Our Leadership Team
Dale Whitney, CLU, ChFC
President and Chairman of the BoardA veteran of the insurance industry since 1969, Dale joined Western United in December of 1989 as a regional sales manager. He became President of Western United in 2004 and has been its Chairman since 2009.
Dale has attained the designations of Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) and Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®).
Todd Bareika, CPA
Chief Financial OfficerTodd Bareika joined Western United in February 2009 as its Chief Financial Officer. He has over 18 years of life insurance accounting experience managing all aspects of finance, statutory and GAAP accounting, and investment accounting.
Todd is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and has both a Series 7 and Series 27 license.
Rahul Sharma
Chief Operating OfficerRahul Sharma joined Western United as COO in January, 2009. He has worked for fortune 500 companies like GE Capital, IBM and served as Managing Director in Global Secured Capital, Armonk, NY prior to joining Western United. He has over ten years of management experience in corporate and structured finance, asset portfolio management, insurance management and lending to small and middle market companies.
He earned his Masters Degree in management from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT.
Lloyd Spooner
Director, Information SystemsLloyd Spooner joined Western United’s Information Systems Department in 1988. Over the years, he continued his education and assumed new roles and responsibilities with us such as Network Manager and Technical Operations Manager. In 2006 he was promoted to Director of Information Systems.
Larry Wiseman
Director of SalesFrom 1995 until 2003 Larry Wiseman worked as a Regional Sales Manager for Western United. In this position, he was responsible for recruiting and training new producers and supporting existing producers while satisfying the production requirements for his territory. He was promoted to Director of Sales in 2003 and is responsible for the development and marketing of new products.
Larry is a graduate of Central Washington University and is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). Larry’s regional territory covers the states of Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Texas.
Marc Puzzo, ChFC
Regional Sales ManagerMarc Puzzo has seventeen years of experience in the annuity industry. He joined Western United as a regional sales manager in 2003.
Marc is a graduate of Washington State University and is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA). Marc has also attained his Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) designation. Marc’s regional territory covers the states of Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
Linda Mason, FLMI, AIRC, AALU
Manager, Insurance AdministrationLinda Mason joined Western United in the new business department in June 1984. Over the next several years, she increased her knowledge through continuing her education and assuming additional duties and responsibilities. Her superior attitude and pursuit for excellence has made her an exceptional manager of the Insurance Administration group. She has held this position for the past 11 years.
Linda has attained her Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI), Associate Insurance Regulatory Compliance (AIRC), and Association for Advanced Life Underwriting (AALU) designations.