Our Authors

Erika Ahern currently leads every aspect of the Legal and Compliance Department at CNA National Warranty Corporation, a wholly owned and independently managed subsidiary of CNA. Ms. Ahern provides counsel to all business units, including the executive team, marketing, sales operations and risk management.  Her solution-oriented counsel is intended to support business opportunities for growth while eliminating legal and regulatory risk.  She has created and implemented a robust compliance process to identify and address non-compliance with state and federal laws and regulations. Having begun her career as a litigator in Chicago, Ms. Ahern was formerly with Allstate Instance Company for over twelve years and completed her tenure as a member of the property and casualty legal team, where she advised a wide variety of business units regarding many aspects of the property and casualty personal lines insurance business.  Ms. Ahern is active in her community, provides a wide variety of support for activities at local elementary and middle school and is involved with For The Love of Kids, a ministry providing mentoring and support for children living in group homes within the foster care system.

David Trinder is the owner and CEO of F&I Administration Solutions. Before acquiring F&I Admin, David was senior vice president of Network Solutions at DealerTrack, Inc. where he oversaw the development of the new SCS Auto R8 platform. Kumar Kathinokkula is the COO of F&I Admin. He is responsible for the development and management of the SCS Auto Platform, the leading software solution for F&I product administration. F&I Admin delivers a comprehensive F&I product administration solution specifically designed to support vehicle service contracts, GAP, prepaid maintenance, appearance protection and much more.

F. Steven Pearl is CEO of Cross Continental Capital LLC, a private equity firm that invests in a gamut of strategies including early stage companies. Previously he was President of The Oak Group for 29 years, a member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), General Manager of one of the largest Chevrolet Dealers in the country, and an auditor with Price Waterhouse & Co (PW&CO). His education includes a BS from The University of Illinois Champaign Urbana. He is a CPA and CGMA. He believes his unique background in risk from the CBOE, audit from PW&CO, and F&I have enabled him to control risk and loss ratios.

Fred Martie is an ASE Certified Master Technician. He is also Gm Certified, Detroit Diesel Certified, and is a MCI Certified Mechanical Inspector. He owns and operates Mid Missouri Inspection Associates in Missouri. Martie’s experience includes 20 years as a line tech, six years as a GM shop foreman, ten years as a GM service manager, and he has performed inspections for the last 14 years. Martie has been married 44 years and has two daughters and four grandchildren. He loves camping, spending time with his family, and dirt stock car racing.

George M. Belokas, FCAS, MAAA and Ryan Hartman, FCAS, MAAA are actuaries with GPW & Associates, Inc. (GPW). Founded in 1998, GPW specializes in serving the risk management needs of over 1,300 clients. GPW offers a unique combination of captive and reinsurance management, accounting, tax compliance, and actuarial services all under one roof, providing our clients with efficient and comprehensive service. GPW's team of experts includes credentialed Casualty and Life Actuaries, Certified Public Accountants, and Associates of Captive Insurance. GPW’s actuaries specialize in pricing, reserving, benchmarking and product development for insurance companies, captives, public entities and other corporations. GPW is a leader in the Finance and Insurance (F&I) industry offering expertise in extended service contracts, Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) and ancillary products. George and Ryan are both Fellows of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and Members of the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) with over 20 years of combined experience in the F&I industry.  Ryan currently serves on the CAS Committee on Professionalism Education and the AAA Committee on Professional Responsibility and has served as the President of the Casualty Actuaries of the Desert States, a CAS regional affiliate.  George is the current President of the Casualty Actuaries of the Desert States and is a member of both the Arizona Captive Insurance Association and the Captive Insurance Companies Association.

Gary Fagg is a consulting actuary with CreditRe, a firm specializing in actuarial, accounting, risk management and risk transfer solutions related to vehicle protection products. CreditRe serves insurers, reinsurers, producers and producer-affiliated reinsurers regarding VSC, GAP and occasionally, for old-times sake, credit-related insurance.

George Angus heads the Team One Group, a research and training company that specializes in scientific, research-based program development and training programs for the automobile industry. George has trained thousands of F&I managers and his popular "Saturday Morning Messages to F&I Masters™" has over 8,000 subscribers.

George Krnich is the vice president of claims & risk management for American Auto Guardian, Inc.. He began his career with AAGI in 2000 and has more than 25 years of automotive service experience, with more than 20 years in VSC claims administration. Krnich holds degrees in both automotive technology and automotive service excellence.  Krnich's industry knowledge has afforded him the opportunity to participate in conference committees as well as being quoted in various industry publications.

Gil is the principal of gvo3 & Associates, a nationally recognized compliance consulting, audit, training and review firm. He and his team work with dealerships around the country in implementing F&I and Sales Compliance Management Solutions to help dealers manage and mitigate compliance issues. He is a frequent speaker to industry groups and also provides litigation support on behalf of automotive retailers and insurers. Prior to forming gvo3 & Associates in 2001, Gil was the Chief Operating Officer for Premier Auto Finance, a management company that managed auto finance portfolios for dealer groups.

Gil Van Over, a member of Bobit Business Media's F&I Hall of Fame, is executive director of Automotive Compliance Education (ACE), founder and president of gvo3 & Associates, and author of “Automotive Compliance in a Digital World.” Email him at gvo@bobit.com.

Petrowski is the secretary/treasurer of GPW & Associates, an actuarial consulting firm located in Phoenix, Arizona.  He holds an associate in captive insurance designation issued by the International Center for Captive Insurance (ICCIE). His fields of expertise include formation, regulatory compliance, accounting, taxation and tax planning for insurance companies, captives and reinsurers. He also specializes in the design and development of dealer and agent back end participation programs. Petrowski is a member of both the AIDPA and ASPCA and is a past director and treasurer of the Arizona Captive Insurance Association.  He is a frequent speaker at industry related training seminars and events.