Tom Archer is Chief Executive Officer of EMG Insurance Brokerage. Tom entered the insurance business with Aetna in 1967, working a 40-hour workweek in the local agency mailroom while attending Lamar High School. He continues working in the insurance industry with the same passion he began.
Tom has served as Chairman of the Board for Insurance Designers of America (IDA), a marketing organization with over 50 IMO’s throughout the United States. Tom has served as a Board member and is a past President of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. He has also served as a member of the Houston Board of National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) Foundation and the Board of Brokers Health Insurance Network, Inc. In 2013, Tom received the Benjamin “Woody” Woodson Award. The Woodson Award is presented to an individual from the Houston insurance community in recognition of meritorious service to the insurance industry and community. He currently serves of the Board of Directors for the 100 Club of Houston, an organization that assists the families of police officers and firemen that are killed in the line of duty.
Tom graduated from the University of Houston with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Economics. He has both the Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) and Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®) designations from The American College of Financial Services and holds the FINRA Series 7, Series 66, and Series 24 licenses. He is an investment adviser offering financial planning services.
Tom and his wife, Donna, are active members of the community and church in Houston, Texas. Tom enjoys golf, snow skiing, and cycling. He loves traveling and spending time with his three children and grandkids.
Durr Sexton is the President of EMG Insurance Brokerage. He has been in the insurance industry since 1981. Durr helps advisors design and select carrier coverage for their clients while educating them about the need and importance of insurance. He helps them through education and pointing out the exposures to risk, whether the risk is from dying too soon or living too long. Consumers also need protection from losing income due to accidents or injury. Durr is passionate about helping people understand risk and, in the process, learn so much about their lives, dreams, and desires. He takes pride in the fact that EMG helps them protect and achieve those dreams and desires.
Before EMG Insurance Brokerage, Mr. Sexton was the National Vice President Alternate Distribution at Ameritas. He held several positions at AIG, including Chief Marketing Officer Brokerage Division, Chief Distribution Officer Brokerage Division, and President of the Independent Annuity Division. Mr. Sexton has extensive insurance consulting experience with Bain Capital, Boston Consulting Group, Coleman Research, and Alpha Insights.
Mr. Sexton earned a BA degree in Economics from Syracuse University. He holds the Charter Life Underwriter (CLU) designation from The American College. Durr was nominated to attend AIG’s Leader within Class. Out of 125,000 employees, he was one of 25 nominated by their superiors. He was named RVP of the Year at AIG for five consecutive years for his territory management and sales growth success.
Durr loves being with his family. He enjoys swimming to keep in shape. Durr is passionate about protecting and rescuing dogs and other animals. He enjoys travel and seeing the wonders of this planet.
Durr gives to their local church and is a proud sponsor of the ASPCA. He and his wife also support first responders and the fine members of the police and fire through the 100 Club in Houston.
Charles Archer
Executive Vice President - Austin
Charlie brings over a decade of insurance experience building strong working relationships with independent and institutional financial advisors. He became an EMG Partner in 2015.
Mr. Archer lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife Christine and their daughter. He loves spending his free time on the golf course, playing guitar, and traveling to new countries.
Lisa Ehlert
Executive Vice President - Houston
Tina Johnson
Controller
Beymar Rozo
Chief Technology Officer
Beymar has been with EMG Insurance Brokerage since 2011. He is responsible for setting norms and procedures to guarantee the safety of all data transmitted and stored in our servers. Beymar is also responsible for implementing new technologies that will positively impact our advisors and employees.
Beymar has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Houston. He majored in Information Systems Technology and minored in Industrial Supervision. He has over 25 years of technology experience in the insurance and financial sector.
Beymar enjoys travel and has visited 20 different countries. He also enjoys the challenge of puzzles. His favorite was a 6000-piece replica of the Sistine chapel.
Paula Aguilera
Chief Operating Officer
Paula has been with EMG Insurance Brokerage since 2011. As Chief Operating Officer, she is responsible for running the day-to-day operations of EMG Insurance Brokerage.
Paula is a graduate of the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Business Administration. She has nearly 30 years of insurance agency experience and holds a Texas life license, Series 6 and 63. She also holds LOMA insurance industry-related designations: FLMI, AIAA, and ACS.
Paula has two sons. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, shopping, reading, and fishing.
Elizabeth witnessed her family’s financial struggles growing up when multiple family members had life altering experiences and had no insurance. These experiences led her to a career of learning, educating and helping people achieve financial success. She does this by striving to help advisors, and their clients, understand insurance. Elizabeth likes to have the conversations that leave advisors and clients feeling informed and confident in their planning needs. Her most satisfying career moments are finding insurance for clients who could not previously obtain insurance.
Starting her career in Kinesiology, Elizabeth joined EMG Insurance Brokerage in 2018, where she learned the complex industry and advanced to taking on a leadership role as the Director of Strategic Life Marketing.
Elizabeth attended Purdue University. She has a Bachelor of Science degree with minors in Spanish and Global Business. She has served as President and Vice President of local reputable 30 member networking group, and is the recipient of a award from CPR Financial for herleadership on insurance training.
Elizabeth treasures her family and friends. She enjoys exercise, the outdoors, skiing, mountains, exploring, and traveling. Elizabeth believes in giving back to the community. She is a volunteer with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program in Houston.
Carol Clover
Assistant Vice President, Sales Director - Life
Carol has been with EMG Insurance Brokerage since 1998. Although she is no longer taking on new relationships, she continues to service her existing agents and advisors. EMG values and appreciates Carol’s commitment, work ethic, and dedication to our business and clients.
Deven Hennessey
Sales Director - Life, Premium Finance, Settlements
Since 2000, Deven has worked in the insurance industry, helping individuals navigate the maze of financial options. Seeing them realize the end result brings Deven tremendous satisfaction. He is focused on education, consultation, and implementation of protection and income planning. This process is a long-term relationship that spans years and, often, generations, as he works through your business or personal financial needs. Deven has had extensive collaboration with regional and national banks. He is experienced with buy/sell, executive bonus, key-person, deferred compensation plans, Section 79, captives, and premium finance.
Deven joined EMG Insurance Brokerage in 2016 as theDirector of Life Insurance, Premium Finance, and Settlements. He is focused on recruitment, consultation, and point of sale assistance for agents and advisors in the life insurance, annuity, disability income, and retirement fields. He works with financial advisors, CPAs, estate attorneys, and high net worth individuals, such as; physicians, dentists, lawyers, pro athletes, business owners, and executives.
Deven has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Vermont.
Deven appreciates his opportunities to travel the world and sample amazing food. He loves adventures in the mountains and forests for hiking, biking, fishing, and exploring. He also enjoys sports car racing, golf, and tennis. His favorite activity may be snoozing in a hammock with his girls.
Shara Sutton
Sales Director - Life
The Life and Long Term Care insurance industry has been a passion of Shara’s for over twenty years. Shara manages EMG’s largest national account, maintaining relationships with approximately 250 financial advisors. She strives to educate and provide the highest level of support and training for financial advisors to ensure success in an ever-changing insurance marketplace. Shara provides a proprietary three-step system to help ensure success. Through this approach, Shara helps her advisors build a solid foundation allowing them to add value to their clients using fixed insurance products. She assists insurance agency business owners in building a vision for their company. Shara has assisted many advisors with the complete overhaul of their business practices and policies. She also helps recruit and retain top talent. Her goal is to increase overall production and drive revenue with a solid business plan and footprint for the future.
During her career, Shara has received the top independent producer award within an agency. She has also been named a top internal wholesaler, the top producer with an insurance carrier for three consecutive years, and the most valued partner among her peers.
Shara holds her Life/Health, Disability, and Property & Casualty licenses. She maintains a CLTC® Certification for Long-Term Care designation.
Shara enjoys spending time with her family. Her favorite activities include reading, antiquing, going to the beach, and playing with her two pugs. She spends her extra time volunteering at local nursing homes providing residents with canine companionship visits with her fur baby, Jed. Shara loves seeing her dog give joy to the residents.
Since 1983, Clay has worked in the financial services industry as a financial advisor and wealth insurance consultant. Clay works with some of the top advisors across the nation in developing planning concepts that creatively utilize corporate structures, specialized trusts, and unique insurance policy designs. He believes in using a collaborative and consultative planning approach dedicated to helping these financial advisors and their clients navigate the nuances of life insurance, asset transfers, business planning, and estate preservation.
Clay has point of sale experience at both carrier and BGA levels. He is experienced working with National Accounts, banks, insurance companies, broker-dealers, and RIAs. He is inspired knowing that his work helps people achieve their most important life goals. He enjoys motivating and training advisors to do the work to take their client relationships to a more significant level.
Clay has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Lawrence University with a double major in Biochemistry and Economics. He also has completed numerous courses from The American College and Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning.
He enjoys spending his free time woodworking and chasing his grandchildren.
Donnie works with independent agents, registered reps, and RIAs. He assists them in helping their clients fulfill their retirement goals utilizing fixed annuities.
Donnie is a graduate of the Louisiana State University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance.
He enjoys football (especially LSU Tigers football), fishing, traveling, and the great outdoors.
Brandon Herndon
Sales Director - Medicare and Individual Health
Brandon Herndon has been in the insurance industry since 2009. He is a subject matter expert on Health insurance, Medicare (Medicare Supplements /Medicare Advantage), and Health Ancillary Products (Dental/Vision, etc.) Brandon is EMG’s Individual Health and Medicare Director. Brandon focuses his time and energy on the health insurance space; however, he is an expert in Property and Casualty insurance, also.
Brandon has built successful agencies from the ground up; and loves to teach agents and agencies how to grow their book of business to achieve their business plan goals. He has been a director at the carrier level and has experience working with health providers. His goal is to give their clients the best care by giving them the most cost-effective options which protect their needs as they approach retirement age.
Brandon’s areas of expertise include:
Health Insurance
Disability Insurance
Life Insurance
Property and Casualty Insurance
Health Ancillary Products
Long Term Care
Marketing/Product Placement
Jesse Saenz
Sales Director - Life and Annuities
Jesse began his investment career in 1996 with Van Kanpen Funds in Houston, Texas. Jesse’s first focus was a customer service line assisting both advisors and clients with mutual fund accounts. He acquired his Texas Life and Health license in 2001 and began his career focus on annuities.
Jesse has worked directly for carriers focusing on Fixed Annuities, Fixed Index Annuities, Variable Annuities, and wealth transfer solutions for the past 20 years. His goal is to guide agents and clients through the ever-changing annuity and life solutions landscape and assist them in making the best choices for their businesses.
Andrea celebrates ten years in the Insurance business in 2022. She began her career at Prudential in 2012 before launching A&D Insurance Advisors with her dad, Don Ames, in 2013. After his retirement, she continued her career, joining Opes One Advisors in Austin in 2015. Her story with insurance began long ago with her grandfather. A business owner, he passed away very soon after a cancer diagnosis. Fortunately, he had life insurance that took care of his family and allowed her grandmother to keep the business going.
Before joining the industry, she was in fundraising. Andrea’s love of community has always been a guiding principle in her career and personal life. She served on the Board of Directors for The Samaritan Counseling Center for six years. Andrea has volunteered with Austin Child Guidance Center and was Chair of their Austin Originals Benefit Concert in 2018. She was a volunteer of the year in 2019 for Austin Regional Manufacturing Association after chairing their annual golf tournament in years past. She is a member of the Amazing Women Alliance.
Andrea also served her profession as President of NAIFA Austin for two years and served on the board for five years. She is also a graduate of LILI, Leadership in Life Insurance.
Roger Stacy
Sales Consultant - Manager Disability Sales
Roger has a broad and diverse career in the insurance industry. He began his career as a personal producer, where he learned the challenges and opportunities that agents face daily. This experience led to a passion for guiding consumers through their insurance buying journey and for reducing the friction that agents and consumers experience along that journey. He continues to be driven by that passion as he works to create the optimal experience and results for financial professionals and their clients in securing life, disability, and annuity solutions.
Roger has served in a variety of roles in the marketing and sales divisions for insurance carriers. Most notably, he was instrumental in the rapid growth of The General Life Insurance Company as National Sales and Marketing Director. General Life was known as the “first virtual life insurance company” and was a pioneer in tele-underwriting and electronic processing of business. He then built the brokerage distribution system for Union Central Life Insurance Company and later for the Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. Roger took a different direction when he entered the reinsurance business in 2015. It was there that he developed a deep knowledge of insurance risk management. While working closely with pricing, underwriting, and claims professionals, he developed insight into risk management. He worked on the leading edge of innovation in life and disability insurance products, underwriting, and technology. With this broad and diverse experience, Roger will focus on working with insurance professionals to develop efficient and effective products and underwriting solutions for life, disability, and annuity products.
Roger has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Xavier University and a Master of Business Administration from Mississippi State University. He also holds the CLU and CFP designations. Outside of work Roger enjoys being outdoors. He is an avid but not skilled golfer and enjoys exploring the barrier islands of South Carolina with his family.
Gail Yantis
Sales Consultant
Gail has had a passion for the insurance industry for over twenty years. Having been widowed at 28 with a small child and no insurance, she lived the effects of not having insurance coverage. She dealt with the stress of losing someone and worrying about making the next house payment and electric bill. Gail now partners with Property and Casualty agents, financial planners, health agents, and other multi-line producers. She assists them in protecting their client’s most valuable assets utilizing life, disability, and long-term care insurance.
A former Director of Operations for a large MGA, Gail was responsible for all sales, underwriting, case management, and compensation. Gail also has experience in opening small insurance offices nationwide and agency training for new and experienced agents.
Gail holds a CLTC® Certification for Long-Term Care designation. She also holds a Fellow Life Management Institute (FLMI) certificate.
Gail treasures spending time with her grandchildren. Her favorite activities include cruises, traveling around the world, and anything on the water.
Paul Davis
Sales Consultant
Paul began working in the insurance field in 1972 and has a combined total of 50 years of experience working as an independent consultant and running his own agency. He began his career working with Planning Consultants, Inc providing service, support, and sales product knowledge to insurance agents, financial professionals, and clients. He eventually took over management and has been running Planning Consultants since 1997.
He started consulting with EMG Brokerage in June 2015, providing agents with products and sales information and assistance. He’s assisted multiple personal clients for more than 40 years with their financial needs. Paul is passionate about providing a high level of service to assist brokers and agents in providing solutions for their clients. His years of experience in the industry have provided him with an unparalleled understanding of base carriers and the ability to function as a resource to provide the most up-to-date answers from carriers for his agents.
Paul holds a General Lines life and health insurance license. Paul enjoys working out and traveling when he is not working with agents and advisors.
Michelle Gotham
Sales Consultant
Michelle has 27 years of experience in the life insurance industry working primarily with financial advisors, independent producers, and P&C agencies. She focuses on assisting producers in obtaining insurance for their clients by working directly with the carriers and underwriters to find the most favorable outcome. Michelle also devotes her time to building new relationships with producers, finding out their needs, and provides a support system for them. She has many years of experience in underwriting, recruiting, marketing, and case design.
Michelle finds her career very fulfilling as she knows she is helping individuals and their families secure a financial future. She has seen too often the devastation of financial ruin when an individual is not properly insured.
Michelle has earned numerous awards including being named the top recruiter for three consecutive years at Agents Marketing Group. She was also named one of the top three recruiters with Protective Life in 2010. Michelle is life and health licensed. She has an associate’s degree in Office Information Systems.
In her free time, she enjoys traveling, outdoor exercising, and baking. Michelle enjoys helping others in her community by doing volunteer work.
Denise assists the EMG sales team, agents, and advisors by providing product and marketing information. She coordinates with New Business, Licensing, and Policyowner Services as needed. She believes in the service EMG provides as a broker to agents and takes pride in making a difference in individuals’ lives. She knows those who have benefitted from Life Insurance which motivates her every day to assist agents in maintaining life insurance coverage for their clients.
Denise has been in the industry since 2004. Denise attended the University of North Texas. She has an Associate Customer Service (ACS) designation from LOMA.
Denise enjoys day trips to the hill country, live music, photography, hiking and camping. Fun fact about Denise. She grew up across the street from Southfork Ranch in Parker, Texas, north of Dallas. She had the good fortune of meeting all the stars of the TV show ‘Dallas’ and was a paid extra on the show!
Kristy Fulton
Case Design Manager
Kristy works with producers and their clients by reviewing relevant medical and financial circumstances to match clients with our best-available plans and coverage options, meeting their insurance needs. Her biggest career satisfaction is when she provides support enabling producers to make wins. Kristy’s passion is helping people, and she is thankful for the opportunity to assist so many individuals secure coverage that will take care of their loved ones.
Kristy has over 20 years of customer service experience, with 15 years in the insurance field selling multiple lines of coverage, running quotes, and providing case management.
Kristy is an avid genealogist who never imagined research could be so much fun. She enjoys cross-country road trips to offbeat roadside attractions and time with her family.
Sarah Schenfeld
Internal Group Marketing and Operations Coordinator
Sarah Schenfeldworks with producers in our group benefits department. She supports agents by providing proposals, advertising, coordinating new and open enrollments, processing paperwork and carrier communications, and servicing the groups and agents year-round.
Sarah began in the industry as an agent specializing in group life and health insurance in 2018, after an accident left her a very young widow with a newborn and small child. Had it not been for the group life policy that her husband’s employer had in place, his loss would have greatly impacted her ability to financially provide for her children during one of the most challenging times of their lives. This experience created a passion within her to share what a difference group life insurance can make for those left behind in a tragedy. Now, Sarah finds fulfillment in the knowledge that she’s helping connect families with the coverage they need and enjoys supporting the producers behind the scenes.
When Sarah isn’t working, you’ll find her at home with her family and animals whom she adores. She has quite the houseful now! You may also find her on a yoga mat with crystals, and nearby you will find books on health, wellness, consciousness, and energy. Sarah is an avid yogi. She is working to earn her Yoga Teacher Training certification. Namaste!
Alyssa Bean
Marketing and Sales Administrative Assistant
Amelia Corbett
Internal Annuity Sales & Case Management
Amelia Corbett is our Internal Annuity Sales & Case Management support.
From 2016-2022, Amelia worked at Kuhl-Linscomb in the buying office. Prior to that experience, she worked at the Houston Bar Association from 2010-2014.
Amelia Graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, with a BA in Marketing. She has an MBA from Houston Baptist University. She finished her insurance license in 2022 for General Lines (Life, Accident, Health, and HMO (Health Maintenance Organization).
Amelia enjoys spending time with her husband and two small children. She enjoys cooking, sports (especially football), and hanging out with friends.
