Join Will Biernat, a recent Insurance and Risk Management graduate from the University of Central Arkansas, and AICP student engagement committee member, as he sits down with Cynthia Burleson and Sean Cox to discuss the completely different paths they took into the broad field of Insurance Compliance, while utilizing many of the same strategies to help them advance their careers. Cynthia now serves as the Audit and Compliance Manager with K2 Insurance Services, LLC, while Sean serves as President at First Consulting.

Featuring: Cynthia Burleson, Audit and Compliance Manager, K2 Insurance Services, LLC
Sean Cox, President, First Consulting

Hosted by: Will Biernat

Cynthia Burleson is the Audit and Compliance Manager with K2 Insurance Services, LLC. K2 leads a core group of specialty insurers and MGAs across the country, creating a leading underwriting and distribution franchise in the program insurance market.

Prior to beginning work with K2, Cynthia was a lecturer and Director for the Center for Insurance and Risk Management at the University of Central Arkansas. There she developed and taught courses in the only Insurance and Risk Management degree program in the state of Arkansas. She also worked with students and industry professionals to support internship and future job opportunities. Cynthia began working with the National Alliance as an Educational Consultant for Arkansas while at UCA and is now active in teaching as well.

Before coming to UCA, Cynthia was the Director of Compliance and Risk Management for PetFirst Healthcare LLC, a national pet insurance broker who recently was acquired by MetLife. In her tenure with PetFirst she was responsible for developing efficient processes for handling claims and licensing. Cynthia also worked with underwriters Munich Re, AIG, and IAIC to develop new pet insurance programs including working with an actuary firm to determine rating structure and with the underwriter to create appropriate forms. Cynthia was responsible for loss ratio estimation and presented at board meetings. Prior to joining the executive team at PetFirst Cynthia was a Regulatory Manager with Crum & Forster, Compliance Officer at American Management Corporation spending nine years specifically focused on insurance programs for the fuel marketing industry, and Brown & Brown Insurance as both a CSR and Commercial Lines Manager.

Cynthia earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration, and holds the CIC, CRM, AIDA, CPCU, ACP, and ACSR designations. She earned her CIC designation in 2001 and her CRM designation in 2017.

Sean Cox has been with First Consulting since 1995 and during that time has progressed through many different roles within the firm, including performing filing services, managing these filing teams, drafting, advertising compliance, licensing and marketing. Experience includes group and individual life, annuity and health filings, personal and commercial property and casualty filings, and general compliance matters. Sean has held numerous regional and national officer positions within the AICP, received the AICP President’s Award, and is a frequent speaker for multiple organizations.

Will Biernat graduated from the University of Central Arkansas in May 2023 with a major in Insurance and Risk Management. He is on the Student Engagement Committee for AICP as well as the President for the Alpha Psi Chapter of Gamma Iota Sigma. He also serves as an International Student Representative for Gamma Iota Sigma.