The founders of Stanley Benefit Services have a long and rich heritage in the employee benefit industry. Our firm was formed in 2002 by a number of senior managers and key employees after leaving previous employee benefits administration firm to establish an independent actuarial and employee benefit consulting firm.
Great employees make a great company and we have been fortunate to selectively assemble a team of talented, professional individuals with years of experience in the employee benefits industry that share our passion for client service.
Our dramatic growth and success reinforces our belief that in order to be successful in today's environment, an employee benefit consulting firm must be free to provide independent and objective advice, with superior quality services at the most competitive cost.
At Stanley Benefit Services, we do just that: we offer a full spectrum of employee benefit services and deliver those services in a timely and professional manner at a very competitive rate.
Kofi Amadi
Director of Information Technology
Kofi has over 18 years of experience in information technology, working in the mining and financial services industries. Prior to joining Stanley Benefits he served as the Infrastructure Manager for a multi-billion dollar regional bank in NC & SC overseeing all data infrastructure and systems, telecom/VoIP, disaster recovery and client/server operations; and AngloGold Ashanti (formerly Ashanti Goldfields), a global mining company, as their Systems Support Officer.
Lisa Brown
Retirement Plan Consultant
With over 20 years of experience in retirement services, Lisa has assisted businesses of all sizes country-wide with their group retirement planning needs. Applying her tailored sales to support skillset, Lisa has a strong track record of helping clients successfully set up and maintain retirement plan programs. Lisa has a BA in business from the College of Charleston and holds her Accredited Investment Fiduciary Designation.
David Buck
Vice President – Benefit Consultant
David has over 26 years of experience in the Retirement Services industry. During this time, he has had roles in Project Management, Conversion/Installation, Client Relationship Management, and Investment Consulting. Most recently, he served as a Senior Vice-President and Trust State Manager overseeing regional offices in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
David is a graduate of the University of North Carolina – Charlotte with a B.S. Degree in Industrial Psychology and a concentration in Economics. He has earned his Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor and Certified Retirement Services Professional designations as well as his Series 6 and Series 65 NASD securities licenses.
Aaron Cox, QKA
Senior Analyst - Defined Contribution Plans
Aaron holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Marketing from Mississippi State University. A current member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA), Aaron has received the professional designation of Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA). Aaron has been with Stanley Benefit Services, Inc. over 8 years with a total of 20 years’ experience exclusively in Daily Defined Contribution Administration. He has experience in all aspects of recordkeeping from administration to client relationship management. This experience also includes managing the cash reconciliation function as well as processing daily trade files with the trading partners. He also has experience with managing plan conversions.
Cindy Dietz, QKA
Analyst - Defined Contribution Plans
A Marine Corp veteran, Cindy has over 15 years experience working in the retirement plan industry. Before moving to North Carolina to work for Stanley Benefit Services, Cindy worked for a midwest regional TPA firm. She has earned her Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) Designation as a member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA).
Chris Francis
Senior Vice President - Defined Contribution Plans
Chris has over 29 years of Defined Contribution, managerial and IT experience and serves as Sr. VP of Defined Contribution. He has extensive expertise in the management of defined contribution software development and implementation, system and plan conversions, process enhancements and software training, client consulting, plan management, daily plan administration and ERISA compliance. Chris is a graduate of the University of North Carolina with a BA in Business Information Systems.
Tina Galanides, ERPA, QPA, QKA, CRPS®, ACS
Senior Analyst – Defined Contribution Plans
Tina graduated Magna Cum Laude with Honors from Meredith College with a BS Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management. Tina has over 25 years of qualified plan administration experience. During her career she has earned the following professional designations: Qualified Plan Administrator (QPA) and Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) from ASPPA, the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist (CRPS) from the College for Financial Planning, the Associate in Customer Service (ACS) from LOMA and is an Enrolled Retirement Plan Agent (ERPA) with the IRS. Tina can represent clients before the IRS on retirement plan issues. Prior to joining Stanley Benefit Services she has worked with several other Employee Benefit Consulting firms, including owning and managing her own firm with another business partner for more than 10 years.
Ken Garber, AIF®, CEBS
Vice President - Client Services
Ken is a 1981 graduate of Campbell University with a BBA and Certificate in Trust Management. He received his Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) designation in 1993. Ken was employed with W. E. Stanley & Company for 15 years where he was involved with client service issues and conducting employee communications for clients. He performs these same duties with Stanley Benefit Services, in addition to having marketing responsibilities.
Craven Lowe, MBA
Vice President - Consultant
Craven has over 10 years in the financial securities field with a strong focus on both individual and retirement plan consulting and advisory. He graduated from the UNC- Chapel Hill in 2000 with degrees in both Political Science and Communication Studies. He also earned his MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in 2017. Craven offers clients a customized and thorough approach to all of their investments needs. He holds series 6, 7, 22, 31, 63, and 65 NASD Securities licenses.
Chris Lown, QKA
Senior Analyst - Defined Contribution Plans
Chris is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a BS in Marketing. He has over 27 years of experience in the employee benefits industry having worked with both W.E. Stanley and Company and then with Stanley Benefit Services. He works on mid-size and large plan administration in both a consulting and marketing capacity. Chris is a member of ASPPA and has received the Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) Designation.
Andrew C. Martin, FSA, FCA, EA
Vice President - Consulting Actuary
Andrew has over 20 years of actuarial consulting experience with Defined Benefit pension plans and Other Postretirement Benefits plans, and for the past 10 years has concentrated primarily on actuarial and accounting on Post-Retirement Medical Plans. Prior to joining Stanley Benefit Services, Andrew worked for several years with Aon Hewitt and Towers Watson in the Philadelphia area. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), a Fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries (FCA), and is an Enrolled Actuary. Andrew received a BS in Mathematics from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and a MS in Mathematics from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Lee Porter, QKA, QPA, ERPA
Vice President of Operations – Defined Contribution Plans
Originally from Ohio, Lee has over 15 years of Retirement Plan and Financial Services experience. He has been with Stanley Benefits for the past 3 years, and prior to that he worked for T. Rowe Price and Employee Benefits Consulting firms in Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina. He is a member of the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries (ASPPA) and has earned his Qualified 401(k) (QKA) and Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA) designations. As an Enrolled Retirement Agent with the IRS (ERPA), Lee is able to represent our clients before the Internal Revenue Service with respect to Forms 5300 and 5500. Having also had experience as a 3(16) fiduciary, Lee is extremely qualified to administer all sizes of qualified and non-qualified retirement plans.
Jeff Smith, FSA, EA, CFA
Vice President - Consulting Actuary
Jeff holds a Bachelor's degree from Wake Forest University and a Master's degree in Applied Economics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), an Enrolled Actuary, and a CFA Charterholder. Jeff has over 20 years of employee benefit experience, including several years with Aon Hewitt and with Towers Perrin in Atlanta. His primary responsibility is actuarial consulting. He has extensive experience with Public, Governmental and Private Pension Plans, Postretirement Benefit Plans and Actuarial Studies.
Mary Snyder, JD
Vice President - Compliance Services
Mary graduated from Indiana University with a B.S. degree in Accounting and also obtained her Juris Doctorate law degree from Indiana University. Initially she worked as a CPA in public accounting, and later began her practice of law. She has over 20 years of ERISA experience, including in ERISA compliance for a major insurance company in Indianapolis, as an ERISA compliance supervisor for an independent employee benefits administration firm in Charlotte, and as an associate in a law firm in Tampa. Mary has experience with a broad range of clients, including large and small private and public companies and governmental entities with a focus on both qualified and non-qualified retirement plans.
Bill Stanley, JD, CLU
Senior Vice President - Senior Consultant
Bill has 30+ years of experience in the area of Qualified and Non-qualified Retirement Plans. His duties are primarily client consulting and client service and has worked with over 35 Hospitals in NC, SC, and VA as their Employee Benefits Consultant. A graduate of UNC-CH with a BS degree in Business and UNC-CH Law School with a Juris Doctor degree. Bill is also an ERISA attorney and has a very strong knowledge of IRS rules and regulations. Member of the NC State Bar and the NC & American Bar Associations.
Chris Stanley, MBA, AIF©, CRPS, CMFC
Vice President - Client Services
Chris received his undergraduate degree, B.A. in Economics, from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 2000 and completed Masters in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. With 20 years of Employee Benefit experience, he was employed by W.E. Stanley & Company in 2001, and then joined Stanley Benefit Services, Inc. in 2003.
William E. Stanley, III “Wes”, CPFA, AIF®
Senior Vice President - Consultant
Wes has over 20 years of employee benefit experience and is primarily responsible for client services, consulting and serves on our employee Enrollment and Communication Team. Wes holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from North Carolina State University, is FINRA 6, 63 and 65 securities licensed, and has obtained the Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor (CPFA) professional ASPPA designation. Wes also has earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary (AIF®) Designation.
OUR MISSION:
We will make every interaction a positive experience.
- We will come to work each day with a zeal to help employers and employees make the most of their benefit programs in a way that is beneficial to all.
- We will do this by personally applying our expertise and knowledge to every action we take. We will make the complicated easy.
- By doing so, our customers will safely navigate the complex benefits landscape that is consumer-driven health care administration and retirement planning.
- When we do this, our reputation will grow stronger. Our company will thrive. Each of us will feel personally rewarded because we are making a difference in the world by providing life-important services to others.