An innovative leader in digital training and producer development for the Financial Services industry, Derek Wright is the visionary behind Tier 25, a gamified SaaS application built to facilitate meaningful change in how sales professionals learn their craft.
Derek is an accomplished Financial Professional, Trainer and Sales Manager, and an inspirational speaker that has successfully led sales teams in multiple, major U.S. markets. Prior to founding 25 Point Systems, Derek began his career in the Financial Services industry in 1997 at the age of 23, spending twelve hour days clipping wedding announcements from the newspaper, calling mortgage leads, and whatever else it took to succeed. In the midst of a booming economy and a roaring bull market, cold calling worked.
In 2001, Derek’s hard work and commitment to excellence earned him a promotion to Sales Development Manager of New York Life’s New Hampshire Field Office, where, as architect of the company’s training and development program, he ultimately would become instrumental in driving production growth of over 40% in 2002 and 2003, while retaining new hires at a rate equivalent to four times the industry average. In 2004, he was again promoted to become Sales Development Manager of the New Jersey General Office, joining industry legend John Baier in overseeing $8 million in annual premium, and 240 Financial Advisors, beginning another three year stretch of 10% growth per year, while doubling the retention of new hires.
In 2008, Derek joined MassMutual Financial Group, and managed sales teams in Denver, Colorado, and Kansas City, Missouri for 3 years, before returning home to New England. In addition to qualifying for Sales Manager Summit in 2011 and 2012, he was the recipient of GAMA’s Front Line Leader Award, among countless other accolades and honors, all while being consistently ranked among the top producers in the Providence Agency.
In an era of unprecedented industry change, Derek brings a high energy conviction, and unique perspectives on engaging a younger, more agile sales force through gamified technology solutions. In addition to his professional pursuits, Derek is an accomplished mountain climber, skier, runner, and a die-hard Red Sox fan, residing with his family and two children in Boca Raton, FL.
Gary Bennett became the CEO and chairman of Seguros Monterrey New York Life in November 2014 following successful roles across Asia, the United States and Australia. He initially joined New York Life in 2004 as President & CEO of its Hong Kong life insurance operation, and for the past decade has held company positions including CEO for India and CEO for Greater China. Mr. Bennett served as the Regional CEO and Vice Chair of New York Life International in Asia during the Strategic realignments of New York Life’s international insurance business. Prior to joining SMNYL, he ran his own consulting business.
Mr. Bennett is currently responsible for setting the overall strategic vision for SMNYL, and strengthening and developing talent across the leadership team. Working closely with the senior leadership team in Mexico, he has helped the operation capitalize on opportunities in the region, while achieving sustainable, profitable growth.
An insurance veteran with more than 35 years in the insurance industry, including two decades in Asia, Mr. Bennett has held leadership roles of increasing responsibility with a number of companies in Australia and across Asia Pacific, including Prudential Corporation Asia and CMG Asia.
Involvement with LIMRA, leadership roles in life industry associations, Chambers of Commerce and Amcham and Austcham has enabled him to influence SMNYL’s position in the industry and its business relationships in every market.
Mr. Bennett joined the Vivo Mobile Advisory Board in May 2017.
Dr. Barbera is a master business coach, author, international speaker, consultant, and professor. She is a veteran of the financial services profession, retiring after 30 years as a Managing Principal and a distinguished 34-year career at Waddell & Reed.
She earned her Doctorate in Leadership and Organizational Change at USC (University of Southern California). Daralee is co-Principal of Diversified Professional Coaching (DPC) LLC. At The American College of Financial Services, she is the Program Director of the Master of Science in Management & Leadership, The Joseph-Liddy Chair of Practice Management and Leadership, and Assistant Professor of Leadership. She is a Past Board President of GAMA International, a former WIFS Woman of the Year, and the 2023 Will G Farrell Awardee.
Experienced Private Client Principal with 25 years' experience in financial services specializing in financial reporting, hedge fund performance analysis, and alternative investment compliance. 21+ year background in single- and multi-family office services, with an emphasis on high-net-worth clientele. Skilled in a multitude of functions, including accounting, financial reporting, insurance, tax, legal, auditing, and investments with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) focused in Accounting from Monmouth University and Certified Public Accountant in the State of New Jersey.
Harry Hoopis is the Chief Executive Officer of the Hoopis Performance Network and is a renowned entrepreneur, leader, speaker and industry icon. Over his 40 year career, he built one of the largest and most successful financial services firms in the world in Chicago, Illinois.
During his illustrious career, Harry was awarded the Master Agency Award every year since its inception, received the Robert Templin Award for his many contributions to management development and is the recipient of NAIFA Chicago’s Leadership in Life Award.
Harry was inducted in the GAMA International Management Hall of Fame. He served on the Board of Trustees for the GAMA International Foundation and is Past President of GAMA International as well as Northwestern Mutual’s General Agent’s Management Association. He is still an active member of two of the industry’s most elite study groups, the LIMRA Research Agencies Group and the General Agents Symposium. Harry is also the principle author of The Essentials of Management Development, creator of the Firm Foundations seminar series, and developer of the Fixed Activity Commitment System. Harry is the author of the best-selling book, The Road to the Bountiful Life: Achieving Success in Financial Services and donates all proceeds to the GAMA Foundation.
Harry resides in Lake Forest, Illinois with his wife Bea of over 40 years. He has two adult children, Krina and Peter, and is the proud grandfather of Alex, Sophie, Teddy, McKenzy, Teagan and Brecklyn.
Harry joined the Vivo Mobile Advisory Board in May 2017.
Product engineer focused on building amazing consumer experiences with highly-scalable, well-tested, and team friendly code. Currently focused on building applications with Swift 4, Node.js, MongoDB, and AWS. Also have a strong interest in crypto-currencies, and am currently developing on the Lisk platform.