About Cowden Associates, Inc.Cowden Associates, Inc. (Cowden) headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, was created in 2001 by the merger of Halliwell and Associates and MMC&P Spectrum Benefits, which was founded by Jere Cowden in 1986. Currently led by President & CEO Elliot Dinkin, Cowden specializes in helping corporate clients find the best solutions, both for the enterprise and for its employees, in regard to compensation, healthcare benefits, retirement and pension issues, and Taft-Hartley fund consulting.

Cowden is unique in their ability to provide insight on industry topics and work across lines of business including compensation, benefits, and retirement practices that work jointly to provide a total compensation approach to employers’ benefit programs; how they work together and how changes within an organization reflect across their benefit programs. Cowden is a trusted resource for media outlets of compensation, retirement, benefits, and business leadership, highly regarded insights with an authoritative perspective. Cowden professionals have been featured in news sources such as Law360, CNBC, WorldatWork, Newsmax, and Employee Benefit News.

Accolades Winning Workplaces and the Wall Street Journal have recognized Cowden as a “Top Small Workplace,” a lifetime designation awarded to executives for their ability to build and lead savvy organizations. Cowden was also honored as a recipient of the Smart 50 Award presented by Chase Bank.

Affiliations • Global Actuarial and Consulting Services (GLOBACS)• American Academy of Actuaries• Conference of Consulting Actuaries (CCA)• International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

(IFEBP)• International Society of Certified Employee Benefit

Specialists (ISCEBS)• National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU)• Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM)

Four Gateway Center, Suite 605444 Liberty Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1222

888.889.9432 www.cowdenassociates.com

Integrity • Expertise • Results • Employees • Community

LeadershipElliot N. Dinkin, President/CEO

elliotd@cowdenassociates.com

Elliot earned his MBA in Finance and Accounting from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in Economics (Cum Laude) from Dickinson College. He conceived and build Elliot Dinkin and Associates, Inc., where he served as president for eight years. His expertise has been tapped by publications including The Bankers Magazine and Employee Benefits News, World@Work Benefits & Work Life Focus, Law360, as well as Smart Business Magazine as a quarterly contributor. Elliot’s speaking engagements include the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP), the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists (ISCEBS), National Association of Health Underwriters, WPA Chapter of American Payroll Association. Dinkin is a board member of the Pennsylvania Economy League of Greater Pittsburgh and previously served as the Vice Chair of Finances for the Hillel Jewish University Center at the University of Pittsburgh.

Speaking EngagementsElliot is a professional speaker and is sought after to speak on various topics:

• Compensation• Retirement and Pension Issues• Mergers and Acquisitions• Taft-Hartley Funds • Risk Management

Congress Mulls Ideas As Pension Crisis Nears Disaster Levels

5.3.18Value Walk

Federal trust pays $18.1 million to Arkansas retirees in 2017, pension bubble fears grow

5.8.18Talk Business & Politics

Central States Pension Fund expected to be insolvent In Seven Years

5.14.18Value Walk

Executive compensation continued to rise in 2017

5.21.18Value Walk

New changes in the tax law increase already–growing scrutiny of compensation levels for senior executives

5.24.18Brevard Business News

Conditions are ripe for employers to derisk their pension plan

5.24.18Employee Benefit News

Society of Actuaries: 115 multiemployer pensions in ‘critical condition’

5.24.18Employee Benefit News

Scuttlebiz: Nonprofit doesn’t equal ‘no profit’6.4.18Augusta Chronicle

Plan Sponsors Should Consider Pension De-Risking

8.20.18Law360

Nonprofit Executive Pay Tax May Hit Severance, Not Salaries

6.15.18Law360

Society of Actuaries: 115 multiemployer pensions in ‘critical condition’

6.2518Modern Healthcare

Expert says executive pay poses reputation issues for nonprofits

6.25.18Central New York Business Journal

Tax overhaul dings high nonprofit salaries8.13.18Crain’s Cleveland

Business

Hiring Challenges For Nonprofit Employers After Tax Reform

7.5.18Law360

National study finds hospital CEO compensation rates outpacing clinical employees

9.10.18Winston-Salem Journal Online

What New Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) Regulations Mean for You

11.21.18Newsmax

Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter9.19.18Benefits Link

Newsletter

Multiemployer Plans Pose Hidden Dangers for Employers - PlanSponsor

10.8.18PlanSponsor

40% of American middle class face poverty by the time they reach age 65: Study

10.12.18CNBC

Companies Can Help Expand Shrinking Financial Horizons for Retirees

10.31.18Newsmax

40% of the American middle class face poverty in retirement, study concludes

10.23.18FlipBoard

Why We Should Be Interested In The New HRA Regulations

11.26.18Law360

What to Do About Underfunded Pension Plans2.11.19WorldatWork

Coaches’ Pay Likely To Dodge New Tax Unless Congress Acts

1.16.19Law360

Don’t Ignore Impact of Minimum Wage Hikes1.22.19Newsmax

From Coast to Coast, Employers Required To Pay Higher Minimum Wage

1.30.19HR Business Pros

‘New’ 401(k) Could Be Savior of Small Businesses

2.5.19Newsmax

Working Together With Health Care Organizations to Align Compensation with Business Objectives and People Costs

2.5.19PA Healthcare News

Pension Plan Law Change Helps Employers Decrease Their Risk Profile

3.25.19WorldatWork

Worried automation in the workplace kills jobs? Think again.

4.2.19Tame the Machine

The Future Does Not Look Bright for Pension Plans

3.26.19WorldatWork

Strikes Force Modern Approach to Collective Bargaining

3.27.19Newsmax

The Future of Work Changes Everything and Still Needs Humans

3.29.19TMCNet

Worried automation in the workplace kills jobs? Think again.

4.1.19Business Management Daily

Robots and AI Spell Change for Workers, Rather Than Replacement

3.29.19HR Business Pros

Robots and AI Spell Change Not Replacement for Workers

4.8.19The Manufacturing Connection

How Automation Will Change Future Workforces

4.10.19Newsmax

The Changing Labor Landscape: How Are Workers and Employees Responding?

4.15.19SupplyChainBrain 

How Collective Bargaining Is Changing4.17.19TLNT

How to Address Underfunded Pension Plans5.3.19WorldatWork

How talent leaders can prepare for AI integration

4.30.19HR Dive

Four Gateway Center, Suite 605444 Liberty Avenue | Pittsburgh, PA 15222-1222

888.889.9432 www.cowdenassociates.com

7-30-2019 WorldatWork 2019 Executive Compensation ForumDon’t Tip the Scales: Balancing Compensation Parity and Human Capital

5-3-2019 Hospital Council of Western PennsylvaniaPreparing for and Engaging in Collective Bargaining: Compensation, Benefits and Retirement Plans

5-1-2019 Government Finance Officers Association of PennsylvaniaCreating Job Descriptions and Why They Need to Be AccurateDevelopment of Job Descriptions Through Interviews

1-11-2019 TrueChoice –Climb 19Defined Benefit Plan Analysis: Running the Plan Like a Separate Line of BusinessUnderstanding Annuity Purchases for Defined Benefit Plans

6-18-2018 SHRM Annual Conference and ExpositionChanging the Discussion: Managing a Total Compensation Approach for a Multi-Generational Workforce

5-4-2018 Healthcare Council of Western PennsylvaniaHow Should Not-for-Profits React to Providing Competitive and Cost Effective Total Compensation Programs After Enactment of the Recent Tax Law?Trends and Issues in Total Compensation Relating to Collective Bargaining Negotiations

5-31-2017 Ogletree DeakinsCosting a Contract

3-19-2017 Mid-Sized Retirement & Healthcare Plan Management Conference Keynote Address: Managing a Total Compensation Approach for a Multi-Generational WorkforceBreakout Session: Pay or Play Strategies: Evaluating Employer Compensation Adjustments

11-2016 University of PittsburghIncentive Compensation

10-2016 WPA Chapter of American Payroll AssociationTalent Management: Structuring Compensation Programs after New FLSA Regulations

9-2-2016 Pittsburgh Total Rewards AssociationFine Tuning the Impact of Pay or Play

8-9-2016 BeneProTalent Management: Structuring Compensation Programs after New FLSA Regulations

6-2016 Hospital Council of Western PennsylvaniaStructuring Total Compensation for Talent Management

5-8-2015 Hospital Council of Western PennsylvaniaPreparing for and Engaging in Collective Bargaining: Compensation, Benefits and Retirement Plans

ELLIOT DINKIN Speaker Biography

4-21-2015 2015 Benefits Technology Summit – Benefits ConnectTotal Compensation Solutions to ACA

11-17-2014 University of Pittsburgh Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business Considerations in Designing an Effective Incentive Plan

10-21-2014 Benefit Concepts/Core BenefitsA Look at Total Compensation in the Era of Health Care Reform

9-9 -2014 International Society of Certified Employee Benefits SpecialistsA Look at Total Compensation in the Era of Health Care Reform

8-7-2014 Institute for Entrepreneurial ExcellenceTrends in Compensation for 2014 and Beyond

6-30-2014 National Association of Health UnderwritersERISA from a Non-legal Perspective; Pit Falls 101

5-16-2014 Hospital Council of Western PennsylvaniaLabor Relations – Preparing for Negotiations

03-2012 International Foundation of Employees Benefit/CEBSDevising a Total Compensation Strategy Under the New Economy

03-21-2012 CEBS – Greater Pittsburgh ChapterTotal Rewards

01-2012 HR Benefits SummitHow to Effectively Design an Incentive Plan to be in the Best Interests of Participants and Companies

01-2012 Western Pa Diversity InstituteWhat is Health Care Reform and how should we plan?

10-2011 Bargaining SymposiumPreparing for and Engaging in Collective Bargaining Negotiations

06-2011 Oil & Gas SymposiumEmployee Benefits Issues in Corporate Transactions

01-19-2011 CEBS – Greater Pittsburgh ChapterTrends in Total Compensation

10-2010 Society for Human ResourcesWorkforce Reduction and Early Retirement Planning

10-4-2010 29th Annual ISCEBS Employee Benefits SymposiumSales Compensation in a New Era

04-2010 International Foundation of Employee Benefits – SymposiumConsiderations in the Redesign of your Sales Compensation Plan

5-25-2010 Pittsburgh Business Group on HealthGetting the Most from Retirement Programs- As Healthcare Reform & Investment Markets Shift the Landscape

8-10-2009 28th Annual ISCEBS Employee Benefits SymposiumExecutive Compensation: Case Study