About TCG: Our Consultants

Our Consultants | Our Administration Team | Our Advisory Board Members

No matter the product or service, it is people and the philosophy under which they operate that make the difference when it comes to quality, responsiveness, and the value-added approach. The following biographical information summarizes the experience and commitment of some of our people who truly do make a difference when it comes to creating capital and enhancing shareholder value. Call us: 312-759-2600.

STEVEN J. COCHLAN
President and Chief Executive Officer


Steve founded the Company in 1998 and serves as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Steve is regarded as a pioneer in the design, implementation, and financing of nonqualified executive benefit plans. He has served the executive benefit plan needs of companies, large and small, in diversified industries since 1983. Steve began his professional career as a certified public accountant with Price Waterhouse. Having a mindset that consistently seeks new challenges, he joined Clark/Bardes, Inc., where he quickly emerged as one of its top producers and a driving force in the development of innovative approaches to recruit, retain and reward key employees, directors and other highly compensated employees. Steve's reputation for innovation and his consistent focus on the welfare of his clients led to a strong corporate following. Many of these companies remain clients to this day.

Steve earned his B.S. Degree in Accounting at Bowling Green State University and is currently a member of the Bowling Green President's Club. He is a member of the International Forum and the Million Dollar Roundtable, The Top of the Table, the National Association of Life Underwriters, the Chicago Association of Life Underwriters and the Association for Advanced Life Underwriting.

JEFFREY S. VARBLOW, CPA
Senior Vice President - Plan Design


As the Senior Vice President of TCG, Jeff utilizes his consulting background to listen to and identify our client's goals and objectives. He then educates and leads the clients through the design, implementation, financing, securing and administration decisions surrounding nonqualified benefit plans. In addition, Jeff actively participates in TCG's ongoing process to continually improve the company's advanced design and administration technology, providing straight-through processing, online access and flexibility to design and administer the plans that our clients desire.

Prior to joining TCG, Jeff consulted corporate and flow-through entities at Arthur Andersen LLP as a tax manager, specializing in business succession and family wealth planning, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence and tax analysis of business transactions.

Jeff earned a B.S. degree in Accounting and a M.S. degree in Taxation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

GLEN CROSIER
Chief Operating Officer


Glen has over 25 years experience in numerous operational management and management consulting positions operating throughout the U.S., Europe and the Middle East. Glen brings his extensive knowledge from senior management positions in for-profit and nonprofit businesses in industries such as professional services, engineering, construction, research, consulting, healthcare and senior housing. In several of his senior management roles, including Chief Operating Officer, Glen has led change management efforts resulting in significant growth.

Glen earned his MS degree majoring in Psychology & Sociology from St. Francis University, a BS in Education from Taylor University and studied business finance at Indiana University for three years. He is a former Co-Chair of the International Committee of the Executives' Club of Chicago and co-author of a book on managing change in Healthcare published by the American Hospital Association.

R. WAYNE MALONE, CLU, ChFC, REBC
Vice President, Plan Design and Administration


Wayne has over 22 years experience in the financial services industry, and has specialized in the executive benefits market for much of his career. Wayne began his career with direct field experience, later heading up Life Product Management at the Dallas operation of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. He then served at GenAmerica Financial, St. Louis, Missouri, where he headed up Executive Benefit Advisors, a full-service marketing, sales and administration unit for the implementation and servicing of nonqualified executive benefit plans. Included in his responsibilities at Executive Benefit Advisors were COLI/BOLI policy administration and nonqualified plan administration for the company, as well as for clients outside the General American family.

Wayne has earned the designations of Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, Registered Employee Benefits Consultant, and has been conferred as Fellow, Life Management Institute. He is a member of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

EARL C. SCHWABE, CEBS
Case Design Consultant


Earl has over 15 years of experience in the financial service industry with the past 10 years focused on executive compensation and benefit consulting. Earl has worked with both public and privately held companies from various industries. Prior to joining The Cochlan Group, Earl worked for an executive compensation and benefits consulting firm where he helped develop and manage its compensation practice, designed and implemented executive-level programs, and provided consulting and technical assistance on tax, accounting, administration, and funding of such programs.

Earl holds a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist designation and earned his BSBA in Accounting from Central Michigan University. He is a member of WorldatWork and the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists (ISCEBS).  

E. MATTHEW MAIER (MATT)
Plan Administration Consultant


Matt joined The Cochlan Group in 2004 with over five years of experience in both the qualified and nonqualified benefits fields. Prior to joining The Cochlan Group, Matt worked for PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PWC), where he was a Benefits Consultant focusing on the administration and operations of benefit plans for Fortune 500 Companies. In addition, Matt also was responsible for coordinating and assisting in the annual plan audits of his client's. Prior to this, Matt was a Project and Relationship Manager with Hewitt Associates, where he was responsible for the day to day operations of company's 401K plans.

Matt holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business with a concentration in Marketing from Illinois State University and has his Insurance Agent License for the state of Illinois. In his spare time he is an avid golfer.

MARK E. WISE

Known nationally for his business acumen and achievements, Mark’s success has been based on his philosophy of helping his clients establish clear goals and objectives and developing an effective strategy to transfer their aspirations into actuality. With more than 9 years in the financial service industry, and a specialty in estate and business planning, Mark provides advisory services to his clients in a variety of wealth management areas. From this, he designs a comprehensive plan tailored to each client.

Mark has been awarded the honors of: The Prestigious Northwestern Mutual Forum, Northwestern Mutual MVP (Most Valuable Producer), Million Dollar Round Table (MDRT) qualifier every year since 2002, MDRT Court of the Table (2006, 2007, 2008), and MDRT Top of the Table (2007, 2008). Mark has been recognized by the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) for his success and has appeared in advertisements in both Time and Newsweek magazines. He is a member of The Premier Association of Financial Professionals.

Mark is a graduate of Ball State University with a degree in graduate studies.