Mei Hung Lin, CFP, serves as independent marketing director at Cathay Life Insurance with 27 years of distinguished service. Her achievements include the international trip qualifications for top producers, Overseas Peak membership and the IDA International Silver Dragon Award. Lin holds a master's degree.

Katarzyna Pilczuk is a financial advisor, team leader and trainer with more than 15 years of experience in the financial services profession. She specializes in working with premium clients, increasing sales effectiveness and developing strong advisory teams while also mentoring advisors and building leaders. As founder and former president of the Polish Association of Recommended Insurance Advisors, Pilczuk helped increase MDRT membership in Poland more than tenfold in five years.

Moisés Martínez Hernandez has been an insurance agent for 33 years, specializing in health and life insurance. He is also an MDRT mentor and speaker and has served as a volunteer leader of MDRT’s Membership Communications Committee (MCC). Throughout his career, he has received multiple awards from his company, MetLife, and from the Asociación Mexicana de Agentes de Seguros y Fianzas for his high productivity. Martínez Hernandez also serves as a moderator for postgraduate insurance courses at the Instituto Mexicano Educativo de Seguros y Fianzas.

Aneta Sobol is a financial advisor at Allianz, where she specializes in life and health insurance and provides top-quality client experiences for individuals and entrepreneurs. She regularly publishes articles in insurance industry media, helped co-organize the MDRT Day Poland in 2023 and 2025, and actively participates in Poland’s first MDRT book club, discussing business literature and translating its ideas into the insurance world.

Luis Fernando Martínez Oliver has been in the insurance industry for 12 years, establishing himself as a prominent financial and insurance agent who specializes in life insurance, retirement plans and investment funds. His strategic approach to content creation has allowed him to leverage social media and artificial intelligence to successfully prospect and attract high-net-worth clients. Martínez Oliver has mentored agents and received numerous awards from the company he has represented throughout his career.

Nami Oishi joined Gibraltar Life Insurance Co., Ltd. in April 2009, following her mother's retirement after 30 years with the company. She was a care-manager in the nursing care field. Her father also worked for Japan Post Insurance. She focuses on the school market and mentors junior colleagues. She volunteers at experiential classes held at venues for the Para Football Festivals and soccer events for people with disabilities to deepen understanding of people with physical challenges.

Brian D. Heckert, CLU, ChFC, has dedicated his professional life to providing strategic financial advice and services for individuals and businesses. He has been involved with numerous MDRT committees and served as MDRT President in 2016. Through his industry leadership, he has gained a broad world view, and he has been featured and quoted in media outlets such as Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, CNN Money and ThinkAdvisor in addition to speaking to audiences in 49 U.S. states and 35 countries on topics ranging from advanced planning ideas to practice management.

Saad Anthony Baksh, BSc, is a branch manager for Maritime Financial Group. He leads 30 advisors in a multiline environment and has helped them win numerous Maritime Financial awards. He is an active MDRT and MDRT Center for Field Leadership member, currently serving on the MDRT Academy Committee-Global Member Relations, and as a member of the Brand Champion Task Force for the MDRT Center. Baksh has spoken at conferences in the United States, Barbados, Jamaica and Belize, and earned his degree from the University of London.

Adrián Villarreal Alfaro, FSCP, CLI, has a prolific career in the insurance industry. With more than a decade of experience as a professional advisor, he specializes in life and health insurance. Before joining the financial services industry, Villarreal Alfaro held sales management positions at multinational companies, where he developed strong leadership skills.

Maribe Carolina Barbona has an outstanding professional career of more than two decades as an insurance agent. She is the creator and host of “Let's Talk Insurance with No Prior Knowledge,” a financial education program on YouTube. She is also the founder of Vidas Seguras, an organization focused on social inclusion and insurance education, and the author of the book “Life Insurance Goes to School.” Barbona is also a renowned international speaker and a professional coach. One of her most notable awards is the LIMRA International Platinum Quality Award.

Saad Anthony Baksh, BSc, is a branch manager for Maritime Financial Group. He leads 30 advisors in a multiline environment and has helped them win numerous Maritime Financial awards. He is an active MDRT and MDRT Center for Field Leadership member, currently serving on the MDRT Academy Committee-Global Member Relations, and as a member of the Brand Champion Task Force for the MDRT Center. Baksh has spoken at conferences in the United States, Barbados, Jamaica and Belize, and earned his degree from the University of London.

Brian D. Heckert, CLU, ChFC, has dedicated his professional life to providing strategic financial advice and services for individuals and businesses. He has been involved with numerous MDRT committees and served as MDRT President in 2016. Through his industry leadership, he has gained a broad world view, and he has been featured and quoted in media outlets such as Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, CNN Money and ThinkAdvisor in addition to speaking to audiences in 49 U.S. states and 35 countries on topics ranging from advanced planning ideas to practice management.

Mizuki Torii joined Fast Retailing Co., Ltd. after graduating from Doshisha University. To balance her activities as an exclusive cheerleader for the professional basketball league (B LEAGUE), she joined Nippon Life Insurance. She soon qualified for the MDRT, and became independent after 5 years. She continues the insurance business as the Representative Director of NextLabo, Inc., operates an SNS consulting business, and runs a cheer dance school.

Donald F. White Jr., CLU, ChFC, is the founder of Treasure Coast Financial. After 25 years, he sold his interest to his successors to focus on his foundation as well as his passions of writing, speaking and teaching. He is author of the award-winning book, “Always End with the Beginning in Mind: How Firms Remain Great After the Founder Exits” as well as two audio books, “Building a Great Business” and “Legacy Planning.” White has spoken in more than 30 countries, including at many MDRT events, is a former MDRT Foundation trustee and a Legion of Honor Excalibur Knight of the MDRT Foundation.

Juan Pablo Araoz Martinez Sr., is a specialist in life, savings and retirement insurance at Swiss Medical Seguros. With more than a decade of experience as a financial planner, Araoz Martinez has helped independent professionals and business owners build financial security by combining traditional methods with innovation and technology. He has earned significant recognition from his company and from LIMRA-Latam for his outstanding performance.

John F. Nichols, MSM, CLU, is the 2026 President of MDRT. He served as Global Council Member of MDRT’s Membership Division in 2020 and Chair of its Bylaws and Ethics Committee in 2019. In 2022, he served as President of the MDRT Foundation, for which he is a Royal Order Excalibur Knight and a member of its Inner Circle Society. Nichols is the founder of Nichols Consulting LLC, a disability insurance benefits practice.

Juan Bendaña is a highly sought-after speaker, entrepreneur and coach who has worked with top CEOs, Olympians, Grammy Award-winning artists, actors and Fortune 100 leaders. He started his first leadership development company more than a decade ago constructing personalized programming for companies such as Disney, Fidelity, Lindt, American Express, Nationwide, Sony Pictures and Zillow. Based on his research of more than 250,000 leaders at institutions such as the University of Oxford, the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Toronto, his science-backed framework helps leaders activate the confidence mindset to lead boldly, thrive through change and ignite extraordinary growth.

Juan Bendaña is a highly sought-after speaker, entrepreneur and coach who has worked with top CEOs, Olympians, Grammy Award-winning artists, actors and Fortune 100 leaders. He started his first leadership development company more than a decade ago constructing personalized programming for companies such as Disney, Fidelity, Lindt, American Express, Nationwide, Sony Pictures and Zillow. Based on his research of more than 250,000 leaders at institutions such as the University of Oxford, the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Toronto, his science-backed framework helps leaders activate the confidence mindset to lead boldly, thrive through change and ignite extraordinary growth.

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John F. Nichols, MSM, CLU, is the 2026 President of MDRT. He served as Global Council Member of MDRT’s Membership Division in 2020 and Chair of its Bylaws and Ethics Committee in 2019. In 2022, he served as President of the MDRT Foundation, for which he is a Royal Order Excalibur Knight and a member of its Inner Circle Society. Nichols is the founder of Nichols Consulting LLC, a disability insurance benefits practice.  

Rodrigo Santana Leiva entered the financial services industry in 2018 after failing to find professional development or growth in traditional jobs. Thanks to his outstanding performance in the life and health insurance fields, where he has specialized since the beginning of his career, he has received several awards from his company, GNP, where he also serves on the advisory board. In 2019, he opened his own firm, an extension of the family business in wealth protection started by his father, thereby consolidating his success and growth, as well as a solid specialization in personal lines.

Wong Wing Suet Rachael, CFP, is an agency director at FWD Hong Kong and has been in the financial services profession for eight years. As a young leader and a producer, Wong Wing Suet Rachael specializes in comprehensive financial planning for professionals and has received many awards for her accomplishments. She is also an active MDRT member in the MCC Division and has spoken at MDRT Day events as well as the MDRT Global Conference.

David C. Blake is the founder and president of InsMed Insurance Agency Inc., an independent insurance company that specializes in creating voluntary benefit offerings for health care organizations across the United States. Since it was established more than 30 years ago, Blake has sold more than 20,000 individual disability insurance policies to health care professionals. He credits his success to having staff members who not only exude a sense of pride in and ownership of their responsibilities but also possess a caring and sharing attitude toward their peers and clients. He also currently serves as the MDRT Foundation President.

John F. Nichols, MSM, CLU, is the 2026 President of MDRT. He served as Global Council Member of MDRT’s Membership Division in 2020 and Chair of its Bylaws and Ethics Committee in 2019. In 2022, he served as President of the MDRT Foundation, for which he is a Royal Order Excalibur Knight and a member of its Inner Circle Society. Nichols is the founder of Nichols Consulting LLC, a disability insurance benefits practice.

Dr. Geetha Murali is the chief executive officer of Room to Read, a leading international education organization committed to the belief that educated children starts with world change. Murali has been instrumental in driving the organization’s exponential growth — expanding its presence to 29 countries and positively benefiting more than 52 million children to date.

Mariana Atencio took the world by storm in 2017 with her viral TEDx talk on authenticity, “What makes YOU special?” — now with more than 25 million views and translated into 13 languages. Her message, what makes you different is what makes you powerful, inspires leaders and teams to embrace a blueprint to thrive through uncertainty, constant disruption and their own self-doubt. Atencio built her journalism career first at Univision in Spanish, then crossed over to English at NBC News, where her boots-on-the-ground reporting earned her a Peabody Award, a Gracie Award, three Emmy nominations and the NAHJ Presidential Award.

Andrew Busch is the former first chief market intelligence officer for the U.S. government and an economic futurist. For the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, he was charged with gathering all the news, information and data on the economy and markets and filtering it into condensed, easily understood research, then communicating it to the government and public. He is a consultant and keynote speaker with a wide range of clients in a variety of fields, including chemicals, financial services, energy, real estate, manufacturing, construction and agriculture, and is author of the book “World Event Trading.”

Dandapani Satgunasingam is a Hindu priest, entrepreneur and former monk of 10 years. After earning a degree in electrical engineering, he left it all behind to embrace a life of rigorous personal discipline and spiritual training as an ordained monk. Today, Satgunasingam’s mission is to empower people with timeless tools for self-mastery, helping them cultivate unwavering focus and live with intention. His TEDx talk has garnered more than 7 million views, his teachings have reached tens of thousands of students across more than 120 countries, and his app has been downloaded more than 140,000 times.