Headquarters:

Edmonton, AB

Year founded:

1968

Number of employees:

200

Phone:

780 431 4762

Email:

adriennea@asebp.ca

Website:

asebp.ca

LinkedIn:

linkedin.com/company/the-alberta-school-employee-benefit-plan

“We put our customers at the centre of our business, responding to brokers in a proactive and timely manner and working with the customer to understand their unique risk profile and tailor appropriate solutions”

Erica Kofie, QBE

Kelli Littlechilds

Chief Executive Officer

Carlyn Volume-Smith

Chief Stakeholder Relations Officer

Jocelyn Plakas-Lock

Chief Operating Officer

Leadership

Kelli Littlechilds is chief executive officer of the Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan (ASEBP), one of Alberta’s Top 75 Employers for 2023 and winner of the 2023 Best Places to Work award from HRD Canada. With a wealth of knowledge and more than 35 years of experience in the health and benefits industry, she is committed to supporting personal and workplace well-being.

Chief Executive Officer

Kelli Littlechilds

Dr. Carlyn Volume-Smith is chief stakeholder relations officer at ASEBP, as well as a licensed clinical pharmacist with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, a Master of Science in Health Promotion, and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Alberta. She has been in the pharmaceutical policy and health benefit industries for more than two decades, managing complex scientific advisory processes and serving on several pan-Canadian committees during that time.

Chief Stakeholder Relations Officer

Carlyn Volume-Smith

Jocelyn Plakas-Lock is chief operating officer at ASEBP, overseeing the organization’s daily operations and ensuring its alignment with the strategic direction. She has more than 25 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector, with 13 of those years being in the benefits industry specifically. Plakas-Lock holds a Bachelor of Science with Specialization in Psychology from the University of Alberta and a Master of Social Science (Human Services) from the Queensland University of Technology.

Chief Operating Officer

Jocelyn Plakas-Lock

Erica Kofie, QBE

“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”

Erica Kofie, QBE

Leadership

“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”

Erica Kofie, QBE

Leadership

Lucian Schulte

Chief Innovation and Finance Officer

Lucian Schulte is chief innovation and finance officer at ASEBP. A graduate of the University of Alberta with a degree in Honors Mathematics and a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and the Society of Actuaries, he has 16 years of experience in the benefits industry. Schulte has consulted with many public and private sector clients on benefits, insurance, and predictive modelling and forecasting.

Chief Innovation and Finance Officer

Lucian Schulte

Damian Percy

General Manager, Securitisation

Damian Percy is a creative, lateral-thinking and outcomes-driven senior leader with over 20 years of experience in financial services and a deep and broad understanding of the Australian home loan market. He is a highly respected commentator and advisor to the industry, with practical expertise across all facets of the sector, including distribution, operations, product design, technology and regulation. Percy understands that, ultimately, all business is problem-solving, and he applies his rare blend of industry expertise and innovative thinking to build strong businesses and great customer outcomes. Percy is a past director and fellow of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia, holds degrees in arts and law and was a founding member of the nation’s leading Elvis parody act between 1992 and 2004.

General Manager, Securitisation

Damian Percy

For more than 50 years, the Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan (ASEBP) has provided comprehensive health benefits to public and Catholic education sector employers, their employees across Alberta, and their retirees across Canada. They pride themselves on being a committed partner in promoting, protecting, improving, and sustaining the health of their covered members and their dependents, including ASEBP employees. ASEBP is recognised as a market leader for the workplace environment it has created, evidenced by a staff turnover rate three times lower than the national average. Its progressive policies include:

“We continue to see cyber as a key opportunity and will be further developing customer-centric solutions across various geographies and segments in line with our growth aspirations”

Erica Kofie, QBE

Tony Bird

Chief Risk Officer

Mark Hewitt

General Manager, Industry and Partnership Development

Brad Wearn

Chief Technology Officer

Simon Williams

Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955

Tony Bird has been working in the banking and finance industry for 25 years, predominantly in credit risk, collections and portfolio management. His strength is bringing creative, data-driven solutions to safely grow retail portfolios. He develops strong relationships with internal and external partners to maximise profit after capital charges. Bird’s management style is collaborative and focused on achieving ambitious targets.

Chief Risk Officer

Tony Bird

Mark Hewitt has a wealth of knowledge and industry experience, with 40 years of experience in financial services. He is a member of the executive team at aggregator Australian Finance Group (AFG), which he joined in 2006 as general manager of broker and residential and is currently AFG’s general manager of industry and partnership development. Prior to joining AFG, Hewitt spent 20 years with ANZ, including four years in ANZ’s third-party distribution area, and later became national manager of key broker relationships. He has also recently been co-chair of the Combined Industry Forum and has played a key role in the industry reform process. Hewitt’s significant skills encompass operations, communications, relationship management, credit management, asset finance, human resources, contract and sponsorship negotiation, and sales. He was named on the MPA’s Global Mortgage 100 list in both 2020 and 2021. He is also a director of the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA), Think Tank Group and Mortgage Processing Services.

General Manager, Industry and Partnership Development

Mark Hewitt

Brad Wearn, serving as the chief technology officer, brings extensive expertise and forward-thinking approaches to the evolving landscape of IT services procurement and management. With a keen eye on industry trends and organisational needs, he recognises the shift toward purchasing IT capabilities “as a service,” acknowledging both its agility and potential security risks. In his role, Wearn navigates the challenges posed by “shadow IT” and the impact it can have on organizational spending and security. Embracing an IT delivery model focused on flexibility and efficiency, he champions the adoption of “as a service” platforms. This approach ensures transparency in usage and enables the implementation of necessary controls to safeguard critical data and systems. By spearheading this transformation, Wearn moves away from defending a large IT budget toward facilitating the adoption of tailored technology solutions aligned with evolving business needs. With an unwavering commitment to driving innovation and maximizing value, he sees himself at the forefront of an exciting journey as a CIO, navigating the ever-changing landscape of technology with enthusiasm and expertise.

Chief Technology Officer

Brad Wearn

Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.

Partner

Kimi Shah

Partner

Kimi Shah

Partner

Kimi Shah

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Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Small business

Medal

Overall service level

Broker communication, training and development

BDM support

Turnaround time – claims

Broker's Pick – Personal Accident and Illness Insurance

Brokers’ Pick – Professional liability

Small business

Personal time – time offline to connect to oneself, family, and/or friends, and to grow personally and professionally Flexible start times – an arrangement that is mutually beneficial for both ASEBP and the employee Benefit plans and services – covering the full spectrum of the health journey, including general health, employee and family assistance, loss of life, and disability benefits. Personal day of significance – of employees choosing Work from home – allows employees to have a hybrid workplace model that includes a safety checklist to ensure an ergonomic and safe workspace at home. Employees’ in-office time is determined based on their role. For many, this means coming to the office once per month. Vacation days – All full-time employees start with three weeks and every year one vacation day is added until the employee reaches five years of employment, upon which each employees receives four weeks’ vacation. On their 10th employment anniversary, the vacation entitlement increases to five weeks.

ASEBP ensures it is continually delivering for its employees by using a third-party, anonymous survey platform to gather feedback on a variety of topics, including:

workplace wellness culture communication transparency employee satisfaction engagement

Anna MacDonald, human resources director, explains, “We are as responsive as possible to employee feedback. For example, our work from home policy, which outlines the organization’s hybrid work model, was created using input from employees and leaders to build a model that is mutually beneficial for both ASEBP and the employee.” Despite having more than 200 employees, ASEBP strives to make its service and interactions with their covered members personalized. “Our policies and programs focus on allowing as many employees as possible to participate in and take advantage of the options available to them within the organization,” adds MacDonald. Another of the portfolio of options on offer is ASEBP’s partnership with the Local Authority Pension Plan (LAPP) to give employees a pension for life that employees and ASEBP pay into. There is also an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion, which is illustrated in 96 percent of the ASEBP employee body responding favourably when asked in 2024 if they were treated fairly at work. “ASEBP values emotionally intelligent and empathetic leaders and leadership. These qualities trickle down from the Chief Executive Team and directors, to managers and their employees,” says MacDonald. “We also host Leadership Lunch and Learns where leaders share their experiences and knowledge with their peers, creating a connected ASEBP and making it a safe space in which to equally learn from wins and errors.”