Kris Seale
President, CEO
Mr. Seale grew up in and around the funeral service profession, his father being a funeral director and funeral home owner for 57 years. Bill Seale, Kris Seale's father, was also one of the founders of FDLIC.
Kris began working at FDLIC as a bookkeeper in 1985, and has served on the Board of Directors since 1986. In 1989, Mr. Seale assumed the duties of President and CEO of the Company.
Mr. Seale is dedicated to building the Company on Christian values, which encompasses serving God and serving one another. He leads by example with his service to others, to client funeral homes, employees, customers, and in generous charitable giving to organizations that are "Helpers of People."
Mr. Seale is a graduate of Baylor University with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and is a member of the Texas Society of CPAs. Mr. Seale enjoys coaching youth sports and spending time with his family.
Pat Baxter
Executive VP, COO
Mrs. Baxter has a passion for service to others, whether they are our employees, agents, funeral directors or customers. As Chief Operations Officer, she oversees our Operations Departments which include New Business, Customer Service, Claims, and Directors Choice. The Operations Departments care for the needs of our customers throughout the life of the contract, from the moment it is sold until the claim is paid.
Mrs. Baxter was FDLIC's one and only Operations employee when she first joined the Company in 1986. Since then, she has seen FDLIC grow to do more business in a day than was previously done in a year.
Mrs. Baxter is a graduate of McMurry University, with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration.
Todd Carlson
Vice President, Sales
Mr. Carlson's primary goal is to work with our managers to become knowledgeable, trusted business advisors to our funeral home clients. Mr. Carlson works closely with the Training and Marketing Departments to help our agents and managers reach their full potential and achieve their goals.
Before joining FDLIC in 2006, Mr. Carlson accumulated 15 years of experience in preneed funeral sales. He is a licensed funeral director and insurance producer (Life, Accident and Health) as well as a Certified Preneed Counselor and a Certified Funeral Service Practitioner.
Mr. Carlson received his Bachelor's degree in Mortuary Science from the University of Minnesota.
Mark France
Executive VP, Chief Actuary
Mr. France began working with FDLIC as a consultant in 1982 and later joined the company as Executive Vice President and Chief Actuary in 1990. He has served on the Board of Directors since 2002.
Mr. France has assisted FDLIC in implementing a successful asset-liability matching system that kept FDLIC's financial position strong throughout the economic downturn of 2008. On a yearly basis, Mr. France calculates the cash flow that will be necessary to pay every claim on FDLIC's books for a thirty-year period, even if, for some reason, another contract is never sold. Mr. France's work has helped FDLIC remain focused on a long-term, conservative investment approach that has allowed the Company to safely navigate the current economic climate.
Mr. France is a graduate of the University of Kansas with a mathematics degree. He became a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries in 1978 and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries in 1979.
Forrest Glass
VP-Chief Pilot
Mr. Glass has wanted to be a pilot since he was five years old, and his position as Chief Pilot for the Company fulfills a lifelong dream. Mr. Glass prides himself in being able to provide safe transportation to our employees and clients. He is also very passionate about doing special projects around the office. For the past year and a half, he has been the Project Manager for the building renovations in the home office.
Mr. Glass joined FDLIC in 1996 and worked his way to his current position over the years. Because of his background in business management and his Finance degree from Hardin-Simmons University, he is able to be an asset in areas beyond the Flight Department.
Terry Groban
Executive VP, CFO
Mrs. Groban is very passionate about helping others to achieve their personal and professional goals. She oversees the Accounting and Finance, Human Resources and Administration Departments. She enjoys helping funeral directors acquire their own business, and she also enjoys helping employees with career advancement.
Mrs. Groban is a Certified Public Accountant and in the 19 years prior to joining FDLIC, she accumulated accounting and finance experience primarily in the banking and trucking industries.
Mrs. Groban graduated from Baylor University with her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. She is a member of the Texas Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs.
Paul Lovelace
Vice President, Corporate Development
Mr. Lovelace strives to pursue excellence and to help others achieve success in being the "Best, Most Respected" in the industry. He provides sales support to the FDLIC sales management team and works to create distribution opportunities for FDLIC's products and services across the U.S.
Mr. Lovelace originally joined the Company in 1997 as Controller and has been working in his current position since 2003. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Lovelace accumulated over 20 years of experience in business, including retail sales, banking and funeral home operations.
After graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelor's degree in Finance, Mr. Lovelace went on to receive his MBA as well.
Dawson Rodriguez
Executive VP, CIO
Mr. Rodriguez is dedicated to ensuring that FDLIC stays on the leading edge of technology, offering the best service and support behind the scenes, as well as the best technology services and products to our agents and funeral home customers. He has guided FDLIC through several major hardware and software transitions and has constructed an all-star IT department.
After starting with the Company in 1992, Mr. Rodriguez became an FDLIC officer in 2001. He is a graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette with a degree in Computer Science.
Jeff Stewart
Vice President, CMO
Mr. Stewart oversees all aspects of our full-service marketing department and takes great pride in our abilities to create and implement successful community-centered marketing programs.
Prior to joining FDLIC in 2001, he was active in the advertising agency and telecommunications fields. Over the years, he has been involved in the development of award-winning marketing campaigns while accumulating over 25 years of sales and marketing experience.
Mr. Stewart is a graduate of Hardin-Simmons University, with a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communications and Marketing.