AFBA and 5Star Life Insurance Co. Name Birye Abebe as Chief Information Officer

Business Wire

In new role, Abebe will continue focusing on digital transformation efforts

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Armed Forces Benefit Association (AFBA) and its affiliate, 5Star Life Insurance Company, announced today the promotion of Birye Abebe to Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, effective January 1, 2020. This announcement comes as Madeline Delahan will retire at the end of the year after serving as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer since 2012.

“Madeline’s vision, expertise, and leadership have made for a better AFBA / 5Star Life enterprise, and she will be greatly missed,” said General Ralph E. “Ed” Eberhart, USAF (Ret.), Chairman and President of AFBA.

As CIO, she aligned IT initiatives to meet the objectives outlined in the 2014-2018 strategic plan and established a high-performing team with the necessary technology skills and certifications to deliver modern solutions. She defined a cloud-first strategy that was instrumental in replacing legacy applications with cloud-based flexibility and established a cyber security program built around the NIST framework and successfully demonstrated compliance with standards like NAIC Model Law and the NY Department of Financial Services regulations. In her prior role as Deputy CIO, she led the transformational effort to modernize two legacy policy administration systems. Her background in software product development and government consulting served our organization well.

“As we looked for a new leader, we were pleased to leverage our deep bench of talent within the organization. Birye’s technical expertise and thorough knowledge of our enterprise will be an asset in his new role. By supporting critical enterprise systems, safeguarding us from cybersecurity threats, and steering our digital efforts, Birye will enable us to continue fulfilling our mission – serving those who serve this great nation,” added General Ralph E. “Ed” Eberhart.

“Over the past five years, we have made a significant investment on our digital transformation efforts, acquiring new technology, re-engineering existing processes, and leveraging new tools to make us more effective and efficient,” said Mark Singleton, 5Star Life President. “We are delighted to have Birye leading those efforts as we continue to expand our digital transformation.”

Abebe brings more than 20 years of experience in the Information Technology field. Before joining AFBA / 5Star Life in 2007, Abebe worked for American University, NTT Data, and AT&T leading technology implementation projects. Since joining our enterprise, he has played an instrumental role in our digital transformation efforts, delivering business solutions that increase automation and efficiencies. Abebe holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and earned his master’s degree in Information and Communication Systems from John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

“Over the next five to 10 years, we will experience the impact and pressures of new and disruptive technologies, artificial intelligence, and robotics,” said Abebe. “I look forward to helping the enterprise align its technology investment with organizational strategies.”

About Armed Forces Benefit Association

With the support of the General of the Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Armed Forces Benefit Association (AFBA) was established in 1947 in the basement of the Pentagon to ease the strain on military members and their families who, at the time, could not purchase life insurance that would pay a death benefit if the member was killed in combat. Today, headquartered in Alexandria, VA, AFBA continues to honor its mission, in war and peace, promoting the welfare of its members providing death benefits and other benefits to those who serve this great nation, including members of the uniformed services, first responders, government employees, and their families. AFBA has 650,000 members with $40 billion of death benefits in force and has paid nearly $2 billion of death benefits since inception. AFBA death benefits are underwritten by its affiliate, 5Star Life Insurance Company (a Lincoln, Nebraska domiciled company).

About 5Star Life

5Star Life Insurance Company (5Star Life) is the primary underwriter of the Armed Forces Benefit Association (AFBA) member policies and is also a growing provider of group and worksite voluntary products. Its business model enables 5Star Life to serve the needs of a diverse clientele as an insurance advisor to individuals and organizations, and as a trusted partner to brokers. Headquartered in Alexandria, VA, 5Star Life is currently licensed in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa.