W. Hal Shepherd, President & CEO

Mr. Shepherd was born January 21, 1947 and grew up in a small town in western Alabama. He has been married for 34 years and has three children. When not at work, he is active in religious and civic organizations and serves on the board of many charitable organizations. He is an Elder and Trustee at Faith Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Birmingham. Leisure activities include fishing and sailing with his family.

WORK EXPERIENCE
Upon graduating from Phillips High School in Birmingham in 1965 and
Auburn University in 1969, Mr. Shepherd founded The Shepherd Company
as a life insurance agency. Over the years he has built this company into a
diverse internationally recognized employee benefit and human capital/
HR consulting and administrative organization that includes the companies
shown in the firm background section. He is currently President and CEO of
each company.

Projects of interest include his development and administration of a qualified
501(c) 9 Trust for the transportation industry. He was retained by The State
of Alabama Department of Insurance and by the Alabama Department
of Industrial Relations Workers’ Compensation program. Other projects
include the implementation of a non-profit foundation that provides accident
coverage for students and the development of a county-wide employer health
care purchasing alliance. His work with Any Willing Provider legislation lead
to his development of a Provider Pricing Model for health care plans that is
used throughout the industry. He has also provided health policy data to both
Democrats and Republicans, including both the White House and the House
and Senate.

EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND
Mr. Shepherd holds many academic degrees including an undergraduate
degree in Business Administration, Masters Degrees in Financial Management
and Financial Services and a PhD in Business Economics.
During his career he has obtained many industry designations including
Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC),
Registered Employee Benefit Consultant (REBC), Registered Health
Underwriter (RHU) and Registered Representative (NASD). Certified
Employee Benefit Specialist designation (CEBS). He also holds the certified
designation of Total Quality Training and Cycle Time Reduction Analysis
Specialist.

Mr. Shepherd is also a member of the American Arbitration Association,
Inverness Rotary Club, The Alabama Health Care Council, and The Society
of Professional Benefit Administrators and a past member of The Alabama
Insurance Board. He was nominated to serve as the Employers’ Representative
to the National ERISA Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension
Benefit Plans of the Department of Labor. For many years he was a Trustee
of The Insurance Annuities and Relief Fund of the Presbyterian Church of
America located in Atlanta.