Meet Our Team
Get to know the experienced professionals who lead American Savings Life Insurance Company with integrity, expertise, and a commitment to excellence.
Byron Allen
Byron Allen has served as President and CEO of American Savings Life (ASL) since 2007, bringing extensive professional and leadership experience to the company. Under his leadership, ASL has expanded its insurance footprint from two states to fifteen and grown its lending operations from a single state to nationwide. During his tenure, ASL’s insurance reserves have increased twentyfold, its commercial loan portfolio has grown more than tenfold, and total assets have expanded by 500%.
Allen led the development of ASL’s first annuity products and established a loan participation program that now includes more than twenty participating insurance companies. He holds an MBA from Arizona State University and has held multiple leadership roles in industry organizations, including the Life Insurers Council, the American Council of Life Insurers, and the National Alliance of Life Companies.
E. Paul Whetten
Paul has 10+ years in enterprise management and 17+ years in financial services. He graduated magna cum laude from ASU with a History degree and earned a Masters of Administration from NAU. Paul is an adjunct professor at Mesa Community College and active in Boy Scouts, serving as Assistant Council Commissioner. He and his wife have 6 children.
John Shirts
John earned bachelor's and master's degrees in Accountancy from BYU and a master's in operations research from Columbia University. He joined ASL in August 2023 after 21 years in semiconductor industry finance. John is a CPA and CFA Charterholder who speaks French fluently and German conversationally. He enjoys running, traveling, pickleball, and spending time with his wife and four kids.
Michael L. Frahm
Michael supervises Marketing, Sales, Contracting, New Business, Underwriting, Compliance, Operations, and Claims departments. He started as a Certified Financial Planner® and Investment Advisor, then spent 25+ years in home office roles. Michael holds multiple industry designations including CLF, CFP®, CLU, ChFC, and FLMI. He has a Finance degree from Cal State Fullerton and MBA from University of Phoenix.
Linda Williams
Linda has been with American Savings Life since 2015. She works mainly with servicing our commercial loans, but also provides customer service for our life insurance policyholders. She loves seeing our beautiful country and had the awesome opportunity for three years to travel throughout the U.S. with a singing group. She enjoys spending time with family, watching movies and baking and renovation competitions, shopping and thrifting.
Ellen Seger
Ellen has been with American Savings since 2019. She handles annuity and life insurance processing, account servicing and all stock transactions and servicing. You’ll often hear her voice when you call our office. A transplant from Iowa, she enjoys going back to visit her relatives in the summer.
Shawnee
Shawnee has been working with American Savings Life Insurance Company since 2023, serving in annuity and loan servicing. Outside of work, she enjoys expressing her creativity through art and music, and has a passion for antique shopping and collecting, with a special interest in antique photographs.
Tracey Leonard
Tracey joined American Savings Life in August 2025. She brings a well-rounded background in education, nonprofit work, and finance, with previous roles including program coordinator, payroll advisor, and office administrator. She enjoys writing, exploring new places, and spending time with family and friends.