Meet Our Principals
Chris Carrigan, CLTC
Partner, Brokerage Sales
Chris grew up in West Boylston, MA, where he attended Assumption College. He graduated with a political science degree in 1991 and was recruited by Paul Revere to become a Disability Income Specialist. He spent the next year running an agency in Columbia, SC; a year later he moved to Raleigh, NC, to oversee a larger office. In 1998, he became the Southeastern Group Manager for Commercial Travelers. Chris caught the attention of MassMutual who recruited him in 2000 to become their Regional Disability Income Specialist for 10 states. He has been the MassMutual Brokerage Director for all product lines for the Raleigh and Greensboro areas since 2004. Chris and Angela Mcilvain formed a partnership in 2007 to assume ownership and management of the Gene Pleasants (GP) Agency. Chris has been a CLTC since 2003, and is a RAIFA board member, a NAILBA member, and a MassMutual BDAX member. He lives in Raleigh with his wife Brook and their five daughters.
Angela Mcilvain, CLTC
Partner, Brokerage Sales
Angela, a Franklin County, NC, native, entered the insurance brokerage business in 1992. During the day she worked for a local life brokerage firm, while she put herself through night school. By the time she received her degree in Early Childhood Development, she had already discovered her niche in the life insurance business. In 1999, Angela made the move to John Hancock. Her drive and knowledge of the industry caught the attention of Gene Pleasants, who recruited her to work with his agency. In February 2007, Angela became a partner at the Gene Pleasants (GP) Agency. She is a member of NAIFA and NAILBA, has been involved in CLTC since 2002, is currently enrolled in CFP with the College of Financial Planning, and has served on the Board of Education for the local FPA chapter. Angela lives just outside of Raleigh, in Wake Forest, with her husband, Rock, and their three children. They attend Catch the Fire Church and are involved with local and global humanitarian efforts — they are actively doing work with Pakistan, Uganda, and Haiti.
Gene Pleasants
Consultant
After finishing high school in his native Franklin County, NC, Gene entered East Carolina University in Greenville, NC. When he graduated in 1964 with a liberal arts degree, he immediately went into the insurance business. He set his sights on starting his own company but knew it would take years of experience and learning to get there. In 1977, he earned his CLU certification and, in the mid-1980s, Gene founded the Gene Pleasants Agency as a Transamerica brokerage firm. Over the years, he has been involved with FPA, NAIFA (currently serving on the Board of Education for the local chapter), and NAILBA. Outside of insurance, Gene is an avid hunter and supporter of Ducks Unlimited and is a member of the North Carolina Symphony Board. He resides in Raleigh with his wife, Linda, and, when possible, they split their free time between their mountain and beach homes.