Gatlinburg Exchange Biographies

Carter Lawrence

Mike Chaney, Insurance Commissioner
Mike Chaney, a Tupelo native and long-time resident of Vicksburg, is Mississippi’s Insurance Commissioner.

Prior to taking office in January 2008, Commissioner Chaney served seven years in the Mississippi House of Representa

Patrick K. Devlin, Vice President
Liberty Mutual Insurance
Report to Chief Compliance Officer, manage staff of attorneys and non-attorneys responsible for handling all state regulatory investigations enterprise wide, including product development, rate, rules, forms, underwriting, marketing, claims, distribution, finance, billings, licensing, privacy, cyber security and abandoned/unclaimed property practices.

Manage relationship between enterprise compliance (GC&E) and business compliance officers devoted to lines of business within US business units.

Manage team’s emphasis on proactive avoidance of regulatory examinations by working with teams devoted to consumer complaints (Presidential ServiceTeam) and with compliance teams who escalate emerging business issues prior to state intervention

Investigate, research, analyze, negotiate and draft confidentiality agreements, responses to inquiries and requests for information, reports, and orders. Recommend corrective actions and monitor activities to impacted businesses to ensure issues are addressed, tracked and validated for compliance; manage market conduct module within eGRC (IBM OpenPages).

Frequently interact with and present to all levels of organization, including executive management. Collaborate with all business and corporate departments including Presidential Service Team, Public Affairs, Corporate Internal Auditing. Assist with preparation of reports to Board of Directors, Audit and Risk Committees.

Ryan Blakeny, Deputy Director of Consumer Services
Mississippi Insurance Department
Ryan is the current Deputy Director of Consumer Services for the Mississippi Insurance Department. He served previously as the Life and Health Specialist for the Consumer Services Division. In addition, he served in MID’s Life and Health Actuarial Division and has developed an extensive working knowledge of laws, regulations, and department policies related to life, health, annuities, and rate filings. As our nation’s health care system experiences the most significant changes in decades, Ryan plays a key role in interpreting and implementing all market reforms associated with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He serves MID directors, private industry professionals, and public consumers in understanding complex insurance issues and resolving conflicts regarding life and health topics.

Ryan’s experience in state government began as a Benefit Analyst for PERS, the Public Employees’ Retirement System of Mississippi, where he advised members on disability benefits, survivor payments, and retirement finances. His attention to numerical details combined with daily personal counseling provides an ideal foundation as he now liaisons among agency divisions to serve the citizens of Mississippi. Appointed by Commissioner Mike Chaney, Ryan also represents MID on the Mississippi Autism Advisory Committee and the Early Intervention Task Force.

A devoted Rebel fan, Ryan earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Mississippi followed by a Master of Health Sciences from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. His wife, Amy, also serves our state as a public educator in Brandon, and they are the parents of one daughter, Avery.

Trish Skahan
Trish Skahan has worked at the NAIC for 26 years with 10 of those years supporting SBS. Trish is a Product Owner on the SBS team with a focus on Market Regulation, Company, and Transaction manager. Prior to working with SBS, Trish has worked hard supporting NAIC Complaint Database System (CDS) and Market Analysis software. Trish lives in Olathe, Kansas with her husband and cherishes time with their granddaughters.