Management
Team

Stephen Budihas has primary responsibility for executing the operating vision and integrating efforts across Andesa Services’ client, implementation and technology operations.

Stephen joined Andesa in January 2012 having previously worked at Diversified Information Technologies, Inc. in Scranton, PA and The Morning Call Newspaper in Allentown, PA, where he served as a Vice President, Human Resources in both companies. Stephen started at Andesa in 2012 as the Human Resource Officer. In 2015 he became responsible for advancing the business operations and expanding Third-Party Administration (TPA) offerings. As of 2020, Stephen was promoted to Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Stephen holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA in Human Resource Management from the University of Notre Dame. Stephen also holds a Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) and a SHRM-Senior Certified professional (SCP) certificate in addition to a Six Sigma Green Belt.

Angela Conn is responsible for client services, management, and retention at Andesa.

Angela joined Andesa in 2015 as the Manager of Plan Administration with a focus on our plan administration clients and the expansion of Andesa’s service offerings. After she transitioned to a Business Operations Manager role focused on client administration for TPA services, she was promoted to Director of Client Experience, overseeing client service, management, and retention. Angela has more than twenty years of experience in nonqualified retirement planning and life insurance policy support. Before joining Andesa, she was an Assistant Director of Client Operations for The Principal Financial Group, focused on process efficiency and nonqualified retirement plan support. She also spent several years working for Clark Consulting in the community bank business segment.

Angela holds an undergraduate degree in management from the College of Saint Benedict and a master’s degree in business administration from Keller School of Management. She is also Six Sigma Green Belt certified.

Michelle L. Cramer, FSA, MAAA, is accountable for implementing project initiatives that align with client requests and business opportunities.

Michelle serves as the central resource and the driving force ensuring Andesa’s service offerings will be effectively and efficiently designed, developed, and launched.  Michelle and her team work in close collaboration with Andesa’s Business Development, Technology and Client Experience areas.

Michelle is a seasoned actuary with more than 25 years of experience. Before joining the Andesa team in 2014, she held the position of Life Actuarial Assistant and NF Actuary at Harleysville Life Insurance Company (Nationwide) in Harleysville, PA. Previously, she served in a number of roles at The Hartford in Florham Park, NJ.

Michelle holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from The College of New Jersey and is a Fellow of Society of Actuaries and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. She was named one of The Financial Technology Report’s Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology of 2021.

Gloria Hopfensperger is responsible for continuous quality improvement at Andesa, which consists of directing efforts across the organization to create operational excellence capabilities and drive toward improved quality, reduction of waste, and maximized process performance.

Hopfensperger previously held the position of Assistant Vice President of IT Project Management at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America before joining Andesa in 2015. Since then, Hopfensperger has seen her responsibilities increase from Manager of Project Management to her current role of Director of Organizational Development.

Hopfensperger holds a degree in business administration from Churchman Business College and represented her class as Valedictorian. She also holds Project Management Professional^®, Scrum Master Certified^®, and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certifications.

Jacqueline Hunter is responsible for Andesa’s enterprise risk management and legal functions and serves as Corporate Secretary.

Hunter joined Andesa in 2018, bringing a business approach to legal developed through experience in the public and private sectors. Establishing Andesa’s General Counsel role, she drives results in contracting, compliance, insurance, and business support. Having spearheaded the enterprise risk management office in 2021, Hunter and her team bring together our legal, security, and compliance disciplines.

Hunter holds a bachelors’ degree in social work from Rutgers University and her juris doctor, cum laude, from New England Law Boston.

Chris Shalbert, Andesa’s Chief Technology Officer is responsible for driving Andesa’s technology strategy aligned with business objectives, which includes responsibility for application development practices, technology solutions, systems architecture and IT operations.

Chris joined Andesa in 2001 after spending six years performing back office support and analysis in a Financial Planning and Consulting firm located in Allentown, Pa.  Recently, he spent almost seven years as Andesa’s Chief Implementation Officer responsible for implementing application initiatives and ensuring Andesa’s service offerings were effectively and efficiently designed, developed, and launched.

Chris attended LaSalle University where he studied Mathematics with concentrations in Computer Science and Risk Management & Insurance.

Ron Scheese is responsible for guiding Andesa toward its present and future goals.

Prior to his role as CEO, Scheese served as Andesa’s Chief Administration Officer and Chief Financial Officer since 2006. Before coming to the company, he worked at Phoebe Ministries, a not-for-profit network of long-term care, housing, and support services for seniors, where he was the Senior Vice President of Finance. He has also worked for three years with QuadraMed, a software and services solutions company, as the Product Line Manager in decision support services.

Scheese is a CPA and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Albright College, where he now serves as chair of the college’s board of trustees. He has spoken about his leadership experience for CEOpeek and the value of employee ownership for the Kelso Workshop at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations. In 2021, he released his first book, More Than a Company: Leading in a Values-Based Ecosystem, which offers guidance on how to build a business ecosystem around core values to sustain a high-performing culture and directly impact revenue and long-term success.

In January of 2022 Ron was a guest on Executive Leadership Radio, you can listen to the interview here.

Mark Wilkin has oversight of five areas of the organization: Finance, Sales, Marketing, Legal and Enterprise Risk. 

Mark is an experienced Chief Financial Officer and Business Development Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the technology and insurance industries. Mark is a strong finance professional skilled in Strategic Financial Planning, Accounting, and Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs). He is also Andesa’s Business Development Executive that works with internal sales teams to seek relationships with organizations needing the solutions of Andesa.

Mark joined Andesa in March 2011 from the Philadelphia office of KPMG, a global network of professional services firms, where he was a Senior Manager focusing on audit and advisory services to the insurance industry.

A CPA, Mark holds a BS in Accounting and Management Information Systems from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has served as a board member of multiple nonprofit organizations.

Leadership in the community:

Mark Wilkin was awarded as 10 Best CFOs of 2021| C Level Focus. You can view the article here
Mark was a guest of Executive Leaders Radio on January 14, 2022.  You can listen to the broadcast here