Samuel B. Watson is the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Cool Springs Life, LLC and Cool Springs Financial Group, LLC. Based in Franklin, Tennessee, the company is engaged in providing life insurance to wealthy Americans and foreign nationals through a proprietary premium finance platform known as “The Cool Springs Life Equity Strategy.”

He is a 29-year veteran in the life insurance industry and is the architect/co-architect of five premium finance platforms that have financed in excess of $6 billion of life insurance face amounts for affluent clients all over the world.

Sam’s latest design, The Cool Springs Life Equity Strategy, combines the best of banking, life insurance, and sophisticated financial instruments to provide clients the most cost-effective methodology for acquiring life insurance.

Sam moved into the structured life insurance premium finance space in the year 2000 when he designed and launched his first platform for his firm. It provided Americans with the first life insurance 30-year premium finance loan offered through nBank, N.A. In 2004-2007, his firm served as a Managing Aggregator for the Credit Suisse Life Finance Unit where Sam co-designed three lending platforms.

Consistent with all of Sam’s premium finance designs, The Cool Springs Life Equity Strategy utilizes financially sound counterparties that include some of the world’s largest national and international banks and most respected life insurance carriers.

David R. Carpenter is the Chairman of Paradigm Partners International and is a member of Cool Springs Financial Group, LLC.

Carpenter retired in 1995 as Chairman and CEO of Transamerica life insurance companies as well as the senior executive in charge of Transamerica’s real estate, asset management, and mutual fund companies.

During his tenure as President, then Chairman and CEO, he took Transamerica through a significant transformation, during which the company experienced strong growth. Under his leadership, the company divested its Australian and British operations as well as the US Group health insurance business in highly successful transactions. His experience and knowledge of the life reinsurance business helped Transamerica rise from obscurity to the market leader. He also led the company into the long-term care and the structured settlement businesses. In the last five-year period of this tenure, earnings more than doubled, and Transamerica achieved a compound annual growth rate for each of the five major lines of business approximating 20%.

Mr. Carpenter was recognized by the American College of Life Insurance as one of the legends in the life insurance industry. After his retirement from Transamerica, Dave served as Chairman, then CEO of UniHeath, a diverse health care organization owning hospitals, HMOs, and practice management groups. Under his leadership, an extensive strategic planning effort was undertaken that led to divestiture of operating businesses and the conversion of UniHealth into a foundation, which he continues to chair.

Fellow, Society of Actuaries; B.A., Business; M.S., Mathematics; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

William Randolph is a senior partner in the law firm of Gordon, Herlands, Randolph & Cox, LLP. Mr. Randolph has over 30 years of experience, handling complex legal matters for publicly and privately held companies as well as for high-net-worth individuals. His extensive experience includes 18 years as outside tax counsel to the Mobil Corporation, as well as a wide range of work on a variety of projects for many other Fortune 100 companies. Mr. Randolph’s current areas of concentration include taxation, intellectual property, entertainment, and other business law matters for high-net-worth individuals and their privately held companies.

Mr. Randolph’s outside activities have included: the Advisory Committee, New York University Conference on State and Local Taxation (Member and Lecturer); the Executive Committee, Section of Taxation of the New York State Bar Association (Co-Chair, Subcommittee on New York City Tax Matters); and Commissioner’s Advisory Board, New York City Department of Finance (Member).

Mr. Randolph holds a B.S. in Business (Marketing) from Indiana University, as well as a JD (magna cum laude) from New England School of Law, and LLM (taxation) from the New York University School of Law.

Simon Baitler specializes in the changing paradigms of relationships within the life insurance industry and with other financial services industries, such as banking and investment management. He is Managing Director of Paradigm Partners International, LLC (PPI) and Vice Chair of Cool Springs Financial Group, LLC.

A veteran of more than 45 years in the insurance industry, 18 of them with Transamerica Life Companies (TLC), Mr. Baitler retired from TLC as Executive Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors. His work in the life insurance industry often benefited from his training as an actuary, as he was a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

While at TLC, Mr. Baitler led or oversaw the creation of many of the businesses in the enterprise, and was responsible for the Mergers and Acquisition function at a time when some successful transactions were completed.

In 1989, he began an entrepreneurial career that has included strategic advising to senior management of life insurance companies and, more recently, strategic advising to distribution organizations.

Mr. Baitler serves on the Board of Directors of several companies and advises entities within the private equity industry.

Born in New York, Mr. Baitler lives in Santa Monica, California with his wife, Carla, and daughter, Lily.

Gene Simmons embodies the American Dream. Born in Israel, an only child to his mother, a Holocaust survivor, he went on to climb the heights of fame and international recognition.

Simmons co-founded the legendary KISS over 35 years ago. The band has sold over 100 million CDs and DVDs worldwide, and continues to sell out stadiums and arenas around the world, breaking box-office records set by Elvis and the Beatles, and boasting over 3,000 licensed/merchandise items.

In addition to performing, Mr. Simmons has his own record company, Simmons/Universal Music, a joint venture between Universal Music and Magna's Belinda Stronach. He also discovered, signed, and produced the demo for Van Halen, and has managed the music career of Liza Minnelli, among others.

Outside of his music business endeavors, Mr. Simmons expanded his artistic explorations in the areas of TV and film. He has his own reality show on A&E, Gene Simmons Family Jewels, now it its fifth season. He has also completed two seasons of his other show, Gene Simmons' Rock School, for VH-1. In addition, he created the show Mr. Romance for Oxygen, as well as his own cartoon, My Dad the Rock Star, for Nickelodeon's NickToons.

As an actor, Simmons has co-starred in several motion pictures, among them Runaway (TriStar), Wanted: Dead or Alive (New World), and Extract (Miramax). He also served as co-producer on New Line Films' Detroit Rock City.

Other entrepreneurial accomplishments include his own book imprint, Simmons/Phoenix Books, and when he has a spare moment, he tours around the country on the lecture circuit.

Simmons has been happily unmarried to Shannon Tweed for 26 years. They have two children, Sophie and Nick.

An instinctive marketer, Richard G. Abramson grew up in Syracuse, NY and graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. in Radio/Television and Film, and a Master’s in Communications.

Mr. Abramson has established a varied career in marketing and motion picture and television production. He founded Aspen Promotions Inc., which became the most successful venture of its kind, directing marketing campaigns of many films for both Universal Studios and Warner Bros.

Soon after, in 1984, Mr. Abramson embarked upon sole management of the character “Pee-wee Herman.”. Mr. Abramson secured a deal with Warner Bros. to finance the feature film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. He co-created and produced Pee-wee’s Playhouse, which became America’s top-rated children’s show and was nominated for over 50 Emmy® Awards, winning 22. In 1983, the gross value of Pee-wee Herman’s business was about $35,000. By 1989, the total soared to close to one billion dollars.

Later, Mr. Abramson developed a new method to underwrite the costs of producing and distributing motion pictures utilizing efficacy insurance policies, and put together a $350 million prints and advertising facility.

Almost ten years ago, Mr. Abramson forged a partnership with Gene Simmons and the pair formed several businesses, including Simmons Abramson Marketing, which has represented several high-profile clients, including the Indy Racing League and the Indianapolis 500.