Executive Team
Senior Managing Directors
Howard Sharfman
Howard Sharfman has been recognized as an innovative leader in the insurance business for over two decades. He manages one of the premier and largest wealth transfer consulting and planning firms in the country. Mr. Sharfman’s practice is highly focused on servicing families with multigenerational wealth, family offices, private equity managers and ultra-high net worth advisors. His firm has additional expertise in executive benefits, corporate benefits, general insurance and risk management.
Mr. Sharfman’s ideas and concepts have been shared with peers and advisors around the country through many speeches, presentations, and publications. He has been a leading presenter for insurance industry conferences; LIMRA, AALU, MDRT TOT, and Forum 400. In 2015 Mr. Sharfman was the keynote speaker at the Canadian Association of Life Underwriting meeting in Ottawa Canada, a featured guest speaker at the Discovery Financial Summit in Johannesburg South Africa, and guest speaker on two episodes of CNBC Financial Planning Show. In addition, he has been a featured speaker at the Chicago Estate Planning Council, Heart of America Tax Conference and scores of other industry and estate planning council meetings.
He has shown industry leadership by serving as Treasurer, Program Planning chair, Executive Committee member, President and Chairman of the Forum 400. He has chaired AALU’s Business Insurance and Estate Planning Committee and serves as President of the MSG, a leading insurance based study group. Also, he has served on the advisory board of multiple insurance carriers that include MetLife, ING, John Hancock and Pacific Life. Currently, he is a board member of Life Happens and a former advisory board of PartnersFinancial, one of the largest insurance producer distribution channels in the industry. Finally, he was honored to co-author the industry’s response to The Honorable Timothy F. Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, regarding The Administration’s FY 2013 Estate and Gift Tax Proposals.
Mr. Sharfman and his team have had the honor and pleasure to serve some of the most financially influential families in the country as a trusted professional insurance advisor and consultant. He has placed or consulted in the placement of over $17 billion of life insurance coverage in the last decade.
Mr. Sharfman has been a lifelong numismatist collecting early half dollars since the age of 8.
Email: howard.sharfman@nfp.com
Phone: +1 312 683 7152
John Irvin
John Irvin joined NFP Insurance Solutions as a Managing Director in 2015. He is a leading life insurance producer nationally and has been involved in the industry for 30+ years.
John has been involved outside of the insurance industry, as well. From 2012 to 2013, he served as the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of The ExOne Company (XONE) and led the team in taking the company public on the NASDAQ in 2013. Since that time he has been Special Advisor to the CEO. ExOne manufactures sells and supports 3D printing machines.
In July, 2008 he served as President of PartnersFinancial, a leading national life insurance producer group owned by National Financial Partners. From 1993 to July 2008, he was CEO of Innovative Benefits Consulting, Inc., a life insurance consulting firm. From 1983 through 1993, John was a partner and co-founder of Mid Atlantic Capital Group and president of Mid-Atlantic Insurance Corporation, where he specialized in serving the financial planning, asset management and insurance needs of ultra-high net worth individuals. At the beginning of his career, John worked as a CPA with the international accounting firm of Arthur Andersen & Company. He then formed his own accounting firm engaging in individual taxation, financial planning, estate planning and trust work. This founding firm is currently operating as the Pittsburgh office of BDO, a national accounting firm.
John currently serves on the Board of Directors of The ExOne Company a NASDAQ-traded firm. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of PartnersFinancial Foundation, he is a Director on the S. Kent Rockwell Foundation and the Mine Vision Systems, Inc. board, a private global mining technology company. John formerly served on the Board of Directors for Argon ST, a NASDAQ-traded firm, and chaired its audit committee from 2001 until it was acquired by The Boeing Company in 2010.
Email: john.irvin@nfp.com
Phone: +1 412 577 8455
Managing Director
Marco Fabio Gelpi
Mr. Marco Gelpi has more than 20 years of experience in the life insurance business. He began his career with Mutual of New York (MONY) in 1997. In 2000, MONY decided to open a Miami, Florida office dedicated to serving the Brazilian community and consequently Marco moved to Miami.
Marco holds a Series 6 and life insurance producers license in both Florida and New York. He was a member of the Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT). When AXA acquired MONY in 2004 and closed the Miami office, Marco joined ICS Global Inc., a broker in Aventura, Florida. After working there for one year, ICS Global opened an office in Brazil. As a result of that Marco moved back to Brazil where he continued to be a top producer for the company. In 2008, he expanded his area of expertise into wealth management by joining Consenso/UBS Gestão Patrimonial, the second largest family office in Brazil. In 2012, Marco started his own company, MFMG Financial Services. In 2018 Marco joined Global Planning Group, as Managing Director for Latin America.
Email: marco.gelpi@gpglife.com
Phone: + 1 305 797 9703 USA
Directors
Jordan C. Berger, CPA, J.D.
Jordan “Jordy” C. Berger brings over 45 years of experience, where he specializes in providing insurance solutions to individuals, families and businesses in the areas of trust and estate planning, succession planning, wealth transfer and executive benefits. Jordy spent the majority of his career as a tax partner at the accounting firm of Altschuler, Melvoin and Glasser LLP which was acquired by American Express Tax and Business Services Inc. in 1999, which later was acquired by RSM McGladrey. Prior to joining Schwartz Benefit Services, Jordy was a Managing Director with RSM McGladrey. Accountants, attorneys and insurance executives throughout the country have relied on Jordy’s expertise and experience to preserve the wealth of their clients. He combines sophisticated planning techniques with the ability to find practical solutions to problems.
He received his bachelors degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1966. Upon graduating from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in 1969 with a Juris Doctor Degree, Jordy worked as an attorney and group manager in the Chicago office of the Internal Revenue Service Estate and Gift Tax Examination Division.
He is a member of the Chicago Estate Planning Council (past president), American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Illinois Bar Association, Illinois Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Chicago Bar Association and the Professional Advisory Committee of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago.
Jordy is a frequent speaker on estate planning and insurance related topics as well as authoring numerous articles.
Email: jordan.berger@nfp.com
Phone: +1 312 683 7155
Devra Gerber
Devra Gerber possesses a wide-ranging knowledge of the insurance industry running the gamut from property & casualty and environmental insurance to life insurance, disability and long-term care. For over 25 years, this broad brushed business expertise spanning a variety of disciplines, has enabled her to complement the solutions provided by an attorney, accountant or advisor to their UHNW clients.
Her background in sales, marketing and business development coupled with her superb attention to client service, has enabled clients to receive sophisticated, customized insurance solutions.
Before joining NFP Insurance Solutions, Devra served as a Managing Director of the privately held Near North Insurance Brokerage, where she was instrumental in developing and implementing long-term strategies as well as oversight of various functional areas as well as the development of a substantial book of business.
Devra holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Email: devra.gerber@nfp.com
Phone: +1 312 286 4583
Ferne Landman
Ferne Landman has been with NFP Insurance Solutions since 1983. She is the Director of Operations. Along with her team of five professionals they work with the insurance advisors to present well-crafted and creative insurance solutions to their clients. Ferne acts as a liaison between the insurance carriers and clients to ensure the best underwriting is achieved and the most efficient products are implemented for the client’s needs. In addition to her role at NFP Insurance Solutions she is a participant on the PartnersFinancial Underwriting Committee where she joins others in reviewing global underwriting issues that affect Partners members and advocating for change when necessary. Ferne holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration and Marketing from the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana. She has been a Chartered Life Underwriter since 1988 and successfully completed numerous industry-related courses.
Email: ferne.landman@nfp.com
Phone: +1 312 683 7151
Sam Griffin
Sam Griffin currently serves as Director of Marketing for Global Planning Group (GPG). Prior to joining GPG, Mr. Griffin served as Marketing Director for National Financial Partners Insurance Services in Chicago, IL. Mr. Griffin has worked as both a marketing and technology executive since 2014.
Prior to working at NFP, Mr. Griffin served as Director Marketing and Technology for Water+Trees, a growth management firm out of Chicago, IL.
Mr. Griffin graduated from Western Governors University majoring in Business Administration and Marketing. He currently resides in the Chicagoland area.
Email: sam.griffin@nfp.com
Phone: +1 312 325 8318
