Leadership Team

Susan Brancheau
Account Executive

Susie recently joined AscendUSA as a Retention Manager. She has 28 years of experience working within the human resources and employee benefi t brokerage/consulting areas.

Before joining AscendUSA, Susie was the Regional Manager for CBIZ Benefi ts of Indiana. She held this position for 17 years, and in this role she and her staff were responsible for providing brokerage, administrative, and retention services to all of CBIZ’s group clients, which ranged in size from 2 to 1,200 employees. Prior to CBIZ, Susie worked 11 years for Inland Container Corporation (ICC) where she held various risk management and human resources roles. During her time at ICC, Susie gained invaluable employee benefit experience working through a broad range of challenges, which included negotiating contracts with labor union bargaining units.

Susie’s primary areas of expertise include brokering and negotiating client renewals and providing long-range strategic planning with an employer’s decision-making team. In addition to her in-depth employee benefits experience and overall skill set, Susie off ers her clients the ability to work with an individual who is extremely conscientious, embraces a meticulous work ethic, and holds a humble, warm and very caring personality. Susie is a life long resident of Indianapolis. She and her husband live in Avon, and they have two lovely daughters.

Susan M. Kupfer
Account Executive

Susan has a diverse background in employee benefi ts and human resources. She has worked in the employee benefi ts area with a major employer, as a consultant, and with a nationwhide third-party administrator (TPA).

Susan served as the Director of Employee Benefi ts with a major corporation in the transportation industry for seven years. In that position, she was responsible for managing a $20M benefi ts budget; developing benefit programs that were cost eff ective and designed to attract and retain employees; administration of group insurance and retirement plans; compliance with state and federal regulations; and establishing standards for excellent customer service to employees and managers.

For the last ten years, Susan has concentrated in group insurance and employee benefi ts in a consulting capacity, including account management of self-funded plans from 700 lives to as many as 2,800 employee lives. Responsibilities included assessing individual employer’s needs and assisting in the development of a strategic plan for the management and design of their benefi t programs. This involved monitoring plan costs and proposing cost eff ective changes, such as, comprehensive wellness and disease management programs.Another major proponent was the selection of vendors to partner with the employer in the administration of group insurance plans, developing procedures for the administration of those group insurance plans; conducting employee presentations and composing communication and educational materials. As customer service was a focal point, day-to-day contact with the employer or individual employees was common.

In addition, Susan has worked for a large third party administrator as a Client Relationship Manager. In that capacity, she gained a strong working knowledge of claims administration processes, a major asset in assisting employers in the evaluation and selection process of an administrator.

Susan also has hands on experience in payroll and Human Resources. She served as Payroll Supervisor for a large manufacturer for four years and as the Human Resources Manager for a mid-size architectural fi rm for two years. Experience and knowledge in payroll and HR systems has proven to be invaluable as both of these areas are closely aligned and/or interact with employee benefits in most companies.

Susan now works to provide comprehensive management direction for AscendUSA clients, which includes developing a comprehensive strategic plan and providing ongoing data analysis to ensure that the employee benefit program is moving in a direction consistent with the established strategic plan; selection of and negotiation with high value insurance vendors; keeping employers updated on current and emerging insurance trends and acting as an advocate for employees to ensure appropriate and timely claim handling.

Kimber I. McCarson
Senior Consultant

Kim has extensive employee benefit and consulting expertise. He has 19 years of experience serving in a variety of capacities within the employee benefit area. A majority of Kim’s employee benefit experience has been gained by serving in an agency/consulting environment, where, for 13 years—9 of which have been with AscendUSA—his core focus has been to minimize employer benefit plan expenditures, maximize plan value and provide full account management services for employer clients of all sizes.

Over the past several years Kim has gained vast industry expertise in working in a service/consulting capacity. Kim’s responsibilities have included managing the renewal function and interim reporting and service needs for employer groups ranging from 25 to 500 covered employee lives.

In managing an employer’s plan renewal, Kim’s responsibilities include procurement and negotiating all aspects of the plan, including risk assessment, evaluation and negotiation of stop loss or fully insured insurance contracts, managing the disclosure process, evaluating and negotiating all administration services—including utilization review, plan compliance, pharmacy benefit manager and provider network arrangements/GEO access analyses. He also evaluates all ancillary plans, including life, dental, vision, long-term care, voluntary worksite or supplemental plans, and Flex/Section 125 plans. Kim has extensive experience in helping employers to establish the best funding structure possible, which allows for the most effi cient purchasing of employee benefit plans.

Kim’s educational background includes an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Transylvania University and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Kentucky State University. He has a diverse employment background having worked in key management level positions in the public, not-for-profit, and for-profit sectors.

In supporting AscendUSA’ business development function, Kim is equally comfortable in both self-funded and fully insured plans. He is committed to the education of employers and employees regarding the necessity of incorporating a comprehensive wellness/risk management strategy, which is a requirement for any employers that want to gain control over the future direction of their employee benefit program. Kim has been an integral part of the development of AscendUSA’s “AUSA Health Care Solutions” program.

In his free time, Kim enjoys a passion for music. He has performed extensively in local theater productions as well as serving as a Minister of Music for churches in Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Indiana. He has toured with the Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma and performed solo concerts in churches throughout the southeastern United States. He remains active in a number of local non-profit, community-based organizations.

Steven D. Goodin
Founding Partner

Steven D. Goodin is a founding partner of AscendUSA, a firm providing mid-to-large size companies a complete collection of insurance and bottom line enhancing services. Steve and the team of AscendUSA professionals work in partnership with clients to help them reach their full business vision and growth potential. The company offers three divisions: employee benefits, commercial insurance and cost center analytics.

Steve co-founded AscendUSA with partner Joseph E. Guzman in 2010 when he merged his independent agency with Joe’s firm. The two share the same client service philosophy: to work as an extension of a client’s team by seeking out the best business programs and alternatives, while providing professional advice and proven service to support a client’s business potential.

With 25 years of industry experience, Steve works to stay ahead of trends and has learned to adjust to the dynamic insurance marketplace on behalf of his clients. His multi-faceted professional experience ranges from leading operations for CBIZ as president of Indiana operations. He advanced to the position from managing partner. During his tenure with CBIZ, Steve excelled in business development by providing excellent service and sound advice.

Steve also has vast experience working with mid-to-large size companies as a consultant helping clients manage the many changes over the years within the health insurance industry, from managed care to HMOs and more. As a health insurance representative in his early career, he served three major national insurance companies providing consulting work within the scope of all areas of employee benefits. He also has assisted clients providing counsel pertaining to buy/sell agreements, salary continuation plans, and overall preservation of their business utilizing insurance instruments.

An Indianapolis native, Steve earned a B.A. degree from IUPUI. He is a member of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, National Association of Health Underwriters and Indianapolis Association of Health Underwriters serving on their boards. In his spare time he enjoys golf and is a sports devotee.

Joseph E. Guzman, Jr.
Founding Partner

Joseph E. Guzman is a founding partner of AscendUSA, a firm providing mid-to-large size companies a complete collection of insurance and bottom line enhancing services. Joe and the team of AscendUSA professionals work in partnership with clients to help them reach their full business vision and growth potential. The company off ers three divisions: employee benefits, commercial insurance and cost center analytics.

Joe co-founded AscendUSA with partner Steven D. Goodin in 2010 when he merged his independent firm Benefit Strategies with Steve’s independent agency. The two share the same client service philosophy: to work as an extension of a client’s team by seeking out the best business programs and alternatives, while providing professional advice and proven service to support a client’s business potential.

Prior to AscendUSA’s formation, Joe worked in the employee benefits industry as founder, principal and CEO of Benefit Strategies. He led the company for more than 15 years working with Indiana’s mid-to-large size business leaders to strategically design health insurance plans to optimize employee benefits, analyze owners risk, educate employees and provide overall peace of mind. He and his team have a solid reputation among clients for offering superior service and performance in advancing their best interests.

Joe worked at Prudential Insurance from 1985 to 1993. It was during his tenure at one of the nation’s largest insurance companies that Joe developed a passion for working closely with and on behalf of the employer to ensure they received the best service and strategic direction. He learned the industry from the ground up being promoted to positions with increasing responsibility over a period of eight years—from group medical claim examiner to training new claim examiners and finally into management with Prudential’s Group Medical Claims Division, the Group Sales Division and finally the Indianapolis Group Marketing Office, where he sold and managed groups of 20 to more than 5,000 employees.

Joe is a member of the Indiana Chamber Health Policy Committee and has participated as a panel member or speaker for the following events:

• Indiana Prescription Drug Summit (November, 2004)
• Indiana Chamber’s Business Day at the Statehouse (February, 2005)
• On multiple occasions, Joe has been invited by a national association of colleges and universities to present his health insurance perspectives at their annual conference.

Joe received his B.S. in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University in August, 1988. He is married with two sons. Joe enjoys participating in community building efforts by assisting a number of inner-city ministries. He also enjoys playing basketball, and he is an avid sports fan.