Steve Shaffer is Board Chair, President and CEO for Homesteaders Life Company. He is responsible for setting Homesteaders’ strategic direction; leading the executive team; maintaining our investment discipline; driving our core initiatives and our approach to market. Prior to joining Homesteaders in 2014, Shaffer actively worked with several national funeral home operators having co-founded and served as President-CEO of Foundation Partners Group, LLC and having served as co-founder and CFO-EVP at Keystone Group. After earning his accounting degree at Indiana University Bloomington, Steve started his career as a CPA and auditor at Ernst & Young in Indianapolis. In addition, Shaffer has actively served two three-year terms as a Trustee on the Board of the Funeral Service Foundation, including leadership roles as secretary/treasurer and board chair.

Nick Gerhart is the Chief Operating Officer for Homesteaders Life Company. He is responsible for managing the company's operations, including activities to optimize company growth through innovation that is consistent with Homesteaders’ core values, purpose and vision. Prior to joining Homesteaders in 2020, Gerhart was Chief Administrative Officer at FBL Financial. Gerhart is best known for his time as Commissioner of the Iowa Insurance Division, where he transformed that department and increased the State of Iowa’s international prominence through his thought leadership. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Northern Iowa and his JD, MHA from the Saint Louis University School of Law. In addition, Gerhart is mentor and advisor to numerous insuretech startup ventures, including Advisor to Assured Allies, Gain Compliance, Sureify, Harbor AI and others, as well as serves on the Board of Directors for Pi 515 and Childserve.

Justine Bell is the Chief Human Resources and Administrative Officer for Homesteaders Life Company. She is responsible for driving the company’s human resources strategy, including talent development, employee engagement, regulatory compliance and organizational growth. Bell brings more than a decade of HR leadership experience across global organizations, financial institutions and high-growth companies. She holds a bachelor's degree in organizational studies (HR) from the University of Iowa and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in human resources and employment law from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. 

Wade Comstock is Executive VP-Operations for Homesteaders Life Company. He is responsible for developing the solutions that provide state-of-the-art technology to manage our business and serve our funeral home customers, sales counselors and policy owners. Prior to joining Homesteaders in 2011, Comstock served as Vice President, IT for Aviva Investors and Technical Project Manager for First National Information Solutions. He earned his bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Iowa. In addition, Comstock is skilled in developing technical solutions that support customer and company success and brings nearly two decades of experience in the information services field.