-changing retirement savings and guaranteed income program available to participants in the UTC Employee Savings Plan.  Kevin was also recognized by Institutional Investor in 2015 as the winner of their Investor Intelligence Award for Defined Contribution and was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Labor to the Agency’s ERISA Advisory Council for a three-year term covering 2014-2016.  The UTC Savings Plan was recognized in 2017 by PLANSPONSOR Magazine as a Best-In-Class 401(k).  Kevin has been an active professional within the global investment community since 1993. 

Marc Howell, FSA, EA, Vice President – Custom Retirement Solutions, has over 20 years of experience working with sponsors of defined benefit and defined contribution plans. He leads a team of consultants tasked with providing custom design solutions within the defined benefit, defined contribution, and non-qualified markets.

Leveraging Big Data, Marc has led development of multiple proprietary capabilities within Prudential.  These capabilities focus on predicting human behavior to allow for the creation of retirement designs which deliver the best possible outcomes for both employees as well as employers.  He has redesigned retirement programs for numerous plan sponsors across the U.S., ranging from retail, manufacturing, healthcare, utilities, higher education, and professional services organizations. 
Marc’s innovative approach to plan redesign won his clients 1st place in the PSCA Signature Awards, for both 2013 and 2015.  Additionally he has spoken at numerous industry events and been interviewed multiple times on the topics of Big Data analytics, plan design and retirement program ROI.

In 2017, Marc was named a “Top 25 Rising Star in Retirement under 40” by LIMRA.

In 2019, Marc was issued a patent as co-inventor of a predictive modeling capability for retirement plans.

Marc was a Joseph Wharton Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, where he graduated with a B.S. in economics. He is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and an Enrolled Actuary.

Michael Knowling is head of Client Relations and Business Development within Prudential Retirement, a business unit of Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), and a leading provider of defined contribution, defined benefit, nonqualified deferred compensation plan administration, and institutional investment and risk management services. He is responsible for managing the profitability, growth and client satisfaction for Prudential’s current book of business while developing and delivering innovative retirement solutions. His most recent role was vice president, Key Accounts at Prudential Retirement where he led the eastern U.S. client service team responsible for the retention, profitability and satisfaction of more than 500 clients. Prior to that, Knowling served in several sales, service, plan transition and underwriting roles for Prudential Retirement and CIGNA. Knowling serves on the Board of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) and the Board for Global Portfolio Strategies, Inc. He is also the executive sponsor for the Hispanic Heritage Network and a mentor with the Black Leadership Forum at Prudential Retirement. In 2008 and 2020, Knowling was named in Savoy Magazine as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America.” Knowling holds a B.S. degree in Finance and Management from Eastern Connecticut State University. He holds FINRA Series 7, 24, and 63 licenses.

Kelly Mutuc is the Vice President Talent Management for Novaspect, Inc. She has helped Novaspect triple in size since joining the organization in 2008. Before coming to Novaspect, Kelly worked in various sales, management and HR positions in the retail, non-profit, and healthcare industries. Kelly holds a B.S. degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Master’s Degree from DePaul University.

Kelly is a mother of two boys, ages 4 and 6, who take up most of her time. She also enjoys watching and playing sports, and her favorite teams are the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Bears and she cheers on both the Mizzou Tigers and Michigan Wolverines. She also enjoys traveling with her husband and sons whenever possible.

Beth Pattillo has an accomplished background with both defined benefit and defined contribution plans, working with a major utility company and defense contractor, prior to joining Leidos, Inc. in 2015. As the Director for Retirement Programs at Leidos, Beth has oversight for the administration of the retirement plan for over 45,000 participants with assets over $7.3B.  Beth has worked extensively with mergers and acquisition projects, striving to integrate, harmonize and manage multiple retirement programs, including bargained plans.  Beth is a strong proponent for seeking financial solutions that meet the needs of the participants, to and through retirement.  As an active member with the T. Rowe Price Defined Contribution Client Advisory Board, the Council on Employee Benefits, the American Benefits Council, and several forums through consultants, Beth continues to challenge trends and look for opportunities to incorporate within the organization.  Beth holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree from North Carolina State University, and is a Certified Professional in Human Resources (SHRM-CP) through the Society for Human Resource Management, and as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) through the HR Certification Institute.

Elaine Parham is Sr. Manager of People for Southwest Airlines and is responsible for the strategy and implementation of comprehensive Total Rewards for nearly 60,000 Employees.  Southwest Airlines offers two qualified and four non-qualified plans with more than $12 billion in assets.  At Southwest Airlines, the focus is always on its People, making sure they are recognized and rewarded for working hard, serving others and having fun.  This approach to business has provided for an unprecedented run of 45 consecutive years of contributions to the Employees’ Profit Sharing plan. Elaine enjoys the privilege of designing strategies and executing the delivery of a retirement program that meets a broad spectrum of Employee needs.

Hugh Penney is Senior Advisor for Benefits Planning  and responsible for long-term strategy and leadership of the critical areas of retirement, heath care, and university benefits.  He serves as a member of the Retirement Account Plans Fiduciary Committee on Investments, Labor-Management Planning Team, Board of University Health, and HIPAA Privacy & Security Advisory Committees.  His previous position was Senior Director of Compensation & Benefits.

Yale University is an American private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1701, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine Colonial Colleges chartered before the American Revolution.

Yale’s 403(b) Plans have over 15,000 active participants and 12,000 retirees and former employees with assets exceeding $6.5 billion.  Yale’s 403(b) Plans have a hybrid Custom Target Date with a guaranteed accumulation annuity as its primary fixed income investment that includes lifetime income options.  Yale’s Target Date Plus service is the QDIA and combines many of the very best features of Target Date investing, Managed Accounts, and guaranteed Lifetime Income.

Suzanne is responsible for Prudential’s financial wellness outcomes practice. This includes financial wellness competitive intelligence and market insights; analytics; case studies; prospect and client support with financial wellness strategies; thought leadership and industry events. In this capacity she and her team work closely with product, marketing and distribution partners across Prudential’s group insurance and retirement businesses to help drive adoption of financial wellness solutions and demonstrate market differentiation.

Prior to joining Prudential, Suzanne served as Vice President of Family Engagement at Fidelity where she led the retail business’ aging client strategy and family engagement program geared towards supporting lifetime client engagement and family financial wellness. She also led the firm’s holistic life event experience strategy – including solutions bundling and partnerships – and strategic integration with the broader family financial wellness portfolio. Her core responsibilities included primary research, data analysis, translation of key findings into actionable insights, conversion of features into benefits, content and resource development, positioning and practice management.

Previously, Suzanne held roles as AVP, Consumer Insights for Lincoln Financial Group and Marketing Program Leader at Genworth Financial. In both capacities, she helped build out integrated strategies and execution plans; conducted primary research, data analysis and modeling; refined product development, service and partner positioning; authored content and thought leadership; conducted training; and built out practice management programs.

Suzanne holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and communications from Douglass college; a master’s degree in organizational development and leadership from Gonzaga university as well as a certificate in servant leadership; and certificates in gerontology from the University of Southern California. 

Nancy Simutis, SHRM-SCP, is the Vice President of Human Resources for Bohannan Huston.

Over the course of her career, she has served as the director of the Human Resources function at science and engineering firms and provided independent consulting in HR and Management for firms of all sizes and industries across the U.S.

She has a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Miami University and completed her graduate studies in Industrial and Labor Relations at the University of Minnesota. She is a SHRM Learning System© instructor for the Society for Human Resource Management.

Colleen Stratton is a Human Resource Executive with over 30 years of experience.  Colleen is the AVP, Total Rewards at PREMIER Bank and Bankcard.  PREMIER Bankcard has four facilitates and is the 12^th largest provider of Mastercard credit cards in the country. PREMIER Bank has 16 locations and has been ranked as one of the nation’s Best Bank to Work For from 2015-2020 by the American Banker and Best Companies Group.  In her current role she is responsible for the strategic planning, compensation, benefits, wellness and HRIS for the corporation.  Colleen held several HR leaderships positions in manufacturing companies and in banking industry.  Prior to join the HR profession, Colleen was an educator, counselor and coach.
Colleen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dakota Sate University, in Madison SD.  She is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR, SHRM-SPC).  Colleen is an active member of community and State boards. 
Colleen enjoys spending time with her family, gardening and watching sporting events.  She is married with two children, Chantel and Kelsie who have blessed her and her husband with seven grandchildren, five grandsons and two granddaughters ranging in age two to nine.