Robert V. Conte, President
Mr. Conte is the President and founder of CBSI and has been in the insurance business for more than 35 years. He has spent considerable time enhancing value for financial institutions (banks, oil companies, credit card banks and associations, etc.) by developing programs that generate fee-based revenue or by designing new enhancement programs that increase account acquisition, usage and retention.

An innovator, Mr. Conte was the first to market the current generation of supplemental life and health insurance products to credit card customers and has been first to introduce several hundred other benefit products and services to the Bank credit card industry.

Mr. Conte is a sought-after speaker and consultant, and has worked with most of the top 25 credit card issuers in the U.S.A.

Educated at the University of Maryland, and the College of Insurance, he has a Chartered Life Underwriter Designation from the American College of Life Underwriters.

Peter Alter, Vice President
Mr. Alter has been marketing insurance programs since graduating from Vanderbilt University in 1987.

Before coming to CBSI in 1991, he was with The Phoenix Companies, where he marketed insurance and retirement plans to individuals and small business.

At CBSI, he is involved with the design and marketing of specialized bank and association enhancement programs, while continuing to develop and market individual and group life, health, disability and long term care insurance programs and other business services in the bank sponsored small business market.

Mr. Alter earned the Certified Financial Planner designation in 1991.

Gerard A. Garofolo, Vice President
Mr. Garofolo has been with CBSI since 1993. He is responsible for negotiating strategic relationships and ultimately coordinating the design, development and implementation of CBSI products and services. Having successfully launched new product and business development relationships within such industries as insurance, banking, teleservices and others, Mr. Garofolo brings an exceptional level of strategic planning and product development to the CBSI team. His current management responsibilities span several integral and functional CBSI groups, such as: Product Development, Strategic Alliances, Consumer and Client Services, Enhancements, Marketing, and Quality Assurance.

Mr. Garofolo received both an MBA (Organizational Behavior) and a BBA (Marketing) from The Hagan School of Business of Iona College. He is also a licensed insurance agent.

Ken Kraetzer, Vice President
Mr. Kraetzer has specialized in direct marketing of financial services for over twenty years. In addition to his work at CBSI, he serves as an adjunct professor in the Direct Marketing Master’s Degree program at Mercy College, and is a frequent trade writer and speaker.

Mr. Kraetzer supervises Direct Responses programs and services provided to clients including strategic planning, forecasting, reporting, life-time value analysis, database modeling, creative development, and telemarketing. Prior to CBSI, he managed credit card insurance programs for the Chase Manhattan Bank, promotion and sales lead generation programs at Dean Witter Reynolds, Inc., customer targeting services at American Express, and marketing data services for Herbert Dunhill & Associates.

Mr. Kraetzer is a graduate of Providence College in RI, and holds an MBA from the Hagan School of Iona College. He has also participated in international studies programs at Jesus College, Oxford, and Leuven University, Belgium.

Stephen Conte, Vice President
Mr. Conte graduated from the Pennsylvania State University System with a B.S. in Business.

He has over 16 years of marketing/sales experience in service related industries. As a Marketing Manager with the Marriott Corporation, he handled marketing and promotional programs in their Hotel Service division.

At Dean Witter, he specialized in Retirement Planning programs and financial service sales to Sears and Discover customers.

Mr. Conte is currently working on the development and implementation of enhancement programs for the smaller bank and credit union market.

He holds Series 7, Series 6, as well as Life, Property and Casualty Insurance licenses.

Karen Feldman, Director
Ms. Feldman has been with CBSI since 1987. She is responsible for the management of CBSI's daily operations.

In 1988, she was part of the team managing the original formation, implementation and administration of the nation’s leading card company’s program launches, as well as overseeing the inception of various enhancement programs. Currently, Ms. Feldman is responsible for managing all aspects of the administration, billing and member services functions utilized to maintain all enhancements managed by CBSI.

Ms. Feldman is currently utilizing her experience in finance, budget analysis, client services, contract/policy/copy review, and product development, among others to provide a diversity of services to CBSI's various clients.

Lisa Bonelli, Director
Ms. Bonelli has been working at CBSI since 1997 and has more than twelve years experience in the direct marketing industry. Previous to CBSI, her primary focus was working with top credit card issuers on the marketing and management of fee-based programs to their files. This included daily account management, file performance analysis, new business development and budgeting.

At CBSI, Ms. Bonelli is responsible for the launch and management of several new products including two premium cards for the nation’s leading industry card company, a loyalty program for a top credit card issuer and various fee-based products. Her areas of focus include new product development, client management and call center management for all of CBSI's clients.

Ms. Bonelli holds a BBA (Finance) from the Hagan School of Business of Iona College.

Gihan Shahidy, Director
Ms. Shahidy has been with CBSI since 1995. She has handled a variety of functions ranging from direct response management to quality assurance. Currently, she is responsible for compliance of third party providers to client requirements and standards. Her focus is on the evaluation of security practices, including physical, logical, and quality assurance based on industry standard and acceptable practices, as well as governmental laws and regulations. Presently she manages several client auditing processes from initial request and scheduling to final product and analysis. Ms. Shahidy oversees all related functions assuring timeliness and quality analysis. Her experience spans across a variety of providers including, telemarketing companies, data processors, Internet companies, fulfillment centers, collection agencies, and application and web hosting providers, among others.

Ms. Shahidy is a graduate of Fordham University with both a BA (Finance) and an MBA (Marketing).

Tarra L. Wills, Director
Ms. Wills has been with CBSI since 1998. She is currently responsible for statistical analysis of CBSI's Marketing and Quality Assurance services.

Ms. Wills’ diverse experience spans across a variety of different services and products. At Memberworks, Inc., she has managed the marketing of selected clubs and services to a variety of large scale clients and was also responsible for the creation and management of each client’s budget process. For the American Residential Mortgage Company, Ms. Wills assumed underwriting responsibilities. She has also managed the buying and selling of loan pools to investment companies while working with the Prudential Home Mortgage Company.

Ms. Wills is a graduate from the University of Connecticut with a BA in Business Administration.

Jack Hojnar, Director
Mr. Hojnar has been with CBSI since 2000. He is responsible for new client development, implementation, and management.

He has held senior marketing positions with leading retail, business-to-business and financial service companies. He has identified marketplace opportunities, developed strategies and forged business-critical relationships. In each instance, he has leveraged sales, direct marketing and strategic database marketing experiences to drive profitable results for his clients and companies. Mr. Hojnar has worked for several internet companies prior to joining CBSI developing dynamic customer communications platforms and implementing unique marketing approaches. He has served in senior, strategic marketing management roles for such companies as: Yesmail.com, Peapod, Allstate, GTE Airfone (Verizon Wireless), Cellular One (Cingular) and the Chicago Tribune.

He received a BS (Journalism and Marketing) from Loyola University of Chicago.

Todd D. Conte, Director
Mr. Conte has been with CBSI since early 2003. At CBSI, Mr. Conte is responsible for developing strategic alliances, new products, and services, with an emphasis on the emerging prepaid card market.

Mr. Conte’s diverse experience spans across a variety of industries and disciplines. Upon graduation from SUNY Albany in 1992, he obtained his series 6 & Series 63 securities licenses, as well as a Life & Health Insurance license and worked for the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company marketing insurance, investment and retirement programs to individuals and small businesses.

Mr. Conte received his MBA from Fordham University in 1998, with a degree in both Marketing and Finance, with a specialization in Corporate Financial Management. Upon completion of his Masters degree, Mr. Conte worked in Corporate Finance for leading companies such as Deutsche Bank & Monster.com, where he performed financial planning and strategic analysis.

Mr. Conte is also a licensed Property & Causality insurance professional.