Meet Your Team
Get to know the experienced professionals behind American Life Financial—dedicated to quick decisions, reliable terms, and smooth closings.
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 helps coordinate the efforts of each team member and makes sure they have the answers and the resources they need to get your loan funded. He is part of the Investment Committee that reviews loan proposals each day so we can get decisions back to our borrowers fast, and he helps develop the loan products and services that we offer to our customers. Paul personally conducts the final review on each loan we fund to ensure that our loans live up to our customers’ expectations for accuracy and completeness.
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.
Anthony Turdo
Anthony sees each loan scenario as an opportunity to make a difference. During the process of reviewing a loan and researching the property’s value, he goes beyond the mechanical aspect of the loan underwriting and looks outside the box for other factors that could overturn a possible loan denial. His goal is not only to make safe loans for the Company, but also to help the borrower overcome obstacles that would result in a denial by other underwriters.
Antonia "Toni" Otero
Toni brings over 15 years of experience in commercial finance, with a strong background in loan operations, regulatory compliance, and client relationship management. She oversees complex loan portfolios including closings up to $30MM and specializes in participation lending, construction financing, third-party documentation review, and due diligence. Toni is known for her attention to detail, thorough research, and transparent, solutions-focused approach. Her extensive experience across SBA, religious non-profit lending, and loan syndication within the commercial real estate space makes her a trusted resource for both clients and colleagues.
Joseph Campbell
Joseph conducts property inspections for American Life Financial and acts as an advisor to the Company’s Investment Committee in matters pertaining to property inspections, appraisals, and environmental reports. His inspections provide the Company with timely information about the properties he inspects so we can resolve any issues that are found early in the process and close the loan on-time.