M & A for TPAs
Before retiring as VP/Sales & Marketing for DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc., Bill had an active 45-year career in Employee Benefits working with benefits Third-Party Administrators (TPAs). He was a TPA with insurance and securities licenses in the Seattle area in the late 1960s before becoming Regional VP for a larger West Coast TPA firm. Subsequent hiring by Phoenix Home Life resulted in Bill’s promotion to Director, Pension Trust Division, during the first challenging years of ERISA. He was elected President of the Insurance Company Home Office Users Group of about 65 companies using software of DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems. This led to hiring by DATAIR in 1977 to guide their transition from mainframe systems to also minicomputers, time-sharing, and eventually PCs over the next 5 years. Following 3 years outside the benefits arena, Bill returned to DATAIR in 1985, helping lead their growth from 38 clients to over 1,500.
Bill’s clients and contacts include employee benefits and actuarial consulting firms; accounting or law firms with a benefits practice; insurance companies and agencies; brokers, investment firms and mutual fund sponsors, and large plan sponsors. He participated in about six professional conferences and trade shows per year sponsored by such organizations as the American Society of Pension Professional & Actuaries, American Academy of Actuaries, Conference of Consulting Actuaries, National Institute of Pension Administrators, Society of Actuaries, Profit Sharing Council of America, Human Resource Management Association, Benefits and Compensation conferences, and state and regional CPA Society conferences. He spoke at various user groups, study groups, client conferences, and served on Exhibitor trade show committees over the years. He developed collegial relations with many competitors, vendors and service firms supporting employee benefits professionals.
Bill assisted in the successful transition of ownership for a few of his clients. Post-retirement requests for sales/merger/acquisition assistance from former colleagues lured him to co-found Welcome Sales Services, Inc. with Gary Tagtmeier, CPA whom he had known professionally for almost two decades.
On the weekends, you may find him displaying his collector cars, browsing fine art shows and galleries, or finding treasures at antique malls and flea markets. He is a graduate of Skip Barber’s High Performance Driving School, and is most proud of his Racing School certification conducted at Road America in Formula 2000 open-wheel race cars.
Gary Tagtmeier, CPA, is Secretary/Treasurer of Welcome Sales Services.
Gary has 38 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant and 33 years of experience as a licensed real estate broker. Over the years he has helped numerous accounting clients either buy or sell their business. He has also been involved in hundreds of real estate transactions as a licensed real estate broker. He is thoroughly familiar with the sensitivity and confidentiality of the buying and selling process.
Gary has also authored numerous books and has produced videos, audios and online courses on the topic of personal money management. He has also been retained by major employers such as Ford, AT&T, State Farm, the UAW, the Drug Enforcement Administration and every branch of the US Military to present money management seminars to their employees around he country. His public speaking assignments have taken him to 42 cities in 21 states and even Frankfurt, Germany.
Gary is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the National Association of Realtors, the Association for Financial Counseling, Planning & Education, the National Speakers Association and is a Registered Investment Adviser Principal in the State of Illinois. He has varied professional experiences in many industries.
On weekends, you can find Gary and his wife of 30 years, Mary Ann, at their family farm house in Wisconsin which they bought from Mary Ann's parents estate. Although they do not have animals on the farm, there is always work to be done on the numerous outbuildings and the barn that was built in 1898!
The unique combination of Bill and Gary's experiences is what allows Welcome Sales to effectively assist owners of employee benefits administration firms to better meet their goals and objectives.
