Delta Dental of Connecticut Leadership Team

Dennis G. Wilson
President and CEO

As a proven health and benefits leader for more than three decades, Dennis Wilson has proudly served as President and CEO of Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut since 2013.

Dennis’ commitment to building high performing enterprises and support for healthier communities has led him to take on diverse corporate and community board appointments. These directorships include Delta Dental Plans Association Board of Directors and Executive Committee; immediate past Chair of DeltaUSA’s Board of Trustees; Chair of the Board of Encara, Inc.; and Vice Chair of Healthentic Inc. He serves as Vice President and Trustee of the Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation and holds a board appointment with the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce and is a member of their Executive Committee.

Dennis currently serves as Trustee and immediate past Chair of the Community Foundation of New Jersey, which educates and engages the people of New Jersey on the power charitable giving has on positively effecting change in our communities.

In July 2019, Dennis was appointed to the Board of Managers of Paradigm Oral Surgery, a subsidiary of InTandem Capital Partners (private equity), which works to revolutionize and reinvent implant surgery through ongoing technology and digital advancements. He serves as an investor and strategic advisor.

In November 2020, Wilson joined the Board of Directors of Atlantic Health System and serves on the Executive and Governance Committees, and he is also Chair of the Quality Committee.  In February 2021, Wilson was appointed to the Advisory Board of University of Massachusetts- Dartmouth Charlton College of Business.

As former President of Coventry Health Care (an Aetna Company), Dennis managed five states with the highest contribution to earnings among all Coventry regions nationwide. He also served as President and CEO of Lovelace Health Plan, where he led a 250,000-member statewide health plan generating over $1 billion in annual revenues, and previously as Segment President of Cigna Healthcare where he drove 40 percent growth of the company’s profitable enrollment. Dennis has also held leadership roles with Pilgrim Health, Preferred Group, Inc., Investors Life Group, Independence Blue Cross, and Partners in Care Corp.

His holistic view on the link between oral health and overall well being is helping to lead Delta Dental through an era of renewed oral healthcare leadership, transformation, and enterprise modernization, while continuing the organization’s 50-year legacy of serving families, businesses, dental professionals, and the community.

Dennis’ exemplary leadership, commitment to excellence, drive for focused disruptive innovation, and passion for community advocacy has been lauded across the region. In 2019, he received the Exemplary Private Sector Leader Award from the Morris County Chamber and Business Advocate of the Year from the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce. Dennis was also honored with the 2017 NJBIZ ICON Award and received the William P. Huber Award for Outstanding Community Leadership by the Morris County Chamber of Commerce in 2016. He was also recognized with the 2015 Leon J. Warshaw Leadership in Healthcare Award by the Northeast Business Group on Health, which marked the first time a dental benefits leader received the honor.

A Massachusetts native, Dennis Wilson received a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Massachusetts and credits his family’s military experience and his love for sports for his work ethic, drive, and approach to leadership. A devoted husband and mentor, Dennis is a proud survivor of quintuple bypass surgery and continues to share his personal health story to encourage others to embrace preventative healthcare.

 

Karim Bennis
Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President

Karim Bennis joined Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut in December 2023. Karim is an accomplished healthcare executive with extensive leadership experience and a track record of positioning companies for growth across various healthcare sectors, including insurance, pharmacy, care delivery, and healthcare services, and he has led the operations of various organizations at scale and produced game-changing results with his teams.

Karim was recently EVP, Chief Operating Officer at Avesis, a dental and vision insurance provider, where he ran the day-to-day operations while leading a comprehensive transformation program to create a one-stop shop of supplemental benefits. Previously, Karim led key Walmart U.S. Health and Wellness efforts, where his teams turned around and reinvented the pharmacy business while executing the “supercenter of healthcare” strategy that created a disruptive one-stop shop of care delivery that would provide access to affordable and quality care at scale: Walmart Health. Prior to joining Walmart, Karim developed and executed large-scale enterprise transformations, strategy development, merger integration and operational improvement engagements for large and mid-size healthcare clients at Monitor Deloitte. 

Karim received his MBA at UCLA Anderson School of Management, his Master of Public Administration at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, his Master of Applied Finance from Pepperdine University, and his Bachelor of Business Administration from Institut Supérieur de Gestion in Paris, France.

 

Stu Brereton
Vice President and Chief Sales Officer

Stuart ‘Stu’ Brereton joined Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut in April 2024. Stu brings a wealth of expertise and sales leadership in the insurance industry to the role of Chief Sales Officer. Most recently, Stu served as Regional Vice President at Prudential Financial. Prior to that role, he was a Regional Sales Director with The Hartford. 

Stu's journey to Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut is marked by a history of building and leading successful sales teams and a passion for driving growth and innovation. His background in Healthcare, Life, and Disability insurance makes him a natural fit to lead the Delta Dental of New Jersey’s Sales organization. He oversees the account management, individual, small group, core, and large group sales teams, as well as sales operations, with the goal of increasing market share through gaining new accounts while retaining and growing current group customer accounts.

Stu's academic accomplishments further underscore his dedication and excellence. Stu graduated from Gettysburg College with a bachelor’s degree in political science.  While at Gettysburg, he not only excelled academically but also distinguished himself as a champion varsity swimmer, setting school records along the way. 

 

Paul Di Maio
Senior Vice President, and General Counsel

Paul Di Maio joined Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut in 2016. Prior to joining Delta Dental, Paul held various corporate counsel and executive positions, most recently as Senior Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Samsung Electronics America, Inc. Over the course of his career, Paul has worked in corporate governance, securities law, intellectual property, high-stakes litigation, labor, and human resources matters. He also has over 25 years' experience in private practice.

Paul has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Human Resources Policy Association. He currently serves on the Board of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northern New Jersey and on New Jersey Business and Industry Association's Public Policy Committee and Healthcare Committee.

Paul holds a J.D. degree from Seton Hall University School of Law, where he was Managing Editor of the Law Review, and he is a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association. He also holds a B.A. in Psychology with a Minor in Business, from Villanova University.

 

Vincent Farinella
Vice President, Strategy, and Product Development

Vincent Farinella joined Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut in 1988 and previously served in various managerial capacities within Customer Service, Professional Relations, Product Development and Marketing, and had strategic, product and operational oversight of the Flagship Dental Plans subsidiary.

Vince is responsible for enterprise strategic planning and product development efforts, including strategy formulation, the execution of strategic initiatives and new business ventures, strategic decision support, individual products and health care reform strategies. He also serves as Vice President of Flagship Dental Plans, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Dental of New Jersey. Vince currently serves on the Public Policy Committee of the Delta Dental Plans Association.

Vince previously served on the William Paterson University Business Advisory Board Student Mentoring Committee and was Past President and Officer of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS) Northern New Jersey Chapter and ISCEBS Governing Council. He's also Past President and Officer of the Upsilon Phi Delta Honor Society for Health Care Administrators Seton Hall Chapter.

Vince holds a B.S. from William Paterson University and earned the designation of Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS). He also holds a master's in Healthcare Administration from Seton Hall University where he is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Health and Medical Sciences. He has also completed course work in entrepreneurship and innovation.

 

Justin Lahullier
Chief Information Officer and Vice President Information Services

Justin Lahullier joined Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut in early 2000 and has held several key positions in areas including Compliance, Product Development, Strategic Planning, and Informatics. He was previously Assistant Vice President of Strategic Decision Support and Data Services where his focus was on driving value using analytics, data visualization, and storytelling. He was promoted to Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Information Services in April 2017.

Justin’s current focus is on driving value from all areas of IT to the business and external partners with a focus on optimizing IT delivery and support. Key successes include partnering with the business to deliver outcomes aligned with corporate strategy while providing leadership and governance to critical strategic and technical initiatives. Current initiatives include Hi-Trust compliance, improving customer experience and leveraging data and analytics with a focus on driving efficiencies, reducing risk, and enabling the business. Justin also launched the company’s first IT focused 18-month professional development program called, “CIO University.”

Justin is also a 23-year veteran and past Chief of the East Rutherford Fire Department. He also serves as an appointee by the Bergen County Freeholders to a seat on the Public Safety and Communications Advisory Board.

Justin holds a master’s in Healthcare Administration from Monmouth University and a postgraduate certificate from Drexel University in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.

 

Dr. Keith Libou
Chief Clinical Officer

Dr. Libou joined Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut in 2014. Prior to joining Delta Dental, he served as Chief Dental Officer at Dental Care Alliance (DCA), while also overseeing DCA's affiliated multi-location group practice in Pennsylvania as Dental Director. From 1998 to 2000, Dr. Libou was Vice President of Operations and National Dental Director at Oral Health Services, and prior to that he served as Dental Director of the Eastern Region at Cigna Dental from 1995 to 1997.

Dr. Libou is directly involved in establishing strategy for Delta Dental to integrate the rapidly evolving evidence about the oral/systemic relationship into its dental benefit programs. He led a pilot program involving dentists performing in-office HbA1c testing for diabetes, and then wrote a request to the American Dental Association’s Code Committee to assign a code for dentists to perform point-of-care HbA1c blood testing in dental offices. The code was approved and became effective January 1, 2018. Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut has covered the A1c for all their members as of January 1, 2019.

With over 15 years of experience in large group practices, Dr. Libou is licensed to practice dentistry in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. With experience on both the clinical and insurance sides of dentistry, Dr. Libou brings with him extensive knowledge of dental managed care and the dental benefits industry.

Dr. Libou serves on the boards of the Somerset County Business Partnership and the Mental Health Association in New Jersey. He studied biology at the State University of New York at Binghamton and he later graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine where he earned his D.M.D.

 

Barry Petruzzi
Vice President, Underwriting and Actuarial

Barry Petruzzi joined Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut in May 2019 as Vice President of Underwriting and Actuarial Services. Prior to joining Delta Dental, Barry was vice president and chief group actuary for Prudential Financial.

Barry has more than 25 years experience in the Group Life/Disability market place, having held senior leadership positions at The Hartford and Guardian Life Insurance Company of America over the course of his career.

At Delta Dental, Barry is responsible for developing and maintaining Delta Dental’s pricing structures and underwriting guidelines. He’s also responsible for determining the company’s reserve liabilities and assists in the development of financial projections. Barry provides strategic perspectives on actuarial and underwriting matters to the senior leadership team and supports the organization’s overall corporate objectives.

Barry is active within the actuarial industry, and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and a frequent speaker at meetings hosted by the Society of Actuaries and Group Underwriters Association of America (GUAA). He holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Penn State University.

 

Michael Rodrigues
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President

Michael Rodrigues joined Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut in February 2015 as Assistant Vice President and Controller. In January 2019, Michael was promoted to Vice President and Controller and was responsible for overseeing the Commissions, Financial Reporting, Purchasing/Office Services, and Treasury functions. In March 2020, Michael was promoted to Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President and is responsible for overall leadership and direction of the Finance, Underwriting/Actuarial and Facilities Management functions of the organization. He is also a strategic business partner and takes an active role in working with the other members of the Executive Leadership Team, as well as with the Board and Board sub-committees to develop and achieve the organization’s strategic plan.

Prior to joining Delta Dental, Michael held audit and accounting-related positions at Withum Smith + Brown, Goldstein, Karlewicz & Goldstein LLP Certified Public Accountants, EisnerAmper, and Sony Electronics, Inc.

Michael is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants. Michael also serves on the North Board of Junior Achievement of New Jersey. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Rutgers University and has been a licensed New Jersey Certified Public Accountant since 1999.

 

Randy Stodard
Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President

Randy Stodard joined Delta Dental of New Jersey and Connecticut  in 2015 as Chief Marketing Officer and Vice President. Throughout a broad and diverse professional career, he has successfully led global sales, marketing, and business development/new product teams at several blue chip companies, including—most recently—Walgreens, as well as Abbott, Pfizer, and Reckitt-Benckiser.

Randy has been heavily involved with innovation and launched many successful new products during his career. His efforts have been rewarded with multiple awards for best in class advertising, marketing campaigns, and new products.

In his role as Chief Marketing Officer, Randy is responsible for developing creative and impactful marketing strategies that effectively reach both current and emerging markets.

Randy serves on the following Boards -- Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce and Morris County Chamber of Commerce in New Jersey and the Stamford Chamber of Commerce in Connecticut.

Randy has a B.A. in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an M.B.A. from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.