• Brad Knox, Senior Vice President and Counsel at Aflac, former chief counsel to the Committee on Small Business for the U.S. House of Representatives and founder and former president of DigiTech Systems Solutions Inc.

Brad Knox is a senior executive and accomplished enterprise leader with Fortune 200 Aflac (NYSE: AFL). He has deep expertise in corporate affairs, public policy, corporate strategy and risk, business development, and corporate governance. He also has over 15 years of experience in private and non-profit board leadership.

Brad started his career as a computer programmer for Shell Oil prior to attending law school. After graduation, he served as an Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) for ten (10) years. In 2000, he started a technology company with a portfolio of federal and state government clients. In 2003, Brad was recruited to serve as oversight counsel for the U.S. House Committee on Small Business in Washington, DC. Within 18 months, he was promoted to the role of chief counsel where he led the committee’s legal and policy strategy on technology, health care, tax, and manufacturing in international markets (China, Central & Eastern Europe).

In 2006, Brad joined Aflac’s federal relations team as 2nd Vice President to leverage his broad leadership experience on Capitol Hill, and as a small business owner, attorney, and veteran. Now in his 17th year, he serves as Senior Vice President, Federal Corporate Affairs & Public Policy. In this role, Brad leads the company’s federal corporate affairs function in Washington, D.C. The scope of his responsibilities include public policy, regulatory affairs, public affairs and communications, government affairs, and corporate philanthropy. Although not a part of his responsibilities, Brad leveraged his knowledge of the business and personal relationships to create a $10MM pipeline of annual premium. He is also leading other P&L business development opportunities for the company.

Prior to this role, Brad was Senior Vice President, Federal Affairs where his team delivered a $1.4B tax benefit to the bottom line. In addition, his team delivered annual savings of $60MM-$100MM resulting from health reform provisions under the Affordable Care Act. In 2020, he led the cross-functional team that developed Aflac’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategic framework. In 2018, Brad created and launched the Aflac Federal Advisory Service providing thought leadership on significant regulatory matters in support of over 30,000 independent sales agents and brokers nationwide.

He is co-founder and chairman of the Washington Heads of Office Leadership Council (WHOOLC), a professional organization for senior executives of color who oversee government affairs for Fortune 500 companies and large trade associations. Through its annual leadership bootcamp, WHOOLC has also successfully increased the number of diverse leaders in government affairs. Brad is a Trustee of Meridian International Center where he is a member of the Governance and Nominations, Audit & Finance, and Equity, Diversity & Inclusion committees. Finally, he sits on the corporate council for Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Brad holds a Juris Doctorate (JD) from Regent University School of Law and his B.S. in Management Information Systems from Oral Roberts University. He also has completed executive education programs at the Wharton School of Business and UC Berkeley Hass School of Business.