Bill joined GBU in August 2018. He has over 30 years of executive leadership and consultative experience, serving in positions such as Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer at major life insurance, annuity, and long-term care insurance carriers, including Penn Treaty, Prudential, Provident Mutual and Covenant Life. Mr. Hunt has also served individuals and families as a financial advisor through his affiliations with Pillar Wealth Advisors, 1847 Financial, and North American Life Plans. He specialized in a broad range of financial planning activities that focused on the growth, protection, and optimal distribution of client wealth.
He began his career with the big eight public accounting firm, Touche Ross, which is now part of Deloitte and Touche. Throughout his career, he has provided useful empowering leadership and mentorship to hundreds of insurance professionals. He has dedicated his career to serving and protecting the financial interests of others.
Bill graduated from St. Joseph University’s Bachelor of Sciences curriculum in Accounting and earned his MBA from Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Mark started at GBU Financial Life as the Chief Financial Officer in September 2021. Mark has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Mark started his career in 1992 at Coopers & Lybrand LLP, which later became PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he audited insurance companies, banks, and employee benefit plans. After working in public accounting for nine years, Mark worked at Cigna for a year before becoming the Controller and later Chief Financial Officer at Penn Treaty, a long-term care insurance company. Mark also was the President of his own accounting consulting company for ten years.
At GBU Financial Life, Mark is responsible for all financial aspects of the company, including external reporting of financial results, investments, business intelligence, internal audit, and enterprise risk management.
Mark graduated from Temple University with a Bachelor of Science curriculum in accounting.
Lesley Mann is the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) at GBU Financial Life. As CMO, Lesley is responsible for developing and implementing GBU Financial Life’s marketing, product, and distribution capabilities. She champions the GBU mission to provide superior portfolio products and services to grow the member base while enhancing their quality of life.
Lesley brings over 25 years of financial services experience with a focus on Insurance & Annuity marketing and distribution. Prior to Joining GBU, Lesley served as the CMO and Head of Distribution for Knighthead Annuity & Life, where she was a founding leader who drove the growth of the company to over $2 Billion in assets under management. Before Knighthead Annuity, Lesley spent 20 years with Prudential Financial in many capacities. Her most recent role was the SVP, Relationship Management for Prudential’s annuity business, where she was responsible for the management, business development, sales, and marketing for the firm’s 300 institutional clients. In that role, she grew sales from just under $10 billion a year to over $21 Billion, becoming the largest distributor of annuities in the industry.
As a senior executive, Lesley’s passion is around growing, developing, and evolving businesses while leveraging the strengths that already exist in the company. She works to understand the culture, the business framework, and people, which has shaped her determination to build high performance and successful organizations. Lesley holds a B.A. In Economics & Political Science from Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA.
Debbie has been with GBU for 39 years. As Senior Vice President of Operations, she leads the I.T., Customer Service, and New Business/Underwriting areas. Debbie has managed the migration of multiple technical platforms and administration software. In addition, she has led the teams that on-boarded company data from GBU’s four fraternal acquisitions. She is the lead on GBU’s Cyber Security Team and is a member of the ERM and Compliance Team. During her time at GBU, Debbie has worked with all operational teams and participated in strategic planning, product development, and finance and analytical projects.
Debbie graduated from the Computer Technology Institute of Pittsburgh and has her Associates in Insurance Regulatory Compliance (AIRC) industry designation.
Lea Ann Hazi has been a member of GBU since 1987 and has served on the GBU Board of Directors for the past 30 years. She is recently retired as Co-owner of Omni Telecommunications in West Palm Beach, FL. Lea Ann attended St. Louis Community College where she focused on computer science. In addition to her tenure on the GBU Board of Directors, she has served on a variety of boards and co-founded a youth ice hockey association.
David Bevins has been attending GBU district meetings since he was an infant and has served on the GBU Board of Directors for three years. He is a practicing attorney at Rhoades McKee PC and attended law school at Wayne State Law School in Detroit, MI. He has served on numerous boards, in addition to his tenure on the GBU Board of Directors.
Joseph Bilecki has been a GBU member since GBU merged with Sokol USA in 2013 and has served on the GBU Board of Directors since 2018. He is currently a lawyer that attended law school at Duquesne University School of Law. He serves as President of GBU District 4000, has served on several boards in the Pittsburgh areas and has given numerous cultural and educational lectures to many Slovak, Polish and Hungarian cultural organizations.
Donna Brophy has been a member of GBU since 1954 and has served as Fraternal Secretary for District 171 for 25+ years. She is currently working with the Travel Department at SMS Group in Pittsburgh. She attended the University of Pittsburgh, CCAC and Bradford Business School. She is a Fraternal Insurance Counselor Fellow and is a member of the Women’s Auxiliary of both the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign War.
Christina MacKellar has been a member of GBU since 1975 and served on the GBU Board of Directors since 2014. She is currently an Executive Sales Underwriter at The Hanover Insurance Group in Howell, MI, and the Fraternal Secretary for District 630. Christina attended Central Michigan University where she majored in Business Management and German.
David Pringle has been a member of GBU since 2007 and a member of the GBU Board of Directors for the past 12 years. He has served as an officer and auditor for District 2000 and acted as an advisor to the GBU Board of Directors from 2007-2010 as a result of the ULS/GBU merger. David was recently appointed Shenango Township Real Estate Tax Collector just prior to his retirement from Kirila Contractors this year. David is a graduate of Youngstown State University. David majored in accounting and minored in economics and marketing.
John Schmotzer has been a member of GBU since 1998 and served on the GBU Board of Directors for the past eight years. He has been involved with District 684 since he became a member and was awarded the Francis B. Madison Fraternal Award. John is the President of Metropolitan Window Company in Pittsburgh, PA, and attended Duquesne University where he majored in education. John has been the member of various organizations including the Baldwin Whitehall School District, where he served on the school board for 11 years and was School Board President for two years.