Rod Bench was the founder and principal of RA Bench, a highly successful financial services organization in Seattle, and managed the firm prior to its sale to USI Kibble & Prentice in 2010.  He previously served as an executive officer of New England Financial and was responsible for the company’s marketing efforts; its individual insurance product development; and the legal, design and administration teams supporting all employee benefit plans. In 2016, he joined the group which acquired the individual life and disability insurance business of USI Kibble & Prentice as an equity principal and serves on the management committee of PILLAR International Insurance Advisors.

Rod acts as a senior advisor to many family owned enterprises regarding their succession planning and wealth management issues both in the U.S. and abroad. He is also a recognized expert on the design, financing, reporting, and integration of all forms of executive compensation and fringe benefit plans; and the structuring of investment and insurance arrangements to meet the financial and reporting requirements of these programs for both private and public concerns.

Rod recently completed his services as trustee and chair of the finance committee for Seattle University and has served as a board member of Lakeside School, AALU and a director at a number of other industry and charitable organizations. He is a Chartered Life Underwriter and holds advanced designations in Business Tax Planning; Pension Planning and Estate Planning from the American College. Rod and his wife, Mary Jo, reside in Seattle and Napa, CA.

Connie Carroll brings 30 years of experience in designing and implementing life and disability insurance solutions for affluent families, high-income professionals, and institutions. As an advisor to businesses, she specializes in succession planning, key employee and executive benefit plans. Connie also works closely with individuals and families, offering guidance on tax-efficient income protection strategies, retirement, and estate planning.

Before joining Pillar, Connie was a partner at The Lyman Group, where she was responsible for business development and client relationship management. Prior to that, she spent a decade with M Financial Group, where she led the sales and marketing team.  Connie’s career journey began at RA Bench, marking a return to her professional roots with Pillar International.

Connie is a dedicated member of Finseca, advocating for financial security for all. Beyond her professional endeavors, she is actively involved in her community through philanthropic initiatives and has served on several boards.  Connie is a Pacific Northwest native, attended the University of Washington, and enjoys spending time outdoors on the water with her family and friends.

Karen Dacek has degrees in Politics and Spanish from Miami University (Ohio) as well as a Masters in International Management from the AGSIM (Thunderbird). Karen began her career in life and disability insurance when she joined Paul Revere brokerage in 1991. After three years of serving as an individual disability sales consultant at Paul Revere, she left for an opportunity to lead a new corporate/executive benefits sales division for UNUM Life Insurance. At UNUM from 1995-2000, Karen was consistently within the top 10% nationally of individual sales consultants, and earned the designation of Representative of the Year in 1998. It was at UNUM that Karen honed her knowledge of combining traditional group and individual product lines to help maximize benefits for key executives.

Karen joined RA Bench in 2000 to support the firm’s efforts in disability/LTC sales as well as establish a general agency for long term care products. When RA Bench was sold to Kibble and Prentice/USI, Karen elected to accept a position near her home on Bainbridge Island as a project manager with Clark Construction, LLC. In 2017, Karen joined forces again with her insurance “family” at Pillar International. She focuses her practice on life, disability and long term care protections as stand-alone products as well as within the multi-life, corporate market. Karen lives on Bainbridge Island with her three children and menagerie of animals.

Shannon Hahn has over two decades of experience in the life insurance industry, originally starting her career in technology and agency operations. As a member of the M Financial community since 2004, she traveled across the country to over 60 M Financial Member Firms. Through her travels, she learned the unique aspects of life insurance and was inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit and caliber of M Firms.

Life insurance is complex and Shannon is a risk analyst at heart. She designs individualized plans for professionals, business owners and professional service firms. Her specialties include advanced life insurance planning, underwriting multiple health impairments, complex disability planning and long term care planning for professionals and businesses. Her educational and goal-based approach provides her clients options that fit their unique insurance goals.

Shannon is a graduate of the University of Iowa with a degree in Finance and a member of the University of Iowa Alumni Association. She is a proud member and mentor of the Professional Women’s Club of Chicago. As an advocate for the insurance industry, Shannon travels to Washington, DC, each year on behalf of the Association of Advanced Life Underwriters (AALU) and is a member of The American College Alumni Association. Her current professional licenses include the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®) designation, FINRA Series 6 & 63, Illinois Life/Health, and 12 additional state insurance licenses.

Planning for decades is an important aspect of Shannon’s family life as she has a younger sister with special needs. She lives in Barrington, IL, with her husband, two children and puppy.  In her spare time, she can be found at the local hockey rink supporting her kids or on the golf course.

Connor Bench joined Pillar in 2020 after spending the previous nine years as a commissioned officer in the U.S.  Navy. Connor is a graduate of the Lakeside School in Seattle, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from the United States Naval Academy and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.

Adriana Courts has over 15 years of retirement planning and consulting experience in operations, design, investment analytics and plan integration and reporting. She comes from a family of educators and this has inspired her – focusing on educating, connecting, and consistently enhancing the effectiveness of plans for employers and participants.

Adriana graduated from the University of San Diego and established her career in financial services in 2008.  She holds certifications in Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) and Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor® (CPFA®).

Adriana resides in West Linn, OR.  Outside of the office, she spends time with her young children, volunteering at their school or sports programs and taking them outdoors. She also enjoys the arts and experimenting with recipes with her husband.