Company Leadership

Graham Cook

Chairman-President

Our chief executive joined Homesteaders as a part-time print shop employee in 1966. After earning his degree from Drake University Graham began his journey through the leadership ranks, appointed president by the board of directors in 1995. He was elected chairman of the board in 1999. Graham is a fellow in the Life Management Institute (FLMI) and has served as President of the National Alliance of Life Companies, Chairman of the Funeral ServiceFoundation, President of the Federation of Iowa Insurers and Chairman of the HCI (Hospice of Central Iowa) Foundation. He has served on the Board of Directors for the American Council of Life Insurers Forum 500, currently serves as a Trustee of the Des Moines Art Center and is a member of the United Way Tocqueville Society. He was inducted into the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame in 2010.  Contact:Gcook@homesteaderslife.com

Steve Lang

Chief Operating Officer

Steve brings invaluable leadership experience to Homesteaders, having worked as one of the architects of contemporary pre-need insurance funding and serving as CEO at a competing pre-need insurer. He joined us in 2008 with a great deal of appreciation for our company's unique culture and the goal to build on and help sustain Homesteaders' market-leading position. Steve holds a B.A. and a Masters degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Michigan State University. Contact: Slang@homesteaderslife.com

Glen Hare

Executive VP-Chief Financial Officer

Glen is part of the legacy of prudent financial decision makers that has provided more than 100 years of security for Homesteaders policy owners, funeral home customers and employees. With 30+ years of service at Homesteaders he continues his focus on our financial security while working with future company leaders to assure the continuity that will provide stability, confidence and success throughout Homesteaders’ next century. Contact: Ghare@homesteaderslife.com

Steve W. Pick

Executive VP-Chief Financial Officer/Treasurer

Steve joined Homesteaders in April 2013. He replaced retiring Glen Hare, who will be with the company through the end of this year. Steve comes to Homesteaders with over 25 years experience in the insurance and investment management industries, including over 10 years in CFO positions. He will be responsible for directing the accounting, investment, and treasury functions. Steve holds a BS in Accounting and Economics from Morningside College in Sioux City, IA and is a Fellow in the Life Management Institute (FLMI). Contact: spick@homesteaderslife.com

Judy Ralston-Hansen

Executive VP-HR/Administration

Judy arrived at Homesteaders in 1997. While working to maintain our company’s enviable culture, her team is also focused on developing an environment that includes positive accountability, opportunity for personal and professional growth, great benefits and compensation, and a safe, secure place to work. Judy earned her Master's degree from Drake University, her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, and is an accredited Senior Professional in Human Resources. Contact: Jralstonhansen@homesteaderslife.com

Lyndon Peterson

Executive VP-Sales and Service

Lyndon represents Homesteaders’ ongoing commitment to our funeral home customers. As the first ever EVP-Sales and Service, he oversees the account executive and third party marketer programs as well as the licensing and compensation and customer service departments. Lyndon has an exceptional understanding of agency management and multi-channel distribution systems. He joins Homesteaders after a twenty-seven year stint with Wellmark, Inc. He holds a B.A. in Finance and a Masters degree in Hospital and Health Administration from the University of Iowa as well as an MBA from Drake University. Lyndon is a fellow in the Life Management Institute (FLMI). Contact: LPeterson@homesteaderslife.com

Jim Koher

Executive VP-Chief Actuary

Jim came to Homesteaders in 2007 from Principal Financial Group, where he worked on pricing and product design as a Senior Actuary. His team is responsible for profit testing, product development, actuarial services and long-range profitability planning. In 2008 he earned his Certified Preneed Counselor (nonpracticing) designation from the NFDA. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science from Ball State University and is a Fellow in the Society of Actuaries (FSA). Contact: Jkoher@homesteaderslife.com

Tom Heuer

Vice President-Insurance Operations

Tom has spent nearly his entire career in insurance underwriting and customer service. Since joining Homesteaders in 1987, he and his team have been focused on making it easy for our funeral home customers to serve families in advance and at the time of need. His leadership and technology initiatives have resulted in streamlined business processes such as policy issue and agent contracting while also providing industry-leading customer and policy owner service via telephone and the Internet. Contact: Theuer@homesteaderslife.com

Dean Lambert

Vice President-Marketing

Dean's association with funeral service began when the advertising agency he co-founded signed its first funeral home client in 1993. After serving as a consultant he joined the Homesteaders family in 1998. He manages a team responsible for all aspects of marketing, market research, communications and funeral home marketing services. Dean holds an Master's degree with an emphasis in marketing. He is a frequent presenter at funeral association events and has published numerous articles on funeral home marketing and PR. Contact: Dlambert@homesteaderslife.com

Dan Lodermeier

Vice President-Field Sales

Dan has been helping funeral home owners achieve success since 1991, when he joined Homesteaders as one of its first account executives. As the company expanded the field sales program Dan became a regional director, greatly influencing the continuing evolution of the account executive organization while helping the company achieve exponential sales growth. Dan was promoted to VP in 2009. He has been recognized as account executive of the year and regional director of the year and is a member of Homesteaders' prestigious Pioneer Club. Contact: Dlodermeier@homesteaderslife.com

Krista Frank

Vice President-Customer Service

Krista has diverse experience in managing customer service, marketing and sales support. Providing leadership for Homesteaders' customer service and licensing/compensation departments, her focus is on the continuous improvement of these areas, which are already recognized as superior in the pre-need insurance funding industry. Krista's 25-plus years of experience in insurance and financial services offers a wealth of innovation and expertise in support of Homesteaders' goal to elevate customer satisfaction and funeral home success. She holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Drake University and her professional credentials include Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU). Contact: kfrank@homesteaderslife.com

Wayne Huegerich

Vice President-Controller

Wayne leads a team with years of analytical experience (a.k.a. “number-crunching”) to forecast, plan, manage, evaluate, and report on the company’s finances and operations. He began his career with Homesteaders as accounting manager in 1985 and has been a guiding force behind the company's financial growth and evolution into a national presence. Contact: Whuegerich@homesteaderslife.com

Kevin Kubik

Vice President-Investments

When he's not being harassed for investment advice by the staff, Kevin keeps a close watch on our invested assets. Our chief investment officer is an MBA with 34 years of investment experience and is heavily credentialed: He is a C.F.A., has passed his Series 7, 63, and 65 of the NASD, and is currently working on Commercial Real Estate Finance certificate for a CREF designation. Contact: Kkubik@homesteaderslife.com

Marla G. Lacey

Vice President-Associate General Counsel

Marla is responsible for overseeing legal and compliance matters and is committed to ensuring that Homesteaders continues managing our business with the highest level of ethics, integrity and adherence to the laws and regulations that govern the pre-need insurance industry. With nearly 30 years experience in both corporate and private legal practice, Marla has gained a wealth of insurance compliance expertise. Marla earned her Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation in 2004 and her Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) designation in 2005. She received her undergraduate degree from Drake University and her law degree from the University of Iowa. Contact: mlacey@homesteaderslife.com

Gerry Kraus

Vice President-Compliance

Gerry’s duties are focused on ensuring Homesteaders operates in alignment with state and federal insurance and funeral regulations, in addition to conducting the company’s government relations activities. During his over 30-year tenure with Homesteaders, Gerry has held a variety of positions in accounting, marketing, compliance and corporate affairs. He is a past president of the National Alliance of Life Companies (NALC), a decade-long member of the NALC Board of Directors, and serves on many industry committees. Gerry leads an extensive network of insurance and funeral coalitions, working with regulators and legislators on a variety of sensitive issues. Contact: Gkraus@homesteaderslife.com

Wade Comstock

Vice President-Information Services

Under Wade's leadership, Homesteaders continues to develop the solutions that provide state-of-the-art technology to manage our business and serve our funeral home customers, sales counselors and policy owners. He is skilled in developing technical solutions that support customer and company success, including networks, programming, computer operations and technology support to customers. Wade brings to Homesteaders nearly two decades of experience in the information services field and holds his Bachelor degree in Computer Science from University of Iowa. Contact: Wcomstock@homesteaderslife.com