Our leadership

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Sammons Financial Group

Esfand Dinshaw is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sammons Financial Group and Chief Executive Officer for Sammons Financial Group. Esfand develops the strategic direction for the insurance organization and turns that vision into a clear path for the business to grow.

Since joining the company in 1999, Esfand has held several roles. He has over 40 years of experience in the insurance industry. In addition to his position at Sammons Financial Group, Esfand serves on the Board of Directors of the American Council of Life Insurance (ACLI) and is a past Chairman of the Board of Directors for LL Global (LIMRA and LOMA), both insurance-related organizations.

President, Sammons Institutional Group

Bill is President of Sammons Institutional Group, Inc. (SIG), a member company of Sammons Financial Group. SIG provides individual retirement solutions to financial professionals in banks and brokers/dealers through its wholesale divisions, Sammons Retirement Solutions and Midland Retirement Distributors. Prior to joining Sammons Financial Group in 2011, Bill spend 17 years at ING in a variety of leadership roles. In his over 35 years in the financial services industry, Bill has managed a broker/dealer, run 401(k), IRA, and annuity businesses, and has a successful track record creating and distributing 401(k)s, variable annuities, fixed annuities, life insurance, mutual fund products, and managed accounts.

Bill has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Computer Science from Doane University. He has participated in executive programs at Dartmouth and the University of Chicago, and completed the CEDEP General Management Program at Insead in Fountainebleu, France. He is a General Securities Principal, Investment Advisory Representative, Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, and Fellow of the Life Management Institute.

Bill is currently on the boards of Meals from the Heartland in West Des Moines, Iowa and the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) in Washington, D.C. In 2023, he was name the Industry Champion of Retirement Security by IRI in recognition for his service to the retirement income industry.

Vice President, National Sales

Greg Bonzagni is Head of Sales for Sammons Institutional Group. Having joined the company in October 2011, he oversees all day-to-day management of the Sammons Retirement Solutions and Midland Retirement Distributors internal and external sales teams.

Greg brings more than 20 years of industry experience to this role, including sales and sales management positions for asset management and insurance products at companies such as Principal Global Investors, ING, JPMorgan, and MFS. Greg is an engaging speaker on industry trends and practice management, and he frequently presents at industry conferences around the country.

Greg earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and holds his Series 6, 63, 26, and 7 licenses.

Vice President, Business Development

Kerry Cahill is Vice President of Business Development for Sammons Institutional Group, having joined the company in November 2011. She is responsible for developing, maintaining and growing broker-dealer relationships for Sammons Retirement Solutions and Midland Retirement Distributors suite of solutions.  

Prior to joining Sammons Financial Group, Kerry was with ING for 14 years where she held several roles in customer service, internal sales and business development. As a Business Development manager at ING she was responsible for broker dealer relationships for their Independent Annuity Distribution. Kerry has over 20 plus years of financial services experience.    

Kerry is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a degree in Bachelor of Arts. Kerry currently holds a Series 6, 63 and 65 registrations and her PA insurance license. She lives with her husband Patrick and her daughter Alexa in Wayne, PA.

Vice President, Financial Institutions

Piera Valle serves as Vice President of Financial Institutions for Sammons Institutional Group (SIG), bringing over twenty years of experience in the financial services industry. She specializes in cultivating partnerships within the banking and financial services sectors, working with a diverse range of annuity and offshore products offered through financial professionals.

Before joining SIG, Piera spent sixteen years leading strategic account development at a prominent annuity carrier, where she maximized profitable revenue growth by developing and implementing partner relationship sales strategies across various products, including annuities and mutual funds.

Piera earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Illinois University and currently holds a Series 6, 63, and Life Insurance license.

Vice President, Sales Administration

Stacy Bagby is Vice President, Sales Administration for Sammons Institutional Group, Inc., having joined the company in June of 2011. She is responsible for overseeing all sales administration functions, including data management, reporting and analytics, strategic planning, project management, compensation administration, budget and expense management, technology and systems support, and fund revenue administration.

Prior to joining Sammons Financial Group, Stacy spent 17 years at ING and its predecessor companies in a variety of positions, including Head of Value-Added Programs, Head of Specialty Markets, Six Sigma Black Belt, Director of Distributor Communications, and Project Manager. Stacy has nearly 30 years of financial services experience, starting her career as a registered representative with New England Financial. She is a past member of Sammons Financial Group's Community Involvement Committee and is active with Children & Family Urban Movement.

Stacy is a graduate of AIB College of Business and holds a degree in Business Administration. She is also a graduate of Drake University's Executive Leadership Program. She is a Certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Vice President, Product Development

Kirk Evans is Vice President of Product Development for Sammons Institutional Group. He began his career with Sammons in 2011. As a key member of the SIG team, Kirk has led the development and management of SIG’s suite of retirement solutions. In his current role, Kirk has leveraged his 30 years of insurance industry experience. He began his career working in valuation for various traditional insurance products and over time has had the opportunity to serve in several non-traditional actuarial roles ranging from pricing investment products to hedging variable annuity risks as well as working oversees to aid an insurer in building out a risk management platform for their variable insurance risks.

Kirk is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA), CFA Institute CFA charter holder (CFA), and holds Financial Risk Manager designation from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (FRM). He earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree with a double major in Physics and Mathematics and a minor in Philosophy from Southwest Minnesota State University.

Associate Vice President, Marketing

Molly Wendel is the Associate Vice President of SIG Marketing with over 20 years of experience marketing technical, specialized, and regulated products, including financial services and insurance products. She specializes in direct marketing operations of winning direct marketing campaigns for both business and consumer audiences. She has experience in both print and digital strategies and running a successful direct marketing program is her passion.

Prior to joining Sammons Financial Group, Molly worked on campaigns for NCMIC, Professional Solutions Insurance Company, American Republic Insurance Company, World Insurance Company, Future Health Software, and Meredith Corp.

Molly earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa and holds her Series 6 license.