Who We Are
The Industry Deserves a Different Kind of Partner.
Sydney Consulting Group was built for the kind of clients who’ve worked with technically capable consulting firms and found something essential missing. We built this firm to fill that gap — with people who know this industry from the inside and show up differently because of it.
OUR STORY
A Firm Built Because the Industry Needed It
The supplemental benefits industry has no shortage of consultants. What it has had a shortage of is specialists — firms that know this market deeply, understand its regulatory and actuarial complexity from the inside, and show up as genuine partners rather than capable vendors. For a long time, carriers, employers, and producers in this space made do with firms that were technically solid but fundamentally unfamiliar with the world they were advising in.
William “Bill” Bade founded Sydney Consulting Group in 2019 to change that. His career was built inside the industry — leading actuarial pricing and intelligence teams at the carrier level, navigating the regulatory environments his clients now face, and building the professional relationships that this market runs on. He understood the gap not as an outside observer, but as someone who had lived on both sides of the consulting relationship.
Sydney grew the way the best things in a relationship-driven industry grow: through trust earned over time, through referrals from clients who wanted to introduce Sydney to people they cared about, and through a consistent standard of work that made those introductions easy to make. There was no flash, no aggressive marketing, no manufactured momentum. There was expertise, integrity, and follow-through — applied consistently, engagement after engagement.
Today, Sydney Consulting Group provides integrated actuarial, compliance, and strategic consulting to carriers, employers, and producers across the country. The team has grown — and the practice has deepened — but the foundation hasn’t changed. This is still a firm built on the belief that the best consulting relationships are earned, not sold.
“In this industry, trust isn’t given — it’s built over time through consistency, expertise, and follow-through. That’s how we’ve grown, and it’s how we show up for every client.”
— Bill Bade, Founder & Consulting Actuary
OUR VALUES
What Every Client Engagement Is Built On
These aren’t aspirations. They’re operating standards — the things we hold ourselves to on every engagement, with every client.
Trust Is Earned, Not Claimed
We don’t ask clients to take our word for it. We demonstrate trustworthiness through consistency — showing up prepared, doing what we said we’d do, and staying engaged beyond the immediate deliverable. Trust in this industry is built one interaction at a time. We take that seriously on every call, in every document, and at every stage of every engagement.
Insight Requires Understanding First
We don’t arrive with pre-packaged answers. We start with questions — about your business, your market, your constraints, your objectives. The analytical work we do is only as valuable as the understanding that informs it. Insight without context is just output. We’re in the business of useful insight — which means we invest in understanding before we invest in analysis.
Integrity Is Not Situational
We do the work correctly — not because someone is checking, but because the standard is the standard. In a highly regulated, highly relational industry, integrity is not a differentiator. It’s a baseline. We treat it that way. Our clients can rely on us to tell them what they need to hear, to flag what concerns us, and to hold our own work to the same standard we’d hold theirs.
Partnership Is a Long-Term Commitment
The best consulting relationships in this industry aren’t transactional. They’re ongoing. We treat every engagement as the foundation of something that could last — not a project to be completed and invoiced. That orientation shows up in how we communicate, how we follow through, and in the care we take to understand your business well enough that the relationship gets better over time.
OUR TEAM
The People Behind Every Engagement
Our team combines carrier-side experience, actuarial and legal credentials, and genuine investment in the long-term success of the clients we serve. Here’s who you’ll be working with.
Strategic Consulting engagements are led by Bill and staffed cross-functionally, pulling in team members from our Actuarial and Compliance groups based on each client’s specific needs.
Actuarial Consulting
Bill Bade, FSA, MAAA
Founder & Consulting Actuary
Bill brings carrier-side actuarial leadership built across pricing, product strategy, and competitive intelligence in the supplemental benefits industry. He founded Sydney Consulting Group and Sydney Administrators in 2019 after three years at Milliman leading Accident, Cancer, Critical Illness, and Hospital Indemnity pricing alongside a competitive intelligence team — and a career that earned him The Allstate Corporation’s Chairman’s Award and Employee of the Year. At SCG, he leads consulting engagements across A&H program distribution, administration, and product development. He holds the Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA) designations, and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and English, LaSallian Honors, from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.
Kristi Hardenbergh, FSA, MAAA
Consulting Actuary
Kristi brings years of supplemental product consulting experience focused on actuarial development and rate filing support. She joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2020 after her tenure as an Associate Actuary at Milliman, where she supported the development of supplemental products. At SCG, she assists clients with product development, actuarial materials for rate filings, and responses to state objections. She holds the Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA) and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA) designations, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance with a Mathematics Minor from Butler University, Cum Laude, Highest Honors.
Carl Grafmuller, FSA, MAAA, CERA
Consulting Actuary
Carl brings a rare combination of actuarial expertise and applied experience in machine learning and artificial intelligence, developed across life insurance and technology sectors. He joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2020 after a career spanning actuarial roles in life insurance and a tenure as Senior Product Manager at trivago, where he worked at the intersection of data, AI, and product strategy. At SCG, his background supports the firm’s approach to product development, valuation, and administration functions for brokers, carriers, and technology firms. He holds the Fellow of the Society of Actuaries (FSA), Member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA), and Chartered Enterprise Risk Analyst (CERA) designations, and a double major in Actuarial Science and Finance from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business, New York University.
Compliance Advisory
Hunter Sexton, J.D., MHA
Senior Regulatory Compliance Consultant
Hunter brings ten years of compliance experience at major medical and government managed care carriers. He joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2020 after a decade working inside carrier compliance operations across the managed care space. At SCG, he leads the regulatory compliance division, focusing on insurance product development, filing, and implementation with a client-centered approach built on advocacy, research, and transparent project management. He holds a Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law (Honors), a Master of Healthcare Administration from the University of South Florida, and a Bachelor of Political Science from the University of Florida.
Jenna Salerno, Esq.
Compliance Counsel
Jenna brings a health law background with strategic legal and regulatory expertise across supplemental insurance products at both the federal and state levels. She joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2025 after serving as an Insurance Law Clerk at State Farm, where she developed hands-on experience in compliance legal research and regulatory requirements. At SCG, she focuses on legal drafting, policy form review, and compliance legal research across supplemental health products. She holds a Juris Doctor, Cum Laude, from Stetson University College of Law with a focus on health law, is a member of the Florida Bar, and a Bachelor of Arts in Legal Studies from the University of Central Florida.
Brandi Waldner, ALMI, ACS
Senior Compliance Analyst
Brandi brings over a decade of experience in the insurance regulatory space, specializing in multi-state product filings across supplemental health, life, disability, dental, and vision lines. She joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2020 after six years in the compliance department of a leading supplemental carrier, partnering with carriers to navigate complex state requirements and bring products to market efficiently. At SCG, she manages end-to-end filing strategy — coordinating stakeholders, addressing objections, and keeping projects on track when timelines tighten. She holds the Associate, Life Management Institute (ALMI) and Associate, Customer Service (ACS) designations, and a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College.
Jennifer Aiello, FLMI, ACS, AIRC
Senior Compliance Associate
Jennifer brings nearly 15 years of compliance experience in life and health products, built inside the compliance unit at Allstate Benefits. She joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2020 with deep hands-on background in drafting insurance contracts, filing products, reviewing new laws and regulations, and responding to objection letters. At SCG, she serves as a subject matter expert across individual and group life insurance, health insurance (accident, hospital indemnity, specified disease, and disability income), and accelerated death benefits. She holds the Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI), Associate, Customer Service (ACS), and Associate, Insurance Regulatory Compliance (AIRC) designations, an Associate of Arts from Brewton-Parker College, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Capella University.
Peter Polis
Compliance Associate
Peter brings two years of member-facing experience in financial services, developed as a Member Solutions Specialist at USAA. He joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2020 and focuses on SERFF administration and state objection responses in the supplemental health space. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from St. Joseph’s College.
Annmarie Severovic
Compliance Associate
Annmarie brings nine years of regulatory and compliance experience as a Disclosure Desk Analyst at Draper & Kramer Mortgage Corp., where attention to documentation standards and regulatory requirements shaped her professional foundation. She joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2023, transitioning her compliance expertise into the supplemental benefits space. At SCG, she focuses on SERFF administration and state objection responses. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois in Chicago.
Kristin Cannon
Compliance Associate
Kristin brings 16 years of legal and regulatory experience as a Paralegal at the Law Offices of Richard G. Whiting. She joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2023, bringing a foundation in legal documentation and regulatory procedures into the supplemental benefits space. At SCG, she focuses on contract form drafting and regulatory research. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Columbia College.
Shared Services
Garrick Gibson, FCX-I
Experience Design Director
Garrick brings experience design and marketing strategy expertise developed across health insurance and the supplemental benefits space. He joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2021 after serving as Sr. Human-Centered Design Lead at Florida Blue, where he was embedded on the CX team of one of the largest BCBS plans in the country — working across digital, product, care, and service teams to ensure member insights shaped the experience. At SCG, he leads experience design and marketing strategy across both Sydney Consulting Group and Sydney Administrators, working with carrier clients on employer, member, and producer portal design, go-to-market strategy, member communications, and shared design systems built for long-term reuse. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Graphic Communication from Florida A&M University, a Forrester CX Certification, and a Foundations in Design Thinking Certificate from IDEO U.
Allison Bade, CPA
Senior Financial Analyst
Allison brings financial planning and analysis expertise with a focus on the supplemental health space, developed across a career spanning public accounting and major healthcare organizations. She joined Sydney Consulting Group in 2021 after roles at KPMG, McKesson, and AmCap. At SCG, she supports financial planning and analysis functions across the firm’s supplemental health engagements. She holds a Master of Accounting and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting with a Concentration in Communication Studies from the University of Florida, and the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation.
OUR APPROACH
What Our Clients Can Expect From Every Engagement
These aren’t policies. They’re the behaviors that have defined how Sydney works since the beginning — and what our clients tell us they notice most.
We Start With the Right Questions
Every engagement begins with us understanding your situation — your products, your markets, your objectives, your constraints, your relationships. We don’t arrive with a pre-loaded framework and fit your situation into it. We build our approach around what your situation actually requires. The quality of our work is a direct function of the quality of our understanding.
We Tell You What We Actually Think
Our value to clients depends on our ability to give them an honest perspective — including perspectives they might not want to hear. If there’s a risk we see, we surface it. If we think an approach has a better alternative, we say so. We’re not in the business of telling clients what’s comfortable. We’re in the business of telling clients what’s true and what’s useful.
We're Reachable When It Matters
Consulting relationships in a high-stakes industry need to work at the speed of the business. Regulatory timelines move. Market windows open and close. Questions arise. We staff engagements to be genuinely accessible — not just during scheduled check-ins, but when something real is happening. Responsiveness is part of the service.
We Stay Invested After the Deliverable
The end of a project is not the end of our interest in your success. We follow up. We check in. We track how approved products perform, how regulatory approvals hold, how strategies play out in the market. We do this because we’re invested in the outcomes, not just the outputs — and because the best indicator of whether our work was valuable is what happens after we deliver it.
RELATED
Part of a Broader Commitment to the Supplemental Benefits Space
Third-Party Administrator (TPA)
Sydney Administrators provides the claims and administrative services that keep supplemental benefit programs running efficiently — a natural extension of the consulting work Sydney Consulting Group does on the product side.
GET IN TOUCH
If This Sounds Like the Kind of Firm You've Been Looking For, Let's Talk.
We work best with clients who value long-term partnership over transactional consulting. If that describes how you work, we’d welcome the conversation.
What to expect: A brief, no-pressure introductory call to understand your situation and confirm whether there’s a fit. We typically respond within one business day.