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June 1, 2009//Lincoln, Neb.// JoAnn M. Martin, president and chief executive officer – UNIFI Mutual Holding Company, announces the following officer elections.

Bill Lester, CFA, FLMI, was elected executive vice president, investments/financial and corporate treasurer – UNIFI Mutual Holding Company and Ameritas Holding Company, and senior vice president and corporate treasurer – Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. (Ameritas Life), Acacia Life Insurance Company (Acacia Life) and The Union Central Life Insurance Company (Union Central Life). Lester’s major responsibilities will be to leverage and coordinate all financial aspects of UNIFI Companies. He continues to serve as president and CEO of Summit Investment Partners.

Lester joined Ameritas in 1983 as a research analyst. During his tenure, he has held various positions related to the investment of insurance company and client assets.

He graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in finance. Lester holds various securities licenses and is a member of the CFA Institute and CFA Society of Nebraska.

Steve Valerius was elected president – individual division – Ameritas Life, Acacia Life and Union Central Life. He continues to serve as president of Union Central Life.

Valerius joined Union Central in 1986 as assistant comptroller. He has held numerous officer positions during his tenure, including vice president – marketing financial and administration, vice president – individual client services, marketing financial and administration, and senior vice president – marketing and customer service.

He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Cincinnati. Valerius is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Ohio Society of CPAs.

Bob Barth, CPA, FLMI, was elected senior vice president and chief financial officer – UNIFI Mutual Holding Company and Ameritas Holding Company. Barth is responsible for the planning, development and administration of the accounting, audit and tax policies of the enterprise. He continues to serve as senior vice president and chief financial officer – Ameritas Life, Acacia Life and Union Central Life.

Barth began his career at Ameritas as senior group accountant in 1984, and has held numerous positions in accounting and finance. A graduate of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Barth is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Nebraska Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Karen Gustin, LLIF, was elected senior vice president – group marketing, managed care and national accounts. In this role, Karen is responsible for managing the group division’s marketing, advertising, product development, market research and communications. She continues to lead and manage the group managed care provider network directors and specialists, as well as the internal national accounts team, strategy and national accounts performance, which includes all employers with dental participation of 2,500 lives or more.

Gustin began her career at Ameritas in 1983 as a dental claim examiner trainee. She has held various positions in the group division, including group marketing coordinator, manager – group managed care and most recently, vice president – group marketing and managed care.

A graduate from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Gustin earned a bachelor’s degree in education. She is a member of the American Marketing Association; past member of the Lincoln Association of Health Underwriters board and the IBC advisory board; board member of Lancaster County's Voices of Hope not-for-profit organization; vice chair of the statistical committee for NADP (National Association of Dental Plans), chair for NADP’s alternative revenue task force; and vice chair of NADP and the NADP Foundation board of directors.

Bob Kocher was elected senior vice president – retirement income and business development for Ameritas, Acacia and Union Central. Kocher now leads Ameritas Investment Corp. and the retirement plans business. He also is responsible for the UNIFI retirement income strategy and provides strategy support to the enterprise.

Kocher joined UNIFI Companies as senior vice president – strategic thinking in 2007. He began his working career as a systems analyst with United Technologies, and also worked with Travelers and Mass Mutual Life Insurance Company. Prior to joining UNIFI, Kocher was an independent strategy and systems consultant. He attended Central Connecticut State University.

Jim Mikus, CFA, FLMI, was elected senior vice president and chief investment officer – Ameritas Life, Acacia Life and Union Central Life. His primary responsibility is to lead the team of investment professionals who evaluates, develops and implements investment strategies to meet the investment objectives of the UNIFI insurance companies.

Mikus began working for the company in 1986 as a research assistant and has served in various positions during his tenure, including senior securities analyst, vice president – securities, and managing director – fixed income.

Mikus graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance. He holds a Series 7 securities license, is a board member of JDRF – Lincoln and past president of the CFA Society of Nebraska.

Gary Raymond, FSA, MAAA, was elected senior vice president - group chief actuarial officer. Raymond is responsible for providing actuarial services for Ameritas Group, including pricing, reserving, product development, financial analysis and other financial activities needed to keep the division’s products profitable and competitive.

Raymond started his Ameritas career as a part-time actuarial student in 1968, and began working full time as an actuarial trainee in 1971. He has held various positions in group actuarial during his tenure, mostly recently serving as vice president and group chief actuarial officer.

He graduated from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a major in economics and minors in math and English. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Paul Wesling, CLU, was elected senior vice president - individual operations for Ameritas, Acacia and Union Central. Wesling is responsible for the operations of the individual division, including the customer service, new business, underwriting, licensing, field administration and compensation, field reporting and claims. He also serves as the home office liaison for the Field Advisory Cabinet (FAC).

Wesling joined Union Central in 2000 as director of DI sales and market development. He has served as vice president – product marketing and vice president – DI product management.

He graduated from the Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, with a Bachelor of Science degree in education, math and English. He earned the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) professional designation from the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Wesling is a member of the Society of Financial Service Professionals (SFSP), National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), Council for Disability Awareness (CDA) and International Disability Insurance Society (IDIS).

Karen Dike was elected vice president and associate general counsel for Ameritas, Acacia and Union Central. She is primarily responsible for providing legal services to the investment area on an enterprise wide basis.

Dike began her career at Ameritas in 1991 as an assistant general counsel. She also served as assistant vice president and associate general counsel, and most recently as second vice president and associate general counsel – Ameritas.

She received her undergraduate degree in finance from Creighton University, Omaha, Neb., and earned her Juris Doctor degree from Creighton University School of Law.

Allen McInerney, FSA, MAAA, was elected second vice president and associate actuary – Ameritas. He is responsible for determining model-based reserves, GAAP deferred policy acquisition costs, and related values for individual and retirement plans.

In 1994, McInerney joined Ameritas as a part-time actuarial intern and started working full time as an actuarial assistant – individual actuarial in 1996. Over the past 15 years his positions include actuarial associate and assistant actuary individual – product management, assistant actuary – financial actuarial and director and assistant actuary – financial actuarial.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, McInerney earned his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration with emphasis in actuarial science. He is a member of the Nebraska Actuaries Club.

Doug Waters, CLU, FLMI, was elected vice president – individual DI product management – Union Central. He is responsible for managing all aspects of the individual disability income product line, including product development, sales, profitability and strategic direction.

Waters joined Union Central as manager – marketing communications in 1993. The various positions he has held include manager – group voluntary benefits, second vice president – group marketing, regional group wholesale manager, and most recently, second vice president – DI ESMP program manager.

He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va., and his Master of Arts degree in theological studies from Cincinnati Bible Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio. He holds the state life and health insurance license.

UNIFI Companies—Ameritas Life, Acacia Life, Union Central Life and affiliated companies—offers a wide range of insurance and financial products and services to individuals, families and businesses. These products and services include life insurance; annuities; individual disability insurance; group dental, eye care and hearing insurance; retirement plans; investments; banking and public finance. To learn more, visit the UNIFI Companies Web site at www.UNIFIcompanies.com.

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For more information, contact:
Scott Stuckey, vice president – corporate communications
402-467-7432
sstuckey@ameritas.com

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