Management Team

From January 1998 to May 2002, Mr. Phillips was the President of InterFirst Capital Corporation of Los Angeles, California, a Securities and Exchange Commission registered securities broker/dealer firm. From 1995 – 1998, Mr. Phillips served as President of Avacelle, Inc., of Dallas, Texas. Mr. Phillips worked for Arco International Oil and Gas Company of Plano, Texas from 1992 to 1995.

Mr. Phillips holds a number of securities licenses, including the Series 4 (Options Principal), Series 7 (General Securities License), Series 24 (General Securities Principal), Series 27 (Financial and Operations Principal), Series 53 (Municipal Securities Principal), Series 55 (Equity Trading Principal), and Series 63 (Blue Sky Securities License).

In addition, he currently serves on the Board of Directors for Life Insurance Council.

Mr. Phillips obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University in Computer Science and Economics. He later obtained a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Chicago – Graduate School of Business, with a concentration in finance.

He also served as an insurance executive for UnitedHealth Group and Aon, demonstrating a keen ability in building quality products and distribution networks, as well as managing people and expenses to achieve corporate objectives. He is experienced in managing various top-rated plans and product lines, including Medicare Supplement, Critical Illness, and Individual Health Insurance products in various distribution channels, such as Marketing General Agents, independent and captive agents, brokers, and call centers.

Prior to LBIG, Brian served as the Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Administration at USHEALTH Group, one of the largest leading health insurance agencies in the country. He successfully grew the company to more than one billion dollars in sales in the first nine years of operations. Earlier in his career, Clark was President, Lead Marketing Group at HealthMarkets, and served as Manager in the media and entertainment group at Arthur Andersen Business Consulting. Clark received his Bachelor of Business Administration and Executive Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

He possesses over 24 years of experience in the life and health insurance industry, working in all aspects of insurance marketing, operations, technology, and strategic development. Mr. Johansson has successfully managed the operations and data conversions of over six insurance company acquisitions and led companies in the areas of product development, implementation, lean process improvement, and change management programs.

Professionally, Mr. Johansson is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute and holds the designations of Insurance Regulatory Compliance Associate, Customer Service Associate, Insurance Agency Administration, and Certified Senior Advisor. He also is a member of the Life Insurance Council operations and technology subcommittees.

Mr. Johansson graduated from Evangel University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing and Management.

Mr. Saldivar joined the organization in 2008 as a Statutory Accounting Manager and assumed the role of Controller in 2013. In July 2023, he was promoted to Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer. Prior to joining the Liberty Bankers Insurance Group team, Mr. Saldivar worked in various accounting and auditing roles in organizations such as Costco Wholesale, Millers Group, Reliant Insurance, Gencloe Group, and Frontend Solutions.

Mr. Saldivar holds a Bachelors in Accounting from Universidad de Monterrey and a Masters of Business Administration from University of Texas at Arlington.

He has also served as Vice President and Board Appointed Actuary of Optimum Re and Vice President of Great American Reserve Insurance Company in charge of its annuity lines of business.

A native of Dallas, Texas, Mr. Vrla has a broad range of experience in the insurance industry. He was Chairman of the Great American Reserve Product Development Committee overseeing the design, development and implementation of its life and annuity products. He served as the Financial Planning Manager for the President of the Southern Region of Unitrin Property & Casualty Insurance Company. Mr. Vrla also has supplemental life and health insurance experience serving in various financial, product line and marketing management positions for the JC Penney Life Insurance family of companies.

Professionally, Mr. Vrla is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, Fellow of the Life Management Institute, and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Mathematical Sciences.

Prior to joining LBIG, Ms. Waters served as the head of compliance at EquiTrust, a top provider of fixed and indexed annuity and life insurance products. She has more than 20 years of experience in the life and health industry, with experience that includes business administration, securities, and compliance.

Ms. Waters is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute and holds the designations of Insurance Regulatory Compliance Associate, Annuity Products Associate, Customer Service Associate, Insurance Agency Administration, and Financial Services. She is also a member of the Association of Insurance Compliance Professionals.

Ms. Waters graduated from Upper Iowa University with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration in Corporate Financial Management.

Prior to joining the team, Mr. Wilson worked at CastleOak Securities and Miller Tabak Roberts Securities in New York in fixed income sales and trading. In 2008, Mr. Wilson was the Managing Director in the Fixed Income Group of the U.S. Asset Management Division at Credit Suisse. During his tenure, he had day-to-day responsibility for the cash and enhanced cash investment desk with $90 billion in assets under management. Prior to Credit Suisse, Mr. Wilson was the Vice President in the Fixed Income Research Group at JP Morgan Chase. Additionally, his prior roles at Chase Manhattan Bank included Co-director of Short-Term Fixed Income Research, Corporate Finance Client Executive, and Controller of the Chase Manhattan Bank of Canada.

Mr. Wilson holds a BA in Economics and Mathematics and an Executive MBA from the University of Toronto. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst.