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James Bulkowski is a Senior Manager in the tax practice of Ernst & Young LLP’s Financial Services Organization. He is based in the firm’s Hoboken, NJ office and has over 25 years of experience. He specializes in captive and alternative risk financing techniques, property & casualty insurance reviews, cost reduction, and M&A due diligence. He is also the co-leader of EY’s US Captive Services Team. Prior to joining EY, he held a Senior Vice President position at Aon in their captive services group and was a vice president in the casualty department at Marsh. He holds the CPCU, ARM, ACI, and AIS insurance designations.

Joe Carter sets the strategy for UE’s growth, which includes planning the sales, marketing, and distribution strategies that ensure success. He is also responsible for teams that manage UE’s brand and constituent experience strategy, the Voice of Constituent (VOC) program, digital experience, member support, marketing, and communications. Prior to joining UE, he served in executive and leadership roles at Bank of America, Prudential Property and Casualty, and Allstate Corporation. He currently serves as a board member for the National Business Officers Association headquartered in Washington, D.C., and is an active member of several other education-focused associations.

Kevin Mead is the President of the VCIA, the largest captive insurance trade association in the world. VCIA leads the industry in educational and networking opportunities, as well as legislative advocacy on the state and federal levels. Kevin became President of the VCIA in early 2022 and has a wealth of association management and financial experience that demonstrates his leadership ability. Prior to VCIA, he engineered a merger of three global independent accounting associations and forming PrimeGlobal, which represented 2,000 partners and 14,000 employees in 90+ countries. Holding two master’s degrees related to association management and finance, Kevin plans to build out the captive industry’s flagship conference, increase VCIA membership and membership value, and evolve the organization amid the current pandemic and economic challenges.

Jeff Packard has over 40 years of expertise in the insurance industry, with an emphasis in the marketing and sales of alternative risk transfer products coupled with an expertise in the underwriting arena. Currently, he is an Assistant Vice President for the Captive Division of the PMA Insurance Group, a multi-lines property and casualty carrier with a specialty in workers’ compensation. Since 1990, Jeff has worked in the alternative market area, including serving as Senior Regional Vice President for Mutual Risk Management, a Bermuda-based company that specialized in providing for Fortune 500 companies, captives and rent-a-captive solutions for their insurance needs. He continues to teach, presenting Underwriting and Finance classes for insurance professionals, as well as Teaches at the Fox Business School of Temple University, in Philadelphia, PA. He also does public speaking engagements throughout the Insurance Industry.

For over 17 years, Mikhail has been advising global, multinational and regional Life, Property & Casualty, Health/BCBS, Financial Guarantee and Captive Insurance clients (and Captive Insurance owners). Some of the areas where he has advised clients include all aspects of domestic and global tax accounting and financial reporting (GAAP, IAS and SSAP), Domestic and International tax planning, structuring, and tax financial forecasting and Captive Insurance and alternative risk financing structures. Mikhail is member of EY Global Captive Network and is the Co-Leader of EY Americas Captive Insurance Services, a practice of over 40 professionals in the Americas across tax, consulting, risk, and actuarial service lines that comprise EY's Captive Insurance Services practice. He holds a BBA from Baruch College and an MS from Fordham Gabelli School of Business.