Andrew Q. Hendren
General Secretary and Chief Executive Officer
Andy is the general secretary and chief executive officer of Wespath Benefits and Investments, which administers benefit plans for over 100,000 participants serving at United Methodist-affiliated organizations and is one of the largest reporting faith-based pension fund in the world. Wespath also is a global leader in sustainable investment stewardship, managing benefit plan assets as well as endowment and foundation assets of numerous Methodist-affiliated organizations. Reporting directly to Wespath’s board of directors, Andy leads Wespath’s enterprise efforts and fiduciary functions.
Andy applies a deep understanding of church values, regulatory frameworks and societal trends to strategic planning, organizational decision-making, and the evolution of benefits and investments products and services for faith-based organizations. He has long-standing relationships with stakeholders throughout The United Methodist Church, across a diversity of faiths, and among multiple government and secular business arenas. His expertise includes United Methodist polity, ecumenical cooperation, government relations and employee benefits law (particularly church benefit plans).
Andy joined Wespath in 2004 and has served in multiple positions. Prior to assuming the general secretary/CEO role in 2022, he was Wespath’s general counsel/chief legal and governance officer, as well as corporate secretary. Previous Wespath roles included associate general counsel and assistant general counsel.
Andy serves on the Steering Committee of the Church Alliance (a coalition of nearly 40 church benefit programs) and on the board of directors of the Church Benefits Association (a multi-denominational coalition whose members manage over $100 billion in benefit plan assets). He served in leadership roles in the Church Alliance from 2014 through 2020. Through his work with the Church Alliance, Andy periodically engages in policy-setting dialogues with Congressional members and legislative/committee staff, as well as staff at many regulatory agencies.
Earlier employers include Sidley Austin LLP and a clerkship for the Honorable Chief Justice William Ray Price (Supreme Court of Missouri). Andy has a juris doctor from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law, a master’s degree in Economics from Iowa State University, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Truman State University.
Bill Kavanaugh
Chief Operating Officer
Bill joined Wespath Benefits and Investments in 2016. As chief operating officer, he manages Wespath’s overall operations, resources, policies and strategic direction, including Wespath’s long-term strategic plan development and implementation. As CEO of our Wespath Institutional Investments subsidiary (WII), Bill has overall accountability for WII’s goals and objectives, as prescribed by the WII Board.
Before joining Wespath, Bill worked at Allstate Insurance Company where he held the dual role of senior vice president, Life and Retirement Distribution and president and chief executive officer, Allstate Financial Services, LLC. Prior to that, he spent 10 years with Securian Financial Group.
Bill received his master’s degree in financial services from The American College and his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of North Florida. He also has received certification as a Certified Financial Planner™, Chartered Financial Consultant, Chartered Life Underwriter and Accredited Estate Planner.
Eileen Kane
Chief Financial and Strategy Officer
Eileen has worked at Wespath Benefits and Investments since 1987 and serves as chief financial and strategy officer (CFSO). As CFSO, Eileen leads Wespath’s benefits administration transformation and strategic governance for the organization’s broader business plan, while also overseeing the accounting and finance division.
Eileen has held multiple positions at Wespath, most recently chief financial and information officer, where she was responsible for overseeing accounting and forecasting, technology, information systems, project management and data analytics. Previous Wespath roles include managing director of information and project services, managing director of the enterprise project management office, and controller.
Eileen earned her MBA in strategy, execution and valuation from DePaul University and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Eastern Illinois University.
Johara Farhadieh
Chief Investment Officer
Johara is chief investment officer and responsible for managing the entire Wespath investment operation comprised of Investment Management, Sustainable Investment Strategies and Institutional Investment Services. This includes serving as CIO of each of Wespath’s subsidiaries, with responsibility for executing their respective investment programs as directed by their investment policies. She joined Wespath in October 2023 as deputy chief investment officer.
Prior to Wespath, Johara served as the executive director and chief investment officer of the Illinois State Board of Investment (ISBI), where she oversaw the investment management of state employees’ retirement benefits. She previously served as a portfolio manager and portfolio officer at ISBI. Before joining ISBI, Johara worked at Hilco Appraisal Services and the Central States Health & Welfare & Pension Fund.
Johara received a bachelor's in Finance and an MBA from DePaul University. She sits on the Board of Trustees and the Finance Committee at La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago. She also is a member of the Board of Trustees and Chairwoman of the Investment Committee at The Francis Xavier Warde School in Chicago.
Sheila Saegh Henretta
Chief Legal Officer
Sheila is Wespath’s chief legal officer and oversees the Legal and Compliance and Internal Audit departments, while also serving as Wespath’s corporate secretary, supporting the Wespath Board of Directors and coordinating governance of Wespath’s subsidiaries. She joined Wespath in November 2020 as deputy general counsel.
Sheila has extensive experience with financial services and securities law regulations, corporate finance and acquisition transactions, and pension plans. She came to Wespath from the Options Clearing Corporation, and prior to that served as the director of banking for the State of Illinois and as general counsel of the Governor’s Office of Management and Budget. She began her career in mergers and acquisitions at Jones Day.
Sheila received a juris doctor degree from the Case Western Reserve University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree in Economics from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania.
Bryan Mjaanes
Chief Information Technology Officer
As chief information technology officer (CITO), Bryan oversees strategy and leadership for all aspects of information technology, governance and security, the Project Management Office (PMO), and the development and implementation of key information technology initiatives in support of Wespath’s business objectives. He joined Wespath in January 2022. Most recently, he served as vice president of IT and chief information officer at Vermont Mutual Insurance Group, where he oversaw execution of comprehensive systems modernization and IT cultural transformation. He is a certified Scrum master and has extensive experience leading complex IT and business initiatives.
Bryan received a bachelor of science degree from the University of Wisconsin and completed post-graduate coursework on artificial intelligence from Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management.