Our Leadership

Michael Ferik

Chief Executive Officer

Michael Ferik joined Prosperity Life Group as Chief Executive Officer in October 2025. Prior to joining, Michael was Head of Individual Markets of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America where he was responsible for driving profitable growth across a broad product portfolio, including life and disability insurance, annuities, and wealth management offerings.

Michael has over two decades of insurance industry experience in leadership roles. He previously served as Guardian’s Chief Financial Officer where he directed the financial, risk, actuarial, and internal audit functions. Before joining Guardian in 2009, Michael was Senior Vice President & Head of Life Practices at AXA Equitable. He also held positions at McKinsey and Co. and was an Actuary with Manulife, both in Singapore and in its US Life division.

Michael earned a Bachelor of Science degree (Actuarial Science and Economics) from the University of Toronto. He became a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in 1998.

Rona Guymon

President, Retail Life and Annuity

Rona Guymon joined Prosperity Life Group as President, Retail Life and Annuity in early 2026 and heads all retail distribution, including national accounts and marketing efforts.

Rona previously served as SVP of Annuity Distribution at Nationwide, leading all annuity sales across broker/dealers, banks, IMOs, RIAs, and technology platforms. Before Nationwide, she spent 13 years at Protective Life rising to VP of Business Development. In total, she brings 28+ years of insurance leadership experience. Her comprehensive experience spans marketing, operations, training and sales across mutual funds, annuities, and life insurance.

Rona graduated Valedictorian from her high school in Phoenix, AZ and then went on to graduate Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree of Musical Arts. She also holds Executive Certifications in High Performance Leadership, Business Strategy and Financial Management from Cornell University.

Ben Bassett

Chief Investment Officer

Ben Bassett is the Chief Investment Officer of Prosperity Life Group. Prior to joining in 2025, he served as the Deputy Chief Investment Officer at American Equity Investment Life, where he led a team of investment professionals and provided portfolio oversight for the company’s $50 billion portfolio. Prior to joining AEL, he held roles as a Consultant at Salo LLC and a Senior Research Analyst at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. Earlier in his career, Ben served in a number of investment and finance roles at Ameriprise and American Express Financial Advisors.

Zachary Jones

Chief Financial Officer

Zachary Jones is the CFO of Prosperity Life Group. He joined Prosperity in August 2019. He has over 23 years of insurance, financial, and accounting experience. Previously, Zac was SVP, CFO International Athene Holding Ltd. for Athora Holding (Athene Europe), former SVP, Chief Accounting Officer Athene Holding, and the former CFO ING Annuity Division.

Paul Hance

Chief Actuary & Chief Risk Officer

Paul Hance is the Chief Actuary and Chief Risk Officer for Prosperity. He joined in May 2024 and has more than 19 years of actuarial, risk management, and insurance industry experience. Before joining Prosperity, Paul was most recently the CFO for Pacific Life’s Institutional Division, and previously also led the PRT and Stable Value businesses. Prior to that, he was Chief Actuary for Equitable, and held various senior actuarial and risk roles at Prudential and Transamerica, including leading PRT pricing at Prudential and serving as Chief Actuary for shared services at Transamerica.

Nick Volpe

Chief Technology Officer

Nick Volpe joined Prosperity Life Group as Chief Technology Officer in January 2026.

Previously, Nick had served as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology and Operations Officer at American Equity since August 2022. Prior to these roles, he was Chief Information Officer of Individual Markets and Head of Customer Technology at Guardian Life from 2017 to 2022; Vice President of Distribution Technology Strategy and Operations at Guardian from 2010 to 2017; and was at Equitable for 9 years prior to that, starting as Senior Vice President, then departing as Senior Information Officer in 2010.

Nick received his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance from Boston University.

Dominique Baede

Chief Product Officer

Dominique Baede joined Prosperity Life Group as Chief Product Officer in January 2026, bringing with him 30 years of experience in the life insurance industry. He was previously Head of Life and Annuity at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, where he oversaw product development, product pricing, underwriting, reinsurance and inforce management.

Prior to Guardian, he spent more than 20 years at AXA, starting at its Dutch subsidiary and coming to the US in 1998. There he filled various actuarial roles in the finance area and ended his tenure overseeing AXA Equitable’s life product management.

Dominique has a master’s degree in Econometrics and Actuarial Sciences and is member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Gill Amoray

Chief Operating Officer

Gil Amoray is Chief Operating Officer of Prosperity Life Group. Prior to the COO role, he served as Head of the Integration Management Office leading all integration activities and governance across lines of business and corporate functions. Prior to joining Prosperity in early 2024, Gil held multiple Operations Leadership positions at AIG and Corebridge Financial, most recently as Head of Life & Centralized Operations.

Michel Berger

Head of Strategy & Corporate Development

Michel Berger is the Head of Strategy & Corporate Development of Prosperity Life Group, where he leads M&A, reinsurance, and strategic initiatives across the firm. Prior to joining Prosperity in 2022, he worked for almost a decade at CPP Investments in the Direct Private Equity group. Prior to working at CPPIB, Michel worked in the M&A Investment Banking Group at BMO Capital Markets. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from Concordia University and is a CFA Charterholder.

Ann-Kelley Winn

General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Ann-Kelley Winn is General Counsel of Prosperity Life Insurance Group & its subsidiaries. She joined Prosperity in 2014 as the Deputy General Counsel for Shenandoah Life. Previously, she was General Counsel for a Roanoke-based vision tech start-up and spent over ten years with Covington & Burling in Washington, DC as part of its Commercial Litigation group focused on the insurance sector.

Nancy Whalen

Chief Human Resources Officer

Nancy Whalen joined Prosperity Life Group as Chief Human Resources Officer in 2025, overseeing all aspects of the company’s human capital strategy. Before joining Prosperity, Ms. Whalen served as Deputy Human Resources Officer at Vista Equity Partners. She has also held senior Human Resources roles at Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and AIG.