SafeGuard Guaranty Corporation is a Delaware Corporation, with operational headquarters based in Durham, North Carolina, formed for the sole purpose of developing and marketing the first Marriage Assurance^sm policy in the world. We are currently raising capital to establish our own insurance company to underwrite the insurance policies both in the US and abroad.

To learn more about the impact of divorce on our society click here.

Executive Management

John A. Logan - Founder, CEO and Chairman of SafeGuard Guaranty Corporation, Mr. Logan is an experienced, multi-industry serial entrepreneur and new product developer.  Starting his first venture in 1982 at age 25, he has been a founder, partner or major contributor in four successful startups in the entertainment, publishing, HR software and insurance industries.

One of the first civilian recipients of the "Hammer" award during the Clinton administration, for a joint project between the US government and the Yellow Pages publishing industry, Mr. Logan also spent 11 years with Ameritech and SBC (now part of AT&T) as Senior Director of New Product Development. During that time Mr. Logan also served as Chairman of the Direct Delivery Network, a consortium of all the major Yellow Pages publishers across the United States.

At Ameritech, Mr. Logan was accountable for more than $83 million in revenue and was responsible for consecutive years of record growth in the White Pages division.

At Peopleclick, recruited personally by then CEO, Curt Witte, to direct the development of the now world leading HR software organization's sales infrastructure, Mr. Logan was part of the executive team that led the fledgling startup's revenue growth from $1 million in 1999 to $42 million in recurring revenue in 2001, capturing 52 of the Fortune 100 as clients along the way.

Prior to incorporating SafeGuard Guaranty Corporation, as President of Business Benefits Solutions Network (formerly the Macedoin Consulting Group - an employee benefits/insurance development and research firm and brokerage agency), Mr. Logan spent four years thoroughly researching the insurance industry from the inside out at the executive level.  Working with industry giants like Aflac, Assurant (formerly Fortis), Mutual of Omaha and others, he was able to identify processes and business models that the conglomerate insurance companies use to ensure success of new product offerings.  As one of the top 50 (of 4200) Aflac broker/agents in North Carolina in 2004, Mr. Logan’s innovative ideas on Health Savings Account based products and large account targeting strategies granted him ready access to C-level decision makers at Aflac, and provided him with an insider’s view of the strategic analysis and product development processes at one of the most successful niche market insurance companies.

Mr. Logan is also a Partner at Cash Balance Advisors, an advisor-owned company with a strong network of actuaries, attorneys, CPAs, third-party administrators, and other financial professionals. CBA is a national company, with locations coast to coast, that helps small business owners with high-earning employees, family owned businesses and especially professional practices, develop custom cash balance plans for retirement, which are often used to supplement 401(k) profit-sharing plans and accelerate retirement savings for themselves and their employees.

A published author and accomplished artist as well as an innovative entrepreneur, Mr. Logan focused his creative talent and exacting analytical skills to develop an insurance based product that provides both wealth creation and much needed financial protection for married couples worldwide.

Applying life insurance actuary statistical data to the Marriage Assurance^sm market, Mr. Logan was able to create SafeGuard’s contrarian business model. The same business acumen and online marketing techniques that helped grow Peopleclick from a struggling start-up to a world leader will be applied to SafeGuard’s business strategies.

 

Matthew M. Sutton – Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Sutton has been an innovative and successful Systems Engineer for 17 years.  Mr. Sutton has assisted multiple companies from the startup phase to success including positions as CTO of the Macedoin Consulting Group  and Operations Engineer with world leading HR Software ASP Peopleclick, Inc. in tandem with Mr. Logan.  As former co-owner of Adrenix Computers in Clayton, NC,  Mr. Sutton appeared in the June 7th, 2004 subscription edition of Forbes Magazine in his IT Consultant position for Capital Resource Solutions, LLC.  Mr. Sutton is a graduate of North Carolina Central University.

 

Thomas B. Mayo III – Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Mayo has been in financial services management in the banking and insurance industries for over 30 years.  As President and Co-Founder of Swift Insurance Brokers in Chicago, IL (1998-2009) and CEO/CFO of CMA Holdings, Chicago, IL (1996-1998) a $10 million holding company of a property casualty insurer. Prior to 1996, Mr. Mayo’s experience in various Vice Presidential roles at First Chicago NBD/First National Bank of Chicago (1979-1996 - acquired by JPMorgan Chase) included an international stint in Paris, France and have demonstrated his unique capability for entrepreneurial thinking within the highly regulated financial services industry. Mr. Mayo received an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Chicago, IL and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.

 

Kenneth M. Fries – Executive Vice President of Distribution & Strategic Alliances, Mr. Fries has a solid track record of exceptional performance in the insurance industry dating back to 1983. As Assistant Vice President, Office of Project Management & Efficiencies, Annuity Division for MassMutual Financial Group in Hartford, CT, and various positions within The Hartford Financial Services Group, Hartford, CT including Vice President, Agency Strategy, eBusiness & Technology and Assistant Vice President, Client Consultative Services, eBusiness & Technology, Mr. Fries’ extensive carrier and agency experience in the insurance and financial services industry has demonstrated success in creating distinctive strategies and translating them into sales through a distribution approach combined with technology. Mr. Fries managed his own independent insurance agency from 1990-1997 and began his insurance career with Aetna Life & Casualty, Hartford, CT. Mr. Fries has a Bachelor of Science, Accounting (awarded in 3 years) from the University of Hartford.

 

Sebastian Pistritto – Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Pistritto has 15+ years of multi-channel marketing experience in both digital and non-digital environments. Mr. Pistritto is an experienced Vice President of Marketing for online companies in both B2B and B2C markets. In his most recent role of Vice President of Digital Marketing Strategy for Harte Hanks, Yardley, PA, Mr. Pistritto has a track record and proven experience in interactive agency consulting, building, managing and growing e-commerce web sites for such clients as Mercedes Benz, First Tennessee Bank, Samsung, Countrywide and the USPS. Prior to Harte Hanks, Mr. Pistritto held various C level positions at Exclaim, Inc., IXOS, Ravisent Technologies, Inc., Real Media Inc., and Analytical. Aside from a Bachelor of Science Business Administration, from Wilmington College and being a licensed Life Insurance agent in Pennsylvania, Mr. Pistritto is a recognized speaker, author to several articles and a recipient of the Distinguished Technical Communication Award from the Society for Technical Communication.

 

Nicole Barrett-Vespone – Chief Compliance Officer, Ms. Vespone brings over 20 years experience working in regulated industries and she has been responsible for developing and growing several quality and regulatory departments over her career. Her experience transcends all aspects of product research, design, commercialization, quality assurance and regulatory affairs.  Ms. Vespone is a Process Excellence Black Belt, a licensed life insurance broker and a certified ISO Lead Auditor and has been a key leader in navigating the regulatory landscape.

 

Board of Advisors

John A. Logan (Chairman) – See above.

Kenneth M. Fries (Secretary) – See above.

Chad H. Masland - Mr. Masland has been a financial services top executive for more than 30 years with roles ranging from President of Citicorp International Insurance Company, Ltd., a Citigroup offshore subsidiary, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Development at Citigroup, a Board Member of Citicorp Life and First Citicorp Life Insurance Companies and Vice President of Individual Products at National Life of Vermont.

A Chartered Life Underwriter and Chartered Financial Consultant, Masland has a proven track record of creating new strategic value, notably in new situations and fields with no prior knowledge or exposure, and a record of market penetration strategies that capture new or additional market share.

Masland is currently the President of America’s First State Capital Group, Inc. a Delaware based consulting practice and real estate advisory group focused on client wealth accumulation and asset reallocation in commercial and residential real estate investments, which he manages with his wife and partner, Robin.

Richard M. Hecker - Mr. Hecker has been a serial entrepreneur since age 15 when he started his first business, Review Master, aggregating and selling test notes and reviews for exams & NYS regents. He then went on to found a successful stock analysis website while still a teenager. This led him to merge his site with that of another young entrepreneur and the two partners then developed a multi-million dollar interactive ad agency and email house, ClickZen Worldwide in 2000. In 2003, Mr. Hecker created a separate lead generation division, ZenFinancial, a large call center outsourcing firm specializing in outbound telemarketing of financial services. ZenFinancial was spun off into a separate company that he led for 2 years and then sold in 2005. Since then, he has founded, invested in and/or acquired over a dozen companies.

Mr. Hecker was the Co-Founder and Chairman of InSparq (acquired by Adiant), Co-Founder and Board member of Andover Games and currently invests in other startups via TractionAndScale.com.

Mr. Hecker received a Bachelors Degree in Finance from Binghamton University.

Martin Woll – Martin Woll is Chief Operating Officer at AXA's Individual Annuity business and also runs the firm's Institutional Savings business launched in 2015.

As COO, Mr. Woll leads the following functions for the individual annuity business: strategy and corporate development, e-strategy/digital and data and analytics. In this position, he drives strategic initiatives across the commercial line and has instituted cutting-edge analytics to better understand and manage the business. He also serves as a central figure for the organization, helping to drive its business aganda forward.

Concurrently, Mr. Woll has overall P&L responsibility for AXA's institutional savings business. In this role, he oversees the strategy, implementation and execution of the business line and its financial results. In addition, he spearheaded the work over  the course of several years building and managing AXA's entry into this space with the launch of Escrow Shield Plus^TM in partnering with SRS Acquiom. Martin joined AXA in 2010 as a member of the firm's Corporate Strategy and Business Development Group. 

He spent the early part of his career providing financial advisory services for corporations and institutional investors while working at the investment bank Houlihan Lokey. He began his career on the fixed income and derivatives trading desk at AB Global (formerly known as Alliance Bernstein) assisting the portfolio managers with the valutaion of their investments. 

Mr. Woll graduated cum laude from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in political science with minor concentrations in business, international economics, and Russian and Eastern European studies.

 

Angela Alvarez – A seasoned multinational Chief Executive, Ms. Alvarez's background is in Investment Banking over 20 years, with a broad international experience, and specialties in mergers & acquisitions, corporate finance transactions, capital market transactions, debt restructuring, financial restructuring, financial institutions, consumer finance, digital banking, specialty finance, distressed assets & debt,  real estate & loan portfolios, corporate debts, privatization, corporate development & strategy and cross-border transactions

Having developed her career in international banks and institutions, she has chaired international positions in the last 15 years, on a global basis, covering Europe, Asia, USA and some Latin American countries, mainly in the Banking sector, and among her main achievements are having been a member of the Board of Directors of the consumer finance bank and internet bank of leading Spanish banking group, BBVA.

In her current position as Managing Partner of Global Sunrise Capital, Angela has created a global private platform for entities looking for equity investment, advisory on any type of finance deal, divestment, refinancing, and for equity funds, family offices, or other international investors to make direct investments, in selected investment opportunities of different industrial sectors, where it can be invested to generate top returns. 

Her philosophy is to focus on growing companies and industries where her resources and expertise can be used to maximize value and boost the return for the sellers and investors.

Adryenn Ashley – Ms. Ashley is a member of the Institute for Certified Divorce Financial Analysts, the International Association of Divorce Financial Planners, and the Financial Divorce Association. Ms. Ashley is the author of several books, numerous divorce-related articles, and speaks at seminars and to regional groups addressing the financial elements of divorce. She is also a Licensed California Real Estate Mortgage Broker.

Ms. Ashley is a passionate marriage and family support activist and lobbyist. She is a successful independent film producer with many credits through her company 21st Century Pictures Group, including the documentary “Anarchy Ahead – The Harvesting of American Families” which investigates the human and financial costs caused by profiteering in the family law industry. Her first feature “Metal”, won much critical acclaim including the Jury Prize at the Pan African Film Festival and Best Picture at the Seattle Underground Film Festival.

Ms. Ashley’s most recent book "Every Single Girl's Guide to Her Future Husband's Last Divorce," is a sassy financial guide that brings humor and attitude to an otherwise touchy, challenging subject and a must read for any girl marrying a divorced guy.

She is a veteran online marketing expert with multiple active websites, including WowIsMe.net which teaches the “shameless art of self-promotion” across print, broadcast and interactive (web) media. Ms. Ashley holds a Masters Degree from Sonoma State University, a Bachelors Degree from Dominican College of San Rafael, and has over 100 hours of training in Mediation. She is also certified in Negotiation and Conflict Management. Ms. Ashley is also a member of the American Bar Association's Family Law section.

Raffael Maiani - Mr. Maiani is an experienced Swiss insurance executive with a more than 30 year track record of success in several fields of insurance business with high level positions at AXA, Allianz and Cardiff BNP Paribas, the insurance subsidiary of one of the largest banking groups world wide.

An innovative insurance product developer himself, Mr. Maiani is CEO of Denmark based Insurebot IVS, in partnership with Blue Ocean Robotics. He is also the COO of SafeGuard Guaranty's sister organization based in Zurich, Switzerland. In that role, Raffael sources and manages potential underwriting and strategic partners for Marriage Assurance in the EU and beyond. Mr. Maiani also serves on the Board of Directors of Zurich Golddepot AG, a fintech startup offering a new form of precious metal savings plan. Mr. Maiani holds an MBA from the University of Zurich and an advanced degree in Marketing Management from the ZfU International Business School in Zurich. 

 

Andrew Barile - Mr. Barile joins SafeGuard Guaranty with 11 years insurance consulting experience. His company, Andrew Barile Consulting Corporation, Inc., consults to law firms, insurance and reinsurance companies, agencies, corporations and private equity, hedge funds and investment firms.

Andy specializes in litigation support services; reinsurance and marketing negotiating; director/insurers and offshore insurers; insurance agency market finding, program design and implementation and agency-company relations. He is highly skilled in captive formation and feasibility studies; fronts, reinsurance and capital raising for captives; insurance company mergers and acquisitions which includes identifying and purchasing companies, due diligence, regulatory negotiations, rating organization strategies and acting as a liaison to A.M. Best Company, Inc. for ratings. He also has a strong background in accessing capital; valuations; custom market research reports on insurance companies, as well as TPAs, MGAs and reinsurance intermediaries. Andy is also an experienced insurance company director, speaker and educator.