Katharine L. Wade
President
Katharine L. Wade became President of the National Organization of Life & Health Insurance Guaranty Associations (NOLHGA) in August 2023. She is responsible for leading NOLHGA to fulfill its mission to support state guaranty associations in protecting policyholders in multi-state insolvencies and promoting the values and interests of the guaranty association system.
Wade is an insurance executive with more than 30 years of experience in insurance operations, compliance, public policy, and regulation. In her more than twenty-year career with Cigna, a Fortune 100 global insurer, she oversaw federal and state government affairs, public policy, and compliance for the health and group life and disability businesses.
After Cigna, she served nearly four years as Connecticut’s 32nd Insurance Commissioner, responsible for consumer protection and the regulation of an industry that generated $170 billion in written direct premium in one of the nation’s top insurance markets. As Commissioner, she chaired the Health and Managed Care (B) and International Insurance Relations (G) Committees and served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). She represented the state insurance regulatory system in testimony before Congress. In addition, she served as a member of the Executive and Policy Development Committees of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and on the US Treasury Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance.
Prior to joining NOLHGA, as a Principal at Dunraven Strategies, Wade worked with large global insurers and start-ups to navigate regulatory complexity and understand how insurance markets work. Her work included launching companies and products, managing the risk of various regulatory issues, and providing strategic counsel on emerging business or regulatory issues.
Michael D. Heard
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Mike Heard is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NOLHGA. He supervises NOLHGA resources deployed to assist state guaranty associations in managing insolvencies, develops and implements the organization’s strategic initiatives, and oversees NOLHGA’s communications efforts. In addition, he is responsible for the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal operations of NOLHGA.
Heard, who joined NOLHGA in September 2021, has over 25 years of life and health insurance experience, with particular expertise in long-term care (LTC) and other health products. He worked as a senior officer with GE Financial/Genworth and, more recently, with CNO Financial Group, a domestic life insurance company based in Carmel, Indiana, with estimated revenue of $3.8 billion as of 2019.
Heard joined GE Financial in 1997 as a manager of service quality. From 2001–2005, he led their group life and health operations, and from 2005–2012, he led the newly formed Genworth Financial company’s claims operations, including life, annuity, health, and LTC products. There his organization developed many LTC claims handling innovations to better serve customers, comply with regulatory requirements, and reduce fraud.
In 2013, Heard joined CNO Financial Group in Carmel, Indiana, as Senior Vice President, where he was responsible for insurance operations for more than 3 million customers and over $2 billion in benefits transactions annually. The operations included the support of life insurance, annuities, LTC, and supplemental health products for CNO’s three companies—Bankers Life, Washington National Insurance Company, and Colonial Penn.
Heard was appointed President of Washington National in March 2017. As a leading provider of supplemental health and life insurance, Washington National serves nearly 1 million policyholders and 25,000 employer groups through 2,000 independent agents. In 2020, he was appointed President of the Worksite Division of CNO, and he led the division through two acquisitions and the global pandemic.
Heard attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering. He also served in the U.S. Air Force, including a tour at the Pentagon.
William P. O'Sullivan
Senior Vice President & General Counsel
William O'Sullivan serves as chief legal officer for NOLHGA and manages NOLHGA's Legal Department. As Senior Vice President and General Counsel, he is responsible for advising NOLHGA's Board of Directors, senior management, Members' Participation Council, and individual guaranty associations on legal issues and policy matters germane to the operations of the organization. He also serves as the staff contact for NOLHGA's Legal and Coverage/Claims Committees and as the staff contact/project manager for a number of insolvency task forces, including the Executive Life Insurance Company (California) Task Force.
Mr. O'Sullivan joined NOLHGA in 1995 as Vice President and Counsel and was named to his current position in 1998. Prior to joining NOLHGA, he was employed in the corporate law departments of Prudential Capital, a subsidiary of the Prudential Insurance Company of America, and KTI Energy.
Mr. O'Sullivan received his B.A. in economics from the University of Virginia and his J.D. from Boston College Law School.
Keith Sheridan
Vice President, Accounting & Finance
As NOLHGA’s Vice President of Accounting and Finance. Keith Sheridan is responsible for providing technical support to state guaranty associations, regulators, receivers, and insurance companies regarding insurance insolvencies and disposition activities, with specific emphasis on accounting issues. Additionally, he provides staff oversight and support to internal and external professional resources to ensure effectiveness and efficiencies in insolvency task force activities. Lastly, he supports NOLHGA’s internal accounting and audit, financial management, and external reporting functions.
Sheridan has more than 25 years of insurance accounting and reporting experience. In his last role at Assurant, he led a team of more than 20 professionals in the Shared Services accounting group, which provided technical support to multiple corporate and business areas. He also oversaw the reporting close, analysis process, and reconciliations for insurance, warranty, and services companies. Prior to that, he was the Vice President and Controller for Nationwide Financial in Columbus, Ohio.
After serving in staff and supervisory roles, Sheridan joined ING (Voya) in 1999 as an Accounting Manager. He moved to Richmond, Virginia, in 2003 to join Genworth Financial as the Senior Manager of Statutory Accounting and Reporting. In 2007, he joined Swiss Re in Armonk, New York, as the Senior Controller for Admin Re. He served as the finance officer, managing regulatory reporting and relationship management of Aurora National Life Assurance Company.
Sheridan attended Rutgers University School of Business, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He also received his MBA in Finance from Monmouth University. He has two children—a son who currently attends the University of Georgia and daughter who is a junior at The Ohio State University.
Holly L. Wilding
Vice President, Administrative Services
