Jerry Newby, Alfa President and CEO Newby is a native of Athens, Ala., and a graduate
of Athens State University in business administration.
In addition to serving as president and CEO of Alfa Insurance,
Newby has been president of Alabama Farmers Federation
since 1998. He has also served as a vice president and
has been a state board member for both organizations.
Newby is a member of the board of directors of the American
Farm Bureau Federation. He served on the Alabama Board
of Agriculture and Industries from 1990 to 1998, has been
the treasurer of Southeast Cotton Growers and is currently
serving on the Athens State University Foundation board
and the Samford University board of trustees. Newby is
a partner in his family's farming operation, which is
located in Limestone County, and was president of the
Limestone County Farmers Federation for 14 years.
Lee Ellis, Executive Vice President, Operations A Montgomery native, Ellis joined Alfa in 1975 as
an investment officer. Since that time, he has held a
variety of positions with the company, including assistant
vice president, vice president, senior vice president
and chief investment officer, and executive vice president,
Investments. During his tenure, Alfa's assets have grown
from $726 million in 1978 to $4.5 billion in 2007. Ellis
earned a degree in political science from the University
of North Carolina. He serves on the Property Casualty
Insurers Association of America Board and the MidCountry
Financial Board.
Herman Watts, Executive Vice President, Marketing
Watts is a native of Union Springs, Ala. and joined Alfa in 1978 as a District Sales Manager. He earned Alfa’s Top District Manager honors for 15 consecutive years before being promoted to his current position in March 2006. Watts earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in school administration from the University of Montevallo.
Jimmy Azar, Senior Vice President, Risk Management and Audit Services A native of Montgomery, Azar began his career as an
auditor with Alfa's accounting department in February
1958. He has held a variety of positions with the company
since that time, including data processing manager, controller,
vice president of Processing and senior vice president
and CIO. Azar has a degree in accounting from the University
of Alabama.
Thomas Bryant, Senior Vice President, Human Resources Bryant joined Alfa in 2001 with more than 20 years
of leadership in the field of human resources. He formerly
served as vice president of Human Resources with American
General Life & Accident Insurance Company, based in
Nashville, Tenn. Bryant earned his bachelor's degree in
English from Davidson College and his MBA with a concentration
in industrial and personnel management from the University
of Tennessee.
Wyman Cabaniss, Senior Vice President, Underwriting Cabaniss has been a member of the Alfa team for 26
years. Before his current position, he held a variety
of positions with the company, including agent, training
specialist, director of Marketing Administration and vice
president of Property Underwriting. A native of Tuscaloosa,
Ala., he has a bachelor's degree in management and a master's
degree in education administration from the University
of Alabama. He holds the CLU, ChFC, and LUTCF professional
designations.
Ralph Forsythe, Senior
Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
Forsythe, a certified accountant, joined Alfa in 2001
as vice president and assistant chief financial officer.
He was promoted to his current position in 2007. Prior
to joining Alfa, Forsythe was chief financial officer
of the Coriolis Group in Scottsdale, Ariz. He previously
was vice president and chief financial officer of United
Methodist Publishing House in Nashville, Tenn. Forsythe
earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree
in Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State
University.
Carol Golsan, Senior
Vice President, Marketing Services Golsan has more than 20 years of experience with
Alfa and started in 1981 as an information technician.
She has held the positions of life processing supervisor,
conservation specialist, Marketing Administration director
and vice president. Golsan has a bachelor’s degree
in marketing from Auburn University and is a graduate
of Jones Law School. She holds an FLMI designation from
Loma and a LLIF Designation from Limra International
in conjunction with the Whorton School of Business/University
of Pennsylvania.
Buck Hardy, Senior Vice President, Marketing, South Alabama Having joined Alfa 19 years ago as the regional manager
for Marketing in South Alabama, Hardy has since been promoted
to his current position as a senior vice president. Prior
to Alfa, he was employed with Allstate Insurance for 23
years, where he held a variety of positions. A native
of Atlanta, Hardy holds a bachelor's degree in business
administration from Georgia State University.
Jerry Johnson, Senior Vice President, Claims Johnson joined Alfa in 1980 as an agent and has served in various positions during his 26 years with the company, including claims adjuster, subrogation supervisor, special lines claims supervisor, district manager for Georgia and district manager for the Montgomery area. He became North Alabama regional claims manager in 1999 and served as Northern Alabama and Georgia regional claims manager until his promotion to his current position in 2006. Johnson earned his undergraduate degree in education from Troy University and he is also a graduate of Jones School of Law.
John Jung, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer Jung is a 1969 graduate of the University of Wisconsin
at Whitewater with a bachelor's degree in business administration.
Before joining Alfa in 1999, he was with California Casualty
Management Company in San Mateo, Calif., where he was
also chief information officer, and Chubb and Son, Inc.
of Warren, N.J., where he held a variety of positions
and responsibilities involving the development of computer
systems.
Rob Robison, Senior Vice
President, Life and Loan Operations Robison has more than 28 years of experience with
the Alfa companies and was promoted to his current position
in 2007. Prior to his promotion, he served as Alfa’s
vice president of Business Systems and Development.
He has also worked as a programming supervisor and systems
manager during his Alfa career. Robison holds a bachelor’s
degree in business administration from Huntington College.
Stephen Rutledge, Senior Vice President,Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer Rutledge has been a member of the Alfa family for
more than 23 years. Before holding his current position,
he was a securities analyst and portfolio manager with
the company. A graduate of Auburn University, Rutledge
was formerly a senior accountant with Ernst & Young
specializing in the audits of financial institutions.
Al Schellhorn, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development Schellhorn joined Alfa in 1999 as vice president of
Mergers and Acquisitions and was promoted to his current
position in 2006. Before joining Alfa, Schellhorn was
vice president of M&A at Caremark Rx. Prior to his
business career, he served in the U.S. Army as an officer,
commander and attack helicopter pilot. He is a veteran
of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Schellhorn
is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point
and earned his M.B.A. degree from Duke University.
Al Scott, Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel Scott joined Alfa's legal team 15 years ago with a
background in real estate work and insurance defense litigation.
Scott also had prior legal experience as a corporate attorney,
served as the Montgomery City Attorney and as a law clerk
for an Alabama Supreme Court justice. He is a graduate
of Cumberland Law School in Birmingham, Ala., and was
admitted to the Alabama Bar in 1981. His undergraduate
degree is in industrial engineering from Auburn University.
Patrick
Smith, Senior Vice President, Marketing, North Alabama Smith, a native of El Dorado, Ark., graduated from
Louisiana Tech University where he earned his bachelor’s
degree in Marketing. Before joining Alfa in 2008, he was
an associate vice president with Nationwide Mutual Insurance
Co. With Nationwide he also held positions as regional
sales officer, regional sales director and district sales
manager. Smith also worked in management positions with
the Erie Insurance Group and Newcourt Financial.
