We’re excited to feature Kevin Millslagle, newly appointed President of Investors Preferred Life Insurance Company, in our latest Get to Know interview.
Kevin brings a well-rounded perspective to the role, having worked with IPL as an investor, board member, and client. In the conversation, he addresses recent leadership transitions, reinforces the strength and continuity of IPL’s team and operations, and outlines his hands-on approach to leading the business forward.
From maintaining a seamless partner experience to building a stronger, more scalable organization, Kevin shares what’s ahead for IPL.
I've spent my career in senior operational leadership across complex organizations. Most recently I've served as Managing Director of Operations and Investments at SunGate Capital, a family office with over $1.1 billion in assets that represents the primary owner of IPL. In that role I became a Board member and SunGate's direct representative to IPL's management team nearly four years ago. I know IPL from three angles: as an investor, as a board member, and as a customer as SunGate's estate is one of IPL's largest policyholders. That perspective matters. I've seen this business from the inside for years, and I've had a clear view of both what it does well and where I believe it can be stronger.
Before SunGate, I was CFO of Touchstone Medical Imaging, which grew from 18 to 66 imaging centers during my tenure before being acquired by US Radiology in 2018. I led the post-acquisition integration as SVP at the acquiring company. Earlier in my career I served as a naval officer and spent time in investment banking at Brentwood Capital Advisors. My appointment as President is a natural extension of a relationship that has been developing for years.
I understand why that raises a question, and I won't ask you to ignore it. Two leadership transitions in a short period is unusual. What I would ask you to weigh against that is what has not changed. The IPL team is intact. Our pipeline of cases is active. Our underwriting processes, carrier relationships, and service infrastructure are operating normally. Alan Jahde continues as Chairman with deep institutional knowledge of this company. And the decision to name me President is not a placeholder. It is a clear call by the board about where this company goes next. I step in with a plan I've wanted to execute for some time and the full backing of the owner. I'm focused on what I can demonstrate through action, not just what I can assert.
Fully active. I'm not parachuting in for a title and then stepping back. I'm engaged in day-to-day oversight, in conversations with distribution partners, and in the operational decisions that keep this business running well. My background is in running organizations, not in serving as a figurehead, and that's the mode I'm operating in.
Three things: continuity, trust, and stability. Continuity means making sure that nothing our partners rely on is disrupted by this transition, the team, the process, the service. Trust means being accessible, direct, and consistent, earning the confidence of the people who do business with IPL through how I show up, not just what I say in an introductory communication. Stability means building out the leadership team in a way that reduces dependence on any single person and positions this company for sustainable growth.
No change. Your case contacts, underwriting process, service timelines, and contractual relationships are all intact. My intention is that partners experience this transition as seamlessly as possible and that in a few months, the leadership change reads as a footnote rather than a disruption.
As the representative of IPL's owner, I've had a front-row seat to this business for nearly four years. I've formed a clear view of what IPL does well and where the opportunity lies. The plan is to enhance and fortify what's already working, not to change course.
That means investment in people and technology to improve our service level at scale, and developing tools and support that help our distribution partners grow their own businesses.
I ask myself two questions constantly. How can IPL improve its service to distribution partners and policyholders, and do it at scale? And what tools and capabilities can IPL offer to help partners close new business? Everything we're building is pointed at those two answers.
Alan is Chairman and Co-Founder. He has deep institutional knowledge of this company, its history, and its relationships, and he is actively engaged. My role is to run the business day to day. Alan's role is oversight and strategic direction at the board level and ensuring the institutional continuity that comes from someone who has been with this company from the beginning. We're complementary, not redundant.
Strong. The case activity and partner engagement we're seeing does not reflect a company in retreat. We entered this transition from a position of operational momentum, and that continues. Our team is focused and the pipeline is active.
IPL operates in a part of the market that rewards rigor over volume. Private placement life insurance done correctly is demanding; the regulatory, investment, and structuring requirements are sophisticated, and the advisors and clients choosing a carrier want to know the institution can execute with precision. IPL's positioning is built on operational discipline and genuine expertise in the placement process. That's what I'm here to protect and extend.
A stronger, more capable organization that provides more value and tools to our business partners and policy holders. That means continued investment in the team that partners already work with every day, and making sure our processes and infrastructure can scale with the business. I come back to two questions: how can IPL improve its service to distribution partners and policyholders at scale, and what tools and capabilities can IPL offer to help partners grow their business? IPL will invest in people, systems, and technology to deliver on the answers to those questions.
