Chairman

Jere Cowden has been a practicing employee benefits specialist since 1970. He is actively involved in strategically working with clients to navigate the muddy waters of retirement and healthcare.

Jere received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS). Jere is also a Fellow in the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS) for which he served as its national President and Chairman.  Jere is a past member of the Advisory Board of United Benefit Advisors (UBA), a member of the North American Actuarial and Consulting Services (NORACS) and a member of the Board of Directors of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the British American Business Council (BABC).  He is also a past board member of the New York affiliate of Ameritas Insurance Company.

Jere is founder and chairman of Cowden Associates, Inc., a leading independent compensation, employee benefits, and retirement consulting and actuarial firm.

The insight and experience Jere has gained at all levels of the employee benefits industry over the last few decades has been instrumental in building Cowden to a substantial consulting firm with a mix of clients that includes:  Fortune 500 companies; national manufacturing firms; governmental entities; Taft Hartley Funds; and regional health systems of all sizes. In addition, as a senior employee benefits advisor, Jere worked with several companies as they spun off from Fortune 500 parents and smaller companies. In each instance, Jere helped to ensure that the spin-off companies had a full array of benefits and an administrative and communications infrastructure in place to support them on their first day of independence.

Jere, in one of his many career highlights, successfully managed the smooth transition of all employee benefits for a 4,500 employee spin-off from a Fortune 100 company. Knowing that the seamless transition and delivery of payroll and benefits is critical to maintaining high levels of employee morale made the project all the more important and gratifying. Noticing the increasing international exposure of clients and traveling executives, Jere has spearheaded creating alliances which provide protection for employees and dependents for either long-term assignments or short-term travel.

Jere is known and respected for his understanding of employee benefits throughout the industry. Among his many articles published, two in particular were considered so innovative that they were widely used as training and business guides throughout the industry. The first piece examined defined benefit plans versus defined contribution plans and the second considered hybrid, also known as cash balance plans.