Our Team

Cypress is more than just an office. Rest secure in knowing you have a strong infrastructure that is dedicated to making clients the number one priority. Click below to see how we are organized from the inside out.

Our Department Heads

Gil Cohen, MBA, LUTCF
Managing Director
Gil joined MetLife in 1994 and qualified for Leaders that same year. During the next two years in the business he was a Financial Planner ranked as the company’s top disability sales producer. Gil's many accolades as a Financial Representative include: a two-time Million Dollar Round Table member and qualifier; a two time President’s Conference qualifier; a three time Leader’s Conference qualifier; and General Agent and Manager Association “Rookie of the Year” and “Agent of the Year” awards for Broward County.

Gil entered management in 1999, and since then he has grown his firm's production by 400%, earning him many distinctions as a manager.  But in 2006 he earned the Management Triskelion Award, designed to recognize the MetLife agency with the best, most consistent, three-year record among all MetLife agencies. As a result of Gil’s cumulative achievements, in 2008 he was inducted to the MetLife Hall of Fame, whose membership in this exclusive group is reserved for those managers whose leadership, integrity and commitment to excellence serve as outstanding role models for their peers and industry leaders.

Ghiass Ali, LUTCF
Co-Managing Director
Beginning his career with MetLife in 1999, Ghiass quickly became a top performer and was promoted to management within his first three years with the company. Throughout his career, Ghiass has claimed honors for focusing on the needs of clients, running a profitable business, building a strong infrastructure and serving as an example of overall excellence. Ghiass has been recognized numerous times for his dedication to the financial services profession and his superior management skills. In particular, Ghiass has earned high levels of recognition including six Management Leaders Conference and one Chairman’s Council qualification.

Susan Palen
Director of Operations
Sue has been with MetLife since 2001 and in the insurance industry for 13 years. Sue had been named the 2007 ADG Operations Manager of the Year and was a member of the national advisory committee for two years. Sue and her team are dedicated to providing you, their clients, with the most efficient and hardest working operational team in the industry to help ensure your success.

  
Susan Friedman, LUTCF
Agency Training Director
Susan has been in the insurance industry for a total of 29 years, joining MetLife in 1993 as a Financial Representative. In 2003 Susan moved into the position of Training Manager, where she shared the skills she learned in the field with new developing representatives.  Since 2007, Susan has overseen the entire firm’s training department as Director of Training.  She not only plans the curriculum,  including LUTC classes, but also works individually with reps at all different levels for training and case consultations.

  
Suzannah Gusukuma
Agency Compliance Manager
Suzannah began her career at MetLife in 2003. Suzannah and her team provide our registered representatives and registered principals with guidance, policies, correction, and practical examples for compliant business practices, helping to ensure the integrity of our representatives.

Juli Prescott
Marketing Director
Juli has been with the MetLife companies since 2004. For the past two years she has been awarded to the MetLife Marketing Director Advisory Committee, where she provides an active voice from the field to home office. Juli and her team create and implement firm wide marketing campaigns, as well as work one-on-one with financial representatives to develop and implement their individual marketing plans.  The department's vision is to strategize, create and execute marketing solutions that will help both the firm and its representatives take their practices to the next level.