PRODCAT Leadership
Global Atlantic brings together leaders with deep experience at all levels of our organization – gained both at predecessor companies and throughout the industry.
Allan Levine
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Allan Levine is Co-Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of Global Atlantic. Over nearly two decades, his vision and strategic direction have influenced all phases of Global Atlantic’s progress since its founding as the Goldman Sachs Reinsurance Group (2004), separation from Goldman Sachs as an independent company (2013), and sale as a majority-owned subsidiary of KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR). His leadership has been instrumental in shaping Global Atlantic’s culture and core values, focusing on integrity, teamwork, and the importance of building long-term client relationships. Prior to Global Atlantic, Allan was Co-Head of Firmwide Strategy at Goldman Sachs, where he became a Partner in 1996. Allan serves on the Board of the American Council of Life Insurers, Essent Group Ltd (NYSE: ESNT), and the Partnership for New York City.
Rob Arena
Co-President and Head of Individual Markets
As Co-President of Global Atlantic, Rob partners with Manu Sareen in supporting Chairman and CEO Allan Levine in operating the business and executing the company’s growth strategy. He also leads the company’s Individual Markets business, and also oversees operations and technology. He has more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, including leadership of The Hartford’s annuity business and President, Hartford Mutual Funds. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President for American Skandia/Prudential Annuities.
Manu Sareen
Co-President and Head of Institutional Markets
As Co-President of Global Atlantic, Manu partners with Rob Arena in supporting Chairman and CEO Allan Levine in operating the business and executing the company’s growth strategy. Manu Sareen is also responsible for Institutional Markets business and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), driving company growth through reinsurance and block acquisitions. During Manu’s time leading the reinsurance effort for Global Atlantic, the company has completed more than $50 billion in reinsurance and M&A deals. Prior to the spinout of Global Atlantic, Manu was a Managing Director in the Goldman Sachs Reinsurance Group.
Anup Agarwal
Chief Investment Officer
Anup oversees Global Atlantic’s Investment Office, which includes corporate credit, structured products, commercial real estate, operating assets, and private equity investments. He has more than 20 years of experience leading investment and research teams. Previously, Anup was Head of Residential, Commercial and Consumer Loans and Securities at Western Asset Management Company (WAMCO).
Padma Elmgart
Chief Technology Officer
Padma brings 20 years of experience leveraging technology across operational, digital and investment initiatives to her role as CTO. She has served as a senior Chief Information Officer at Deutsche Bank Americas and previously held various investment, risk and technology positions with Barclays Capital/Lehman Brothers, JP Morgan Securities and CitiGroup.
Kevin Felix
President, Investments
Kevin is responsible for steering the success of Global Atlantic’s growth-oriented investment goals, managing a dynamic asset allocation process and risk framework for affiliated transactions and overseeing governance of platform investments. Kevin served as the Co-Head of Global Capital Markets and Global Head of Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodities at Scotiabank and the CEO and President of Scotia Capital (USA) Inc. He also served on Global Atlantic’s Board of Directors from 2019 until assuming his current position.
Kim Lee
Chief Financial Officer
Kim joined Global Atlantic as a founding member. As Chief Financial Officer, he is responsible for oversight of the firm’s Accounting, Actuarial, Risk Management, Corporate Development, Tax and Internal Audit departments. Previously, he worked in Goldman Sachs’ Financial Institutions Investment Banking division. Kim graduated from Brown University summa cum laude.
Emily LeMay
Chief Operations Officer
Emily oversees all aspects of Global Atlantic’s Individual Markets operations, customer experience and analytics, enterprise project management office, underwriting, and strategic sourcing. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry to her role as COO. Emily began her career as a call center representative at MetLife before rising through the ranks and holding various leadership roles, including Operations and Customer Experience Strategy for the U.S. and Latin America. Emily joined Global Atlantic in 2017, and most recently has been leading strategy execution and analytics for Individual Markets.
Paula Nelson
Head of Strategic Growth, Individual Markets
Paula joined Global Atlantic from Forethought. Previously, she had served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Transamerica Capital, Inc. and Managing Director for AEGON Financial Services Group, Inc., where she was responsible for business development with AEGON’s top institutional business partners in the United States. The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) named Paula the recipient of 2022 Industry Champion of Retirement Security award in recognition of her extensive work to enhance retirement security in the United States.
Dan O’Shea
Chief Administrative Officer
Dan is responsible for all of Human Resources at Global Atlantic inclusive of talent management and recruiting, compensation, benefits, performance management and all HR needs of the business. Additionally, he has responsibility for business resilience, real estate, corporate services, security, communication, branding and marketing. Prior to joining Global Atlantic, he spent 12 years in Human Resources at The Hartford in roles of increasing scope and responsibility. He earned his undergraduate degree in Psychology at Boston College and a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Connecticut. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Hartford Public Library.
Samuel Ramos
Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel & Secretary
Samuel is General Counsel and Secretary of Global Atlantic Financial Group Limited. He is responsible for Global Atlantic’s Legal, Compliance, Corporate Governance, Regulatory and Government Affairs departments. Prior to Global Atlantic, he worked with numerous businesses in Goldman Sachs’ Securities Division. He also served as law clerk to Judge C. Arlen Beam of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals before joining the New York law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, where he specialized in securities law.
Philip Sherrill
Chief Strategy Officer
Phil is responsible for strategy, mergers and acquisitions, investor relations, capital raising, and other corporate finance areas. Prior to assuming his current role, Phil worked closely on the company’s foundational transactions and its entry into current lines of business. A graduate of Harvard College, Phil worked in Goldman Sachs’ investment banking division before joining Goldman Sachs Reinsurance Group (GSRG), the predecessor to Global Atlantic prior to its separation in April 2013.
Edward Wilson
Chief Risk Officer
Edward is responsible for enterprise-wide risk governance and oversight. Previously, Edward held a variety of roles in more than 26 years at Goldman Sachs, including Global Head of Risk for the Prime Services business, oversight of risk in the Equities Division, and various trading roles in the FX, Equity Derivatives and Interest Rate Products businesses.
Global Atlantic board of directors
Our board of directors is composed of a diverse, experienced, and dedicated group of leaders who are committed to the ongoing success of Global Atlantic.
John Graf has served as a director of Global Atlantic since its acquisition of Forethought Financial Group, Inc. in January 2014. Prior to that, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Forethought from 2006 to 2014. His 35 years of experience in the global financial services industry has included executive leadership positions at AIG, American General, Western National, and Conseco. Mr. Graf serves on the board of Everest Re, in addition to several private company boards, including ALM First in Dallas where he is Chairman, and the board of Memorial Hermann Health System in Houston. He recently served as a member of the global board of directors for QBE Insurance Group in Australia. Mr. Graf holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Illinois.
Craig Lee has served as a director of Global Atlantic since February 2021. Mr. Lee joined KKR in 2018. He is a Partner of KKR and the Head of Insurance and Strategic Finance, leading the firm’s coverage of global insurance clients, development of insurance-focused products and solutions, and strategic activity in insurance, including the firm’s relationship with Global Atlantic. Before joining KKR, he spent more than 14 years in investment banking at Goldman Sachs & Co., and prior to joining Goldman, Mr. Lee was a tax lawyer at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP in New York. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.
Robert Lewin has served as a director of Global Atlantic since February 2023. Mr. Lewin joined KKR in 2004 and is the Chief Financial Officer. Since joining KKR, Mr. Lewin has held a number of positions, including as an investor in private equity, co-leading KKR’s credit and capital markets businesses, serving as Treasurer and Head of Corporate Development and most recently as Head of Human Capital & Strategic Talent. From 2006 through 2010, Mr. Lewin resided in Hong Kong, helping to launch KKR’s Asia business. Mr. Lewin has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Pennsylvania. He currently serves on the board of Answer the Call, a non-profit organization.
Scott Nuttall has served as a Director of Global Atlantic since February 2021. Mr. Nuttall joined KKR in 1996 and is its Co-Chief Executive Officer. Prior to his current position, he served as Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer from 2017 to 2021, and he has been a member of the board of directors since July 2017. Mr. Nuttall has had numerous leadership roles at KKR. He was the architect of the firm’s major strategic development initiatives, including leading KKR’s public listing, developing the firm’s balance sheet strategy, overseeing the development of KKR’s public markets businesses in the credit and hedge fund space as well as the creation of the firm’s capital markets, capital raising and insurance businesses. Mr. Nuttall serves on KKR’s Balance Sheet Committee and the firm’s Global Inclusion and Diversity Council. He has served on the boards of various non-profit institutions with a particular focus on education, most recently as Co-Chairman of Teach for America- New York.
Douglas Pauls has served as a director of Global Atlantic since August 2017. Mr. Pauls has over 30 years of experience in the areas of finance, accounting, internal controls, and financial reporting for public companies, including most recently senior roles with financial institutions. He served as Chief Financial Officer of BankUnited, Inc., a bank holding company, from 2009 until his retirement in 2013. From 2008 until 2009, Mr. Pauls served as Executive Vice President of finance for TD Bank, NA following TD Bank’s acquisition of Commerce Bancorp, Inc. in March 2008. Prior to that, he held several positions with Commerce, including serving as its CFO from 2002 until its acquisition by TD Bank and its chief accounting officer from 1995 to 2002. Earlier in his career, Mr. Pauls was a senior manager in the audit department of Ernst & Young in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is currently a director of BankUnited, Inc. and Essent Group Ltd. Mr. Pauls holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Dickinson College and serves on Dickinson's Board of Trustees.
Catherine Smith has served as a director of Global Atlantic since November 2019. Most recently, Ms. Smith was the commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) from 2011 until early 2019. Prior to joining DECD, Ms. Smith served in several positions at ING, including as CEO of ING U.S. Retirement Services, Chief Operating Officer for ING U.S. and CEO of the U.S. Insurance businesses. She began her career at Aetna, where she held various management positions including Chief Financial Officer for Aetna Financial Services, investment officer, corporate strategy liaison, and head of investor relations. Ms. Smith graduated from Hampshire College and received a Master’s in Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management. Ms. Smith is chair of the Board of Outward Bound USA and a member of the Board of Trustees of Hampshire College.
Richard Spencer has served as a director of Global Atlantic since February 2020 and previously served as a director of Global Atlantic from 2013 to 2017. Mr. Spencer served as Secretary of the Navy from 2017 to 2019. He is former Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), the leading electronic commodity futures exchange. Mr. Spencer also has extensive experience in financial services, working for various financial firms for over 16 years, including Goldman Sachs and DLJ. Mr. Spencer was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps and he graduated from Rollins College with a degree in Economics.
Ryan Stork has served as a director of Global Atlantic since February 2023. Mr. Stork joined KKR in 2022 as Chief Operating Officer. He is responsible for ensuring KKR’s global operations, technology, human capital and enterprise risk resources are coordinated to meet KKR’s investment and client needs. Prior to joining KKR, Mr. Stork held multiple leadership roles at BlackRock for more than twenty years, including Deputy Chief Operating Officer, chairman of Asia Pacific, global head of Aladdin – BlackRock’s investment & risk management technology platform, head of the institutional client business in Continental Europe, and co-head of the financial institutions group. Over his career, he has worked and lived in New York, London, and Hong Kong. He was also a member of BlackRock’s global executive committee and a board member of BlackRock’s foundation. Prior to joining BlackRock, Mr. Stork worked at PennCorp Financial Group – a life insurance holding company, Conning Asset Management, and The Travelers Insurance Companies. He holds a Chartered Financial Analyst designation and received an undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Sigal Zarmi has served as a director of Global Atlantic Financial Group Limited since February 2023. Ms. Zarmi has over 35 years of experience in large scale digital transformation, technology operations, strategic planning, leadership. and talent development. She is currently a senior advisor at the Boston Consulting Group, Inc., a global management consulting firm and a board member at ADT and Hashicorp. Prior to this she served as Morgan Stanley’s International CIO and Global Head of Transformation. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Ms. Zarmi was Vice Chairman - Global and US CIO of PwC. Before that, she was the CIO of GE Capital Americas, where she spent 18 years in various executive technology and operations leadership positions. Ms. Zarmi holds an MBA from Columbia University and a B.S. in Engineering from the Technion—Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel.