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The Principal^® 10 Best Companies Judging Panel

An independent panel of judges and Mathew Greenwald & Associates, a premier market research company, review the entries to The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security. The 2011 panel is listed below.

About Mathew Greenwald & Associates

Mathew Greenwald & Associates is a premier public opinion and market research company with an expertise in employee benefits. Founded in 1985, Greenwald & Associates has conducted public opinion and customer-oriented research for more than 200 organizations, including many of the nation’s largest companies and foremost associations. Greenwald & Associates is the parent company for National Research, LLC, an executive and consumer telephone interviewing organization. For more information, visit www.greenwaldresearch.com.

About The Principal^® 10 Best Companies Judging Panel—2011

View a biography of each of The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security judges.

Nevin E. Adams

Editor-In-Chief
PLANSPONSOR Magazine, PLANSPONSOR.com, PLANADVISER Magazine

Nevin Adams is editor-in-chief of PLANSPONSOR magazine, its Web counterpart, PLANSPONSOR.com, the nation’s leading authority on pension and retirement issues, as well as PLANADVISER magazine. He is also the creator, writer and publisher of PLANSPONSOR.com’s NewsDash, the industry’s leading daily source for information focused on the critical issues impacting benefits industry professionals – currently read each business day by more than 50,000 readers worldwide.

Adams serves as judge for the prestigious PLANSPONSOR’s Retirement Plan Adviser of the Year program, which he helped create in 2004. He also serves as Dean of the PLANSPONSOR Institute, which he launched in 2005. The Institute oversees the PLANSPONSOR Retirement Professional (PRP) designation, currently held by nearly 350 financial advisers.

Adams joined PLANSPONSOR in 1999 as executive editor, and was promoted to his current position the following year. With more than 30 years experience in the retirement industry, Adams has won several awards and is a frequent and popular speaker at industry and trade conferences. He graduated magna cum laude with a BS in Finance from De Paul University in Chicago, Illinois. In 1988, he received his JD from De Paul University.

Lisa G. Kottler

Senior Vice President
Retirement Services for NFP

Lisa Kottler is Senior Vice President, Retirement Services for NFP, a leading independent financial services distribution company that provides benefits, insurance, and wealth management services to companies and high net worth individuals. Since 2004, Kottler’s primary focus has been to help NFP retirement plan advisors deliver innovative strategies and services to retirement plan sponsors, while helping the advisors enhance the revenue and profitability of their businesses.

An 18-year veteran in the retirement plan industry, Kottler has held sales and marketing positions for several of the nation’s leading retirement plan providers, including CitiStreet, CIGNA, and The 401(k) Company. She holds the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF) designation, NASD Series 24,7,63, and 65 licenses and the Life and Health and Variable Annuities license.

Angelo M. Nardi, CEBS

Executive Vice President
Gallagher Benefits Services, Inc.

Angelo Nardi is an executive vice president of Gallagher Benefits Services, Inc. (GBS), an employee benefit insurance broker and consultant helping employers of all sizes with their employee benefit plan needs. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is the parent company and is one of the largest insurance brokers in the U.S. and the world.

A 40-year veteran of the employee benefit field, Nardi has been with GBS for 28 years. He is currently responsible for managing national carrier relationships as well as managing industry niche efforts for GBS. He also serves on its Executive Committee, which sets strategic direction.

Pamela Peterson, SPHR^®

Director of Human Resources
Davidson Technologies, Inc.

Pamela Peterson is the Director of Human Resources for Davidson Technologies, Inc.  Davidson Technologies is a cutting-edge technology services company providing innovative engineering, technical and management solutions for defense and aerospace customers. Peterson joined Davidson Technologies in January 2007, and was appointed as Board Secretary in April 2007. 

Over 18 years experience in the Human Resources arena has afforded Peterson exceptional knowledge with employee needs and benefits. As a corporate officer, she works with Board of Directors for corporate and Human Resources strategic planning.

Davidson Technologies was named one of The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security – 2010.  In addition Davidson Technologies was a recent recipient of the Small Business of the Year Award and also won The Best Places to Work in Huntsville/Madison County, Alabama.  

Karen Rhodes

Human Resources Director
Red River Credit Union

Karen Rhodes is the human resources director of Red River Credit Union (RRCU). With over 20 years of HR experience, Rhodes has spent the past 13 years creating and maintaining a best-in-class employment environment at RRCU, a recipient of The Principal 10 Best Companies for Employee Financial Security – 2010.

Rhodes also serves on the executive committee for the HR Council of the Texas Credit Union League. She is active in volunteer and community organizations. Rhodes earned her Master’s degree in business and management from Texas A&M University and is a past recipient of the prestigious Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation Scholarship.

Corey Rosen

Senior Staff Member
National Center for Employee Ownership

Corey Rosen is a senior staff member of the National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), a non-profit membership, information, and research organization focusing on all aspects of broad-based employee ownership.

Rosen taught government at Ripon College and served as a Senate legislative aide for five years. During that time, he drafted a number of ESOP laws. He founded the NCEO in 1981 and since then has authored over a dozen books on the topic—including coauthoring the book Equity, published by Harvard Business School Press in the spring of 2005. Rosen also is a member of the Board of Directors of two employee ownership companies. Rosen has a PhD in political science from Cornell University.

Dallas L. Salisbury

Chief Executive Officer
Employee Benefit Research Institute

Dallas Salisbury is the chief executive officer of the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), in Washington, DC. EBRI provides objective, unbiased information regarding the employee benefit system and related economic security issues. Prior to joining EBRI at its founding in 1978, Salisbury held positions with the Washington State Legislature, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC).

Salisbury is a fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources and is the recipient of the Award for Professional Excellence from the Society for Human Resource Management, the Plan Sponsor Lifetime Achievement Award and the Keystone Award of World at Work. He currently serves on the board of directors for the FINRA Investor Education Foundation as well as the board of advisors to the Comptroller General of the United States.

Timothy A. Welsh

Director
McKinsey & Company

Tim Welsh is a director in the Minneapolis office of McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm advising leading companies on issues of strategy, organization, technology and operations. He leads the firm’s Midwest Financial Services practice. Welsh also co-leads the North American Life and Wealth Management Practice.

Since joining McKinsey & Company 18 years ago, Welsh has served clients throughout the financial services industry. In particular, he has served some of the nation’s leading life insurers, property & casualty insurers, and banks on issues of strategy, organization and operations. In addition, Welsh has been a leader in the Minneapolis/St. Paul community; including helping the Minneapolis mayor and city council transform the economic development activities in the city. Welsh holds an M.B.A., with distinction, from Harvard Business School, and a B.A., magna cum laude, in social studies, from Harvard University.

David L. Wray

President
The Profit Sharing/ 401k Council of America

David Wray is President of the Profit Sharing/401k Council of America (PSCA). PSCA is a national, non-profit association of companies that sponsor profit sharing and 401(k) plans for over 5 million employees.

Wray is a nationally recognized speaker, author and authority on 401(k) and other defined-contribution plan issues. He has testified before congressional committees and at Labor Department, Treasury Department, and Internal Revenue Service hearings. He is a member of the John Marshall Law School Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits Advisory Board.

Wray was the 2004 Chair of the Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council and was a member of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Advisory Board. He served as president of the International Association for Financial Participation, a Paris based alliance of national organizations that promote the use of employee financial participation. His book "Take Control with Your 401(k)", originally published in June 2002, was revised and re-released in December 2007.