Leadership Team
Joseph LoCicero
President and CEO
Joseph LoCicero joined The Segal Company in 2005 and was appointed CEO on January 1, 2006. He is also a member of Segal’s Board of Directors. Mr. LoCicero previously served as President, CEO, and Chairman of a major actuarial and human resources consulting firm. He has worked extensively in all of the markets in which Segal provides consulting and actuarial guidance, and he is a recognized expert on multiemployer pension issues.
Mr. LoCicero is a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries, an Enrolled Actuary, and is admitted to the Bar in the states of New Jersey and New York. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Hunter College and his Juris Doctorate from New York Law School. He is a former Board Member of the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), was designated a “Superstar” in the Human Resources field by HRO magazine, and is a recipient of the “Good Neighbor” award from Howard University.
Senior Management Team
David Blumenstein
SVP, National Director, Multiemployer Practice
dblumenstein@segalco.com
Mr. Blumenstein joined The Segal Company’s Washington, DC office in 1988 as a Benefits Consultant, was named a Vice President in 1994, and Senior Vice President in 1997. He served as Office Head for the Washington, DC office of Segal until 1999, when he became National Director of Segal's Multiemployer Practice. Mr. Blumenstein serves on the Company's Board of Directors, and is a member of Segal's senior management team. His responsibilities include oversight of short-and long-term strategy as well as development and coordination of all multiemployer consulting services. In addition, Mr. Blumenstein oversees Segal's Communications and Fiduciary Liability Insurance Practices.
Mr. Blumenstein has served as consultant to numerous multiemployer funds, including health and welfare plans, defined benefit pension plans, and defined contribution pension plans. His current clients include a range of multiemployer plans and international union plans. Mr. Blumenstein is a frequent speaker at benefits conferences and other industry forums. He is a published author on both health care and retirement benefit topics. Prior to joining The Segal Company, Mr. Blumenstein worked for a major insurance company in all areas of employee benefits.
Mr. Blumenstein graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan with a BA in Philosophy.
John Coyle
SVP, Regional Manager - West
jcoyle@segalco.com
Mr. Coyle currently serves as the head of The Segal Company’s West Region, which includes operations in Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. In addition to his role as regional manager, Mr. Coyle serves as a senior health consultant to many clients in Arizona and Colorado.
As one of the senior benefits consultants, Mr. Coyle assists corporations, municipalities, self-funded trusts, and school districts with the design, implementation, and ongoing analysis of complex employee benefits programs. He currently serves as the Public Sector Market Leader for the West Region and serves on Segal’s National Public Sector Leadership Group.
Prior to joining The Segal Company in 1985, Mr. Coyle was Vice President of Human Resources for an Arizona hospital. He is an authority on issues relating to administration of benefits for school districts and public sector employees.
Mr. Coyle has been a frequent speaker both nationally and locally on a number of employee benefit topics including consumerism and consumer-driven healthcare and is frequently quoted in local publications.
Mr. Coyle received a BS in Business Management from Arizona State University.
John DeMairo
Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of Segal Advisors
jdemairo@segaladvisors.com
John DeMairo joined Segal Advisors in 1989 and has over 20 years of investment consulting experience. Mr. DeMairo was appointed national practice leader and chief operating officer of Segal Advisors, Inc., the investment consulting affiliate of The Segal Company, in 1998.
In addition to his management responsibilities, he serves as lead consultant to several major multiemployer, public and corporate plan sponsor clients of Segal Advisors. In his role as investment consultant, he provides expertise in the development of investment strategies, the selection of investment managers and the measurement and evaluation of investment performance. Mr. DeMairo provides consulting services and expertise to defined benefit, defined contribution and other types of investment programs.
Mr. DeMairo is a magna cum laude graduate of St. John's University, where he received a BS in quantitative analysis in 1985 and an MBA in Finance in 1988.
Cathie Eitelberg
SVP, National Public Sector Market Director
ceitelberg@segalco.com
Since joining the Company in 1995, Ms. Eitelberg has been the National Director of the Public Sector Market, where she leads the Company’s team of public sector consultants. She is a member of the Company’s senior management team.
As an expert in public pension design, finance, and administration, Ms. Eitelberg consults with clients to develop and implement strategic solutions to operational, governance, benefit design and funding, and total rewards challenges.
Prior to joining The Segal Company, she was on the staff of the GFOA as the first director and founder of its Pension and Benefits Center, and of the Association’s Pension & Benefits Update. During Ms. Eitelberg’s 14-year tenure at GFOA, she represented public officials and employee retirement systems before Congress and the administration on municipal debt, tax and employee benefits issues. In addition, she managed research and developed tax and employee benefits policy. Ms. Eitelberg was a staff member of the National Conference of State Legislatures in the early 80’s.
She graduated from the University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland) summa cum laude with a B.S. degree in Business Management and continued to study in the Executive Education program at Harvard’s Business School.
John Flynn
SVP, Regional Manager - East
jflynn@segalco.com
Mr. Flynn joined The Segal Company’s Hartford office as a Benefits Consultant in 1989. He was appointed a Vice President in 1993, Head of the Hartford office in 1995, a Senior Vice President in 1998, Head of the Hartford and Boston offices (New England) in 1999, Regional Leader of the East in 2005, and a member of Segal’s Senior Management Team in 2006.
Since joining Segal, he has been extensively involved in providing consulting services in the health, flexible benefits, and retirement areas. Mr. Flynn serves as consultant to a number of public sector entities and collectively bargained health, pension, and annuity funds.
Mr. Flynn received an MA in Economics from Trinity College (Hartford, CT) and received both a BS and an MBA in Insurance and Finance from the University of Hartford. He attended the Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Program and is a Certified Employee Benefit Specialist. Mr. Flynn is also licensed as a Certified Life/Health Insurance Consultant and Broker.
Mr. Flynn is Past President of the Southern New England Chapter of CEBS. He is a member of the New England Employee Benefits Council, the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, and the Government Finance Officers Association.
Daniel Fries
SVP, Sibson National Market Director
dfries@sibson.com
Mr. Fries joined the New York office in 1988 and has held such leadership positions as Vice President, Senior Vice President, Co-Head of the New York office, Chief Operating Officer, Member of the Board, and Member of the Board's Compensation and Audit Committees. He is currently National Market Director.
Mr. Fries has special expertise in qualified and non-qualified plan design, deferred compensation funding strategies, defined benefit and defined contribution retirement and group health and welfare benefits.
Before joining the Company, Mr. Fries worked as a senior benefits consultant for a major insurance company and large global money management organization where he provided technical consulting services for pension, defined contribution and deferred compensation arrangements. Prior to this, he worked as a registered investment advisor for a private investment firm specializing in fixed-income investments for pension plans.
Mr. Fries has lectured on benefits compliance issues, non-qualified plan design, deferred compensation and funding options for several leading benefits and human resource management forums. He has been quoted in several business publications and has taught classes for the American Medical Association and other organizations as part of their credential programs.
John Gingell
SVP, Regional Manager - Midwest
jgingell@segalco.com
Mr. Gingell joined The Segal Company in 1994 as a Healthcare Consultant. He was named a Vice President in 1997 and a Senior Vice President and Principal in 2001. He served as Head of the Cleveland Office from 1998 through 2001 and relocated back to Chicago as Office Head Regional Leader in 2002.
As the Regional Office Leader, he is responsible for overseeing Segal’s Chicago, Cleveland, and Minneapolis offices. In this capacity, he has overall responsibility for the office’s staff and clients. Mr. Gingell is passionate about staff quality and development and encourages a collaborative environment in an effort to improve the quality and depth of our work for our clients. In 2006, he became a member of Segal’s Multiemployer Leadership Group.
Mr. Gingell provides healthcare and pension advice to clients in Illinois, Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, and New York. He specializes in developing strategic, customized solutions to help clients manage their rising health care costs. This undertaking includes reviewing current vendor contracts, plan benefit design, claims history, managed care, and disease management alternatives, while simultaneously minimizing employee dissatisfaction through carefully crafted communications.
Prior to joining The Segal Company, Mr. Gingell had nine years experience in employee benefits with a major insurance carrier, where he managed claim processing, customer service and client relationships in two claim processing centers. Towards the later part of his service, he focused on managing and selling large group healthcare accounts.
Mr. Gingell actively participates in various human resources, benefits and charity associations in the Midwest, serving in various board and committee positions. He is a frequent speaker at benefit conferences and other events on healthcare issues.
Mr. Gingell received a BS in Business Administration at The Citadel (Charleston, South Carolina). He has subsequently taken numerous management, healthcare, and strategy courses at a variety of institutions and has attended the Harvard Business School’s Executive Education Program. He is active in The Executives Club of Chicago and various other HR groups, including past chair of a SHRM Board. He is the President of the Foundation Board at Northeastern Illinois University and Chairman of its Finance Committee. Mr. Gingell is also Treasurer and Board member of the Arts and Business Council in Chicago.
Judith F. Mazo
SVP, Director of Research
jmazo@segalco.com
Ms. Mazo is a Senior Vice President and Director of Research for The Segal Company. She has responsibility for directing research and providing guidance on public policy, legislative and regulatory issues, and other matters of interest to Segal clients.
Before joining The Segal Company, Ms. Mazo was engaged in private law practice in Washington, DC, specializing in ERISA and serving as special counsel to the US Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and as a consultant to the Pension Task Force of the Committee on Education and Labor of the US House of Representatives. She was Senior Attorney for the PBGC and Executive Assistant to their General Counsel from 1975 to 1979.
Ms. Mazo graduated with honors from Yale Law School and Wellesley College (Wellesley, MA) and has been admitted to the Bar in the District of Columbia and the State of Louisiana.
Ms. Mazo is a member of the Pension Research Council of the Wharton School and the Editorial Advisory Boards of the BNA Pension and Benefits Reporter. A past Vice-President of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and member of its Board of Governors, she was a founder and is a Charter Fellow of the College. She frequently speaks and writes on employee benefits matters.
Ms. Mazo is active in the American Bar Association, and she is the former chair of its Joint Committee on Employee Benefits. She served on the Advisory Committee of the PBGC from 2002 to 2005. Before that, she served on the US Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council, and chaired its working groups on cash balance plans and on disclosures regarding health care quality. In May 1998, the National Law Journal listed her as one of the country’s top employee benefits lawyers.
Jonathan Parker
SVP, Regional Manager - New York
jparker@segalco.com
Mr. Parker joined The Segal Company’s Boston office in 1973 as an Administrative Assistant and Actuarial Clerk. In 1977, he transferred to the New York office as an Administrative Consultant. He became a Benefits Consultant in 1978, a Vice President in 1983, and a Senior Vice President in 1990. Mr. Parker became head of the New York office’s Multiemployer Practice in 1995 and a member of Segal’s Board of Directors in 2000. He is a charter member of Segal’s Multiemployer Leadership Group. His years of expertise and industry knowledge are invaluable to multiemployer clients.
Mr. Parker is a 1977 graduate of Yale University with a BA in Psychology.
Practice Leaders
Kathryn Bakich, JD
SVP, National Health Care Compliance Practice Leader
kbakich@segalco.com
Ms. Bakich joined The Segal Company's Washington, DC office as National Director of Healthcare Compliance in 1998. She became a Vice President in 2000 and a Senior Vice President in 2005.
Ms. Bakich has more than 15 years of experience with healthcare compliance. She works with the national staff of the Health and Compliance Practices and is responsible for the dissemination of health compliance information to staff, monitoring federal and state laws and regulations, preparing amendments for health plans and summary plan descriptions based on national models, and collaborating with other health compliance specialists.
Ms. Bakich specializes in research and analysis on federal laws and regulations affecting health coverage such as ERISA, Medicare, managed care regulations, HIPAA, COBRA, the Newborns’ and Mothers’ Health Protection Act, the Mental Health Parity Act, and the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act.
Prior to joining The Segal Company, Ms. Bakich was an attorney in private practice representing multiemployer health plans and an appellate administrative law judge. She graduated in 1979 with a BA in Political Science, in 1982 with an MA in Public Policy, and in 1985 with a JD from the University of Missouri. She has been admitted to the Bar in the District of Columbia, United States Supreme Court, and multiple federal district and appellate courts.
Edward A. Kaplan
SVP, National Health Practice Leader
ekaplan@segalco.com
Mr. Kaplan joined The Segal Company’s National Health Practice as a Managed Care Consultant in 1993 and became National Health Practice Leader in 2001. Mr. Kaplan has worked with managed care programs since 1986, with special emphasis on pricing and plan design strategies for managed medical, dental, and prescription drug programs working with national and local corporations, governments, and collectively-bargained plans. He created the Segal Health Plan Trend Cost Survey in 1996, now a standard in the industry, and built Segal’s national reputation as a leader in prescription drug plan benefit consulting and pharmacy benefits management consulting.
Prior to joining The Segal Company, Mr. Kaplan served as an Associate Manager of Underwriting for a major insurance carrier, where he helped to develop managed care plan designs, pricing techniques, and financial risk sharing arrangements. Mr. Kaplan also served as a Health Consultant for a major consulting firm where he assisted in the development of rate manuals for managed medical, dental, and prescription drug programs and was involved in several special studies related to managed care, including studies on the prescription drug "shoebox" effect, HMO "skimming", and other managed care issues.
Mr. Kaplan received a BA in Economics from Rutgers University. He is often quoted in general business and employee benefit publications on managed care issues. Mr. Kaplan is a member of several pharmacy benefit industry advisory boards.
Nenette Kress
SVP, National Communications Practice Leader
nkress@segalco.com
Ms. Kress is a Senior Vice President and National Leader of Segal’s Communications Practice with national responsibility for benefits, HR, and organizational communications. She has provided consulting on a full spectrum of communications issues and media to such clients as Becton Dickinson, Emdeon, the National Basketball Association, Schlumberger, BellSouth, Loyola University, Southern California UFCW, Northern California UFCW, Realogy, Retail Brand Alliance, and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
Prior to joining The Segal Company, Ms. Kress was a partner and global practice leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers. She has more than 25 years of experience in the creation and management of communications functions and in-house agencies in consulting firms and service and consumer products companies. Her experience in both consulting and corporations has helped her develop a unique, customer-focused approach to communications services and client management.
Stewart D. Lawrence
SVP, National Retirement Practice Leader
slawrence@segalco.com
Mr. Lawrence joined Sibson Consulting’s New York Actuarial Department in 1977. He became a Benefits Consultant in 1978, a Vice President in 1982, and a Senior Vice President in 1985.
Mr. Lawrence was named Manager of the company’s Corporate Consulting Practice for the New York region in 1988. In 2006, he became the National Retirement Practice Leader. Prior to assuming that position, Mr. Lawrence was Director of the company’s Corporate Practice, a member of its Office of the President, and a member of the Board of Directors. He has special expertise in the design of qualified and non-qualified retirement plans. After the passage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 (TRA ‘86), Mr. Lawrence developed executive compensation indemnity (ECI) policies to protect senior executives’ unfunded and unsecured non-qualified benefits.
Mr. Lawrence has a history of maintaining long, mutually rewarding relationships with his clients regardless of proximity. He serves as the Consultant and Principal Account Officer for many of Sibson’s largest clients.
Mr. Lawrence is a 1970 graduate of Queens College with a BA in Mathematics. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries and an Enrolled Actuary. He is a former Chairperson on Financial Executive International’s Committee on Benefits Finance, and former member of the board of directors for the Council on Employee Benefits. Mr. Lawrence has written numerous articles about employee benefits and currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Financial Executive magazine.
Stuart Lerner
SVP, Administration and Technology Consulting Practice Leader
slerner@segalco.com
Mr. Lerner joined The Segal Company in 1997 as a Consultant in the New York office’s Administration and Technology Consulting Practice. He was named a Vice President in 2003 and Senior Vice President in 2007. His expertise includes business process analysis and redesign, organizational and operational redesign, analysis of system functionality, systems implementation management, project budget management and strategic planning.
Mr. Lerner is a key member of Segal’s National HIPAA Compliance Team and plays a vital role in identifying, reviewing, and assessing multiemployer compliance approaches as well as potential compliance solutions offered by transaction software companies and clearinghouses. Prior to joining The Segal Company, Mr. Lerner worked for a large Taft-Hartley pension fund, where he was instrumental in the design and implementation of their new computer system.
Mr. Lerner received a BBA in Finance from Hofstra University and an MBA in Finance from Long Island University.
Serena G. Simons, JD
SVP, National Retirement Compliance Practice Leader
ssimons@segalco.com
Ms. Simons joined The Segal Company's Washington, DC office in March 2009 as a Senior Vice President and National Retirement Compliance Practice Leader. She develops and manages the Company's retirement plan compliance services and works collaboratively with the Director of Research and the National Health Compliance Practice Leader on issues affecting the national compliance practice.
Before joining The Segal Company, Ms. Simons was engaged in the private practice of law in Washington, DC, specializing in issues under the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA. She has more than 20 years experience working with all types of employee benefits and employee benefits plans.
Ms. Simons received her JD, with high honors, from the Duke University School of Law, and received her BA from Duke University. She is currently the Chairman of the Employee Benefits Committee of the DC Bar Section of Taxation, and a member of the Section's Steering Committee. Ms. Simons also has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America for her work in the field of employee benefits.
Brian Smith
SVP, National Fiduciary Liability Insurance Practice Leader
bsmith@segalco.com
Mr. Smith joined The Segal Company’s New York office as National Practice Leader for the Fiduciary Liability Insurance Practice in 2000. He was named a Vice President in 2003 and a Senior Vice President in 2005.
Mr. Smith is active in all aspects of multiemployer fiduciary liability insurance. His work with insurers helps to maintain a competitive market that offers broad coverage at a reasonable premium. His frequent articles and seminar presentations have increased trustees’ and plan administrators’ awareness of the scope and importance of fiduciary coverage.
Prior to joining The Segal Company, Mr. Smith, who has more than 30 years experience in insurance brokerage and underwriting, was a nationally recognized expert in the area of Directors and Officers Insurance with expertise in fiduciary, employment practice, crime insurance, and surety bonds.
Mr. Smith received a BS in Psychology from Mount Saint Mary’s University (Emmitsburg, MD). He also received an MBA in Finance and an Advanced Professional Certificate in Accounting from New York University’s Graduate School of Business. In 2005, Mr. Smith was appointed as a Trustee of Mount Saint Mary’s University.
Elliot Susseles
SVP, Public Sector Compensation and Bargaining Practice Leader
esusseles@segalco.com
Mr. Susseles joined The Segal Company in 1992. He was promoted to Vice President in 1996 and Senior Vice President in 2001. He directs Segal’s Public Sector Compensation and Bargaining Practice and serves on Segal’s Public Sector Leadership Group. Mr. Susseles serves as Client Relationship Manager for major projects, including interfacing with clients, managing staff, and providing direction to the project team in the form of project objectives and goals.
His clients include the US Office of Personnel Management, State of Iowa, State of Maryland, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Denver Public Schools, the Government of the District of Columbia, City of Houston, and Yale University.
Prior to joining The Segal Company, Mr. Susseles served as Associate Director of Labor Relations for the District of Columbia where he was responsible for the District’s labor economics program. He has extensive experience in government finance and human resources, including roles with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority as a labor economist and with the New York City Transit Authority as Chief of the Office of Labor and Cost Analysis. Mr. Susseles served as Assistant Director of Research and Negotiations with a major public employee union.
Mr. Susseles graduated from Hofstra University with a BA in Economics and from New York University with an MA in Economics. He is a member of WorldatWork and the International Personnel Management Association (IPMA).
MaryAnne Watson
VP, Manager of Claims Auditing Division
mwatson@segalco.com
Ms. Watson joined The Segal Company in 1986 as a Group Benefit Analyst and Coordinator of Auditing Services for the Southwest Region. In 1989, she began to work solely in the area of health claims audits. Ms. Watson became National Practice Leader for Segal’s Claims Auditing in 1993 and Vice President in 1997. In her current role, she is responsible for all aspects of Segal’s claims auditing services.
Ms. Watson’s experience as a group benefit analyst and auditor for The Segal Company, combined with her prior experience as a claims examiner, enables her to provide a clear understanding of employee benefits and knowledge of an administrative office’s responsibilities and workflow.
Ms. Watson entered the employee benefits field in 1972 working with insured and self-funded groups on both manual and computerized claims adjudication systems. Her experience includes the supervision of a large claims payment staff and working with major group insurance carriers.
Ms. Watson attended Glendale Community College. She has received the designation of Health Insurance Associate (HIA) and Managed Healthcare Professional (MHP) for completion of the America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) Insurance Education Programs, a certificate of completion from the Insurance Educational Association (IEA) in Workers’ Compensation Claims Administration and completed training as a Forensic Medical Fraud Investigator.