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WEST DES MOINES, IA - Jan. 10, 2020 — Sammons^® Financial Group, Inc. (SFG) is committed to helping families and businesses meet financial needs, and the management of Information Technology infrastructure has never been more important. To that end, SFG announced it has named two IT insurance industry leaders to new roles within the company.  

• Gary Self is named vice president of enterprise applications. In this new role, Self will lead the corporate services and customer engagement IT teams. He will collaborate closely with finance, actuarial, marketing, legal and business unit groups to deliver technology software solutions to meet SFG’s evolving business needs.

• Cheryl O’Heath joins SFG as vice president of life information technology. In this new role, O’Heath will lead the life insurance IT team to deliver business initiatives while the company implements an improved operating model between the life business unit, shared services and IT.
  

“Gary is a solid IT leader and collaborator. He excels at both building strong business relationships while creating positive morale among the teams he works with,” said Kelly Coomer, senior vice president and chief information officer at SFG. “Gary’s 20 years of experience – especially with e-commerce software development and financial applications – positions him well for his new role at SFG.” 

Self joined SFG in 2015 as associate vice president of IT and led the Life IT platform on an interim basis from February through December of 2019. Prior to joining SFG, he was director of corporate IT at ACI Worldwide and technology officer of e-Business at First National Bank of Omaha.  

Self holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from Bellevue University and a graduate degree in managerial economics from University of Oklahoma. He also has a master’s certification in project management from George Washington University. He is based in SFG’s Sioux Falls office.

“Cheryl is a strategic thinker with solid experience in system transformation efforts,” said Coomer. “Her background in agile business modeling positions her well for success in our Life IT platform. Meeting client expectations and adapting to change in real time is critical. Cheryl will help us address this through our technology enablement strategy.”

Prior to joining SFG, O’Heath served as senior application leader of Internet marketing technology at Allstate. In this role, she led e-commerce-based applications focused on sales and service. O’Heath is also experienced in driving application modernization programs.

O’Heath holds an undergraduate degree in operations and information management from Northern Illinois University (DeKalb, Illinois), and has a Leading SAFe Agilest certification. She works in SFG’s Chicago office and resides in Roselle, Illinois.

About Sammons^® Financial Group, Inc.

The companies of Sammons^® Financial Group, Inc. help families and businesses protect their future to enjoy life’s moments today. A subsidiary of Sammons Enterprises, Inc., Sammons Financial Group is privately owned with member companies that are among the most enduring and stable in the financial services industry. Our companies include Midland National^® Life Insurance Company (including Sammons^® Corporate Markets); North American Company for Life and Health Insurance^®; and  Sammons Institutional Group^SM (including Midland Retirement Distributors^® and  Sammons Retirement Solutions^®). Together, we offer today’s most sought-after life insurance, annuity, and retirement planning products. Sammons Financial Group: With You for Every Moment^®.