CATHERINE E. GIEBEL

***** **** ****, *.*. Box **

Lakeside, MI 49116

Telephone: 269-***-****

Internet: abnjew@r.postjobfree.com

CAREER SUMMARY Accomplished Human Resource professional with over 25 years experience in employee benefit plan

design and administration, providing technical governance and compliance oversight, developing

informational and effective employee communications, managing and leveraging relationships with

service providers, project management including critical issues of acquisitions and divestitures, and

integration of corporate benefit strategies with business needs and objectives.

EXPERIENCE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS CONTRACTOR August 2008 to Present

Recent assignment:

• Provided 401(k) support to 6,000 employee global manufacturing firm: transmitted and funded

401(k) payroll to recordkeeper/trustee; created and distributed monthly 401(k) expense

reconciliation reports to 40 business units; researched and timely resolved external auditor’s open

points during annual DB and DC plan audits; reviewed and edited various employee

communications.

THE WARRANTY GROUP, INC.- Chicago, Illinois October 2006 to July 2008

Benefits Manager

Led efforts to establish stand-alone benefit programs for 1,300 employee group spun-off from Aon

Corporation; managed conversion efforts including: negotiated vendor contracts; worked with outside

ERISA counsel preparing plan documents and SPDs; conducted RFP for investment advisor

engagement; developed self-service benefit enrollment; created employee communications

announcing new plans and benefit changes; created new hire benefit orientation presentation;

implemented non-qualified restoration plan.

AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION-Chicago, Illinois June 2003 to October 2006

Benefits Manager

Directed administration of retirement and health and welfare benefit programs; support ed

management in implementing strategic goals and objectives; recommend ed process improvement and

determined service delivery models; coached and developed staff; provided benefit reporting and

disclosure; managed vendor relationships.

MELLON, HR SOLUTIONS-Chicago, Illinois August 2002 to June 2003

Defined Benefit Operations Manager

Managed a team of eight administrators responsible for the calculation of pension benefits and set up

of pension payments for plans of a new client with eight active plans, multiple subplans and closed

plans covering over 10,000 salaried and hourly plan participants and 20,000 retirees.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS CONTRACTOR February 1999 to August 2002

Independent Contractor specializing in defined benefit and defined contribution plan management.

Selected assignments:

• Oversight and management of major benefit plan initiatives for $2 billion global manufacturing

holding company with 19,000 employees; managed roll-out of enhanced 40l(k) plan provisions

along with recordkeeping conversion to Y2K compliant system; managed conversion of non -

qualified plan valuation frequency from monthly to daily; coordinated DB and DC trustee

conversion; rewrote employee communications, including SMMs and enrollment kit materials to

reflect changes and plan enhancements.

• Conducted 40l(k) bundled provider search for privately held investment management firm with

200 employees which spun off from parent company’s plan; worked with client to identify

required vendor selection criteria and new plan design; prepared the R FP; represented client in

negotiating fees and procuring services.

• Managed 401(k) conversion for $27 billion Dutch multinational company with 11,000 domestic

employees (85,000 international). In addition, converted two plans from recent acquisitions

covering 1,500 employees, each from separate vendors. Verified reconciliation of trust assets,

account balance forwards, loan reamortizations; worked with new vendor to establish and

document administrative processes for all plan transactions and finalize Plan Administration

manual, standard forms/letters and related employee communications.

• Worked with privately held actuarial consulting firm performing ma nual benefit calculations;

interpreted “grandfathered” provisions resulting from numerous acquisitions.

• Provided interim recordkeeping for three small 401(k) plans of a family owned Chicago property

management firm while plans transitioned from former recordkeeper to their new provider.

Performed monthly trust reconciliation. Created individual participant statements. Prepared and

delivered recordkeeping conversion files to new provider according to their specifications.

• Reviewed 24 stand-alone 401(k) plans of newly acquired firms purchased by multinational

Fortune 200 manufacturing company. Identified protected benefits and reviewed contracts to

assess investment liquidation and surrender charges prior to merging into parent company’s plan.

Provided ERISA counsel with documentation of operational procedures for 48 defined

contribution plans during GUST extended reliance period in order to facilitate amending plans

for GUST compliance.

• Prepared IRS Determination Letter submissions for clients of Chicago law f irm.

CNA INSURANCE COMPANIES-Chicago, IL 1997 to February 1999

Director, Benefits Consulting

Responsible for the delivery, design and administration of pension and savings benefit plans for

20,000 employees and 15,000 retirees with pension assets in excess of $1.5 billion and savings plan

assets of $800 million. Formulated benefit design, ensured ERISA compliance, facilitated benefit

administration and communication. Managed and trained Benefit staff. Directed vendor relationships

with actuaries, record-keepers, trustees, consultants, investment managers and outside legal counsel.

Accomplishments include:

• Consultant to 38 strategic business units and corporate affiliates on specific benefits issues.

Implemented customized comprehensive benefit programs for six acquisitions and divestitures.

• Created retirement benefit platform to allow varying benefit participation among business units

within core corporate plan.

• Audited benefit programs of prospective acquisitions as part of due diligence team.

• Ran successful savings plan participation campaign increasing plan participation eight percent to

a total of seventy-nine percent.

• Implemented “intranet” access to retirement benefit information.

• Key team member of outsourcing and retirement plan restructuring initiatives.

• Chaired Benefit Operations Committee providing strategic plan recommendations to plan

trustees.

PROFESSIONAL Certified Pension Consultant (CPC), American Society of Pension Professionals and

DESIGNATIONS Actuaries (ASPPA) 1981 through 2006.

Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) since 1985.

EDUCATION University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Bachelor of Arts

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