Our Management Team
Le Phan | CEO
Ms. Phan specializes in Voluntary Worksite Benefits and has over 20 years of experience in the Voluntary Benefits market. As CEO and Founder of Strategic Benefit Solutions “SBS”, she identifies and drives the strategies for the firm, which supports strategic partnerships along with collaborative initiatives to design integrated solutions for clients. Her extensive background as a voluntary benefit professional provides her with both a comprehensive understanding of today’s benefit market and an ability to design integrated solutions that address clients’ benefit objectives.
Prior to launching SBS, Ms. Phan was Practice Leader of Voluntary Benefits Division, as Senior Vice President of an M Financial firm in the Baltimore area she led both the operations and the marketing strategies of the multi-million dollar worksite business unit and drove the strategic initiatives and targeted performance metrics for business unit operations. Ms. Phan also launched independent marketing strategies for the voluntary worksite portfolio at The Abacus Group. Through her ability to anticipate worksite marketing trends, combined with her extensive expertise in the design of worksite programs that enhance benefit packages, she was able to grow a portfolio of clients that resulted in annual premiums in excess of $5 million. She has also held sales and management positions at GE Financial Assurance and ReliaStar Life Insurance Company.
Ms. Phan is an Emeritus Honoree of the Workplace Benefits Association Advisory Board, prior Advisory Board member of the Workplace Benefits Association and has been a highly sought after speaker and keynote panelist with speaking engagements for the association’s Workplace Renaissance Conference and LIMRA. She has also been featured in the industry publications Employee Benefit Adviser and Benefits Selling. Ms. Phan holds her health and life license in multiple states and her B.S. Degree in Finance, University of Nebraska, along with a Certificate from the Tuck Executive Program at Dartmouth. As a business leader in her local community, Ms. Phan is a Member of the Steering Committee for the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy.
Renee Brooks |Principal
As Principal of Strategic Benefit Solutions “SBS”, Ms. Brooks brings a comprehensive background of 13 years of worksite experience combined with 15 years of human resources leadership and consulting. Her understanding of the HR client’s challenges and objectives supports a strong client relationship and the delivery of customized solutions that provide the client with turnkey processes from program design, communication, implementation and on-going administration.
Prior to SBS, Ms. Brooks was Vice President of Voluntary Benefits at an M Financial firm in the Baltimore area, where she managed the worksite team ensuring operational excellence to drive client projects from engagement to completion and post-implementation service. Ms. Brooks also worked as a worksite consultant as an independent agent for The Abacus Group where she managed the support and service requirements for a multi-million dollar block of Voluntary Worksite Benefits business. She also has experience as an HR Consultant for small to mid-size employers, along with a track record in HR leadership with Fortune 500 organizations such as Domino’s Pizza Corporate, Andersen Windows and Doors and Fedex Kinko’s. As an HR executive with a multi-billion dollar, international organization, she was accountable for building the field HR team and driving the HR strategies for a multi-state area in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.
As an HR Leader, she was featured as speaker and panelist for HR seminars in topics ranging from team building, talent acquisition, retention, and employee relations strategies, along with being a keynote speaker for the Workplace Benefits Association industry conference. Ms. Brooks holds her health and life insurance license and has a B.A. Degree in Marketing and in Psychology and Graduate Studies in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, Middle Tennessee State University, and University of Kentucky.
Jamie Black |Principal
As a Principal, Ms. Black is a highly driven and motivated woman business owner with over thirty years of experience as a leader in her field with a portfolio of experience that includes marketing, relationship-building, sales management, benefits consulting, solutions and service delivery. With expertise in the group and worksite benefits industry, Ms. Black collaborates with financial advisers to design and deliver employee benefit solutions to their clients. Her ability to continuously assess the benefit climate and to understand her clients’ benefit challenges and objectives ensures that she deliver best in class solutions that exceed her clients’ expectations.
Ms. Black was previously President and Owner of The Jamie Black Group, a firm specializing as a wholesaler and retailer of group insurance products, as well as benefits consulting. She and her team place special emphasis on delivering value to not only the employer, but also to the ultimate end-user (the employee). Prior to starting her own agency, Ms. Black held sales management roles with top tier group insurance companies. She was Regional Director of Employee Benefits for Lincoln Financial Group in the Philadelphia market for 10 years, where she led the marketing and sales initiatives for group insurance.
She holds her health and life license, and is a graduate of La Salle University. Ms. Black is also a Past President of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Health Underwriters and is currently a board member of the Broker’s Advisory Board for the Group Insurance Division of American General.
Elizabeth Elza Carll |Vice President, Client Services
As VP of Client Services, Ms. Carll is a results driven professional with twenty-three years of experience as a leader in her field with a portfolio of experience that includes project management, organizational management, team building, client-centric solutions and service delivery. She leads the continuous improvement initiatives for SBS, as well as process improvement and quality metrics to support the sustainable executional excellence of the firm’s implementation strategy.
As Vice President of Implementation, Ms. Carll provided leadership and consulting support to an M Financial firm in the Baltimore area on process development, goal setting and implementation in support of achieving corporate objectives. She offered strategic leadership for the Multi-Life and New Business Departments, as well as lead their Service team. She provided direction and management for every phase of implementation to ensure that cost, schedules and quality objectives were achieved. In addition, Ms. Carll worked with the management team to recruit new employees and worked with staff to oversee staff development and employee relations.
Ms. Carll served as an Officer of Wachovia Corporation where she received extensive professional training and numerous certifications, honors and awards for her accomplishments during her twelve years with the company. Before she moved into operations, she held the Series 6, 63, and 7 designations as well as a Maryland State Life Insurance license. Her expertise covers a vast array of financial and insurance disciplines including banking, investments, lending, estate planning and trust administration, mortgage, health and welfare benefits and executive benefits administration. Ms. Carll holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Graduate Studies from The University of Baltimore.