Staff and Job Openings

Job Openings

Because of our rapid growth in the 401(k) area, we are always looking for highly experienced 401(k) professionals.   Contact Judy Bono, our Vice President of Administration. Her email address is listed on the contact page.

Staff Overview

Plan Design Consultants, Inc. is very proud of the 20 professionals we have attracted to our firm.  Our Consultants all have over 27 years of direct pension consulting experience.  Our Administrators have an average of 17  years of experience.  Few Third Party Administration firms match our level of overall experience in this difficult, technical business!

Management Team

Paul D. Carlson - President and Sr. Consultant

Paul is President of Plan Design Consultants, Inc. and he serves as a Senior Consultant.   He started our firm in 1975.

Paul earned his Bachelor's of Science Degree (Math Education) in 1965 and his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in 1968, both from the University of Kansas. Paul attended Kansas University on a golf scholarship and was a high school math teacher for a short time before entering graduate school. Paul grew up in Lawrence, Kansas.  Upon completion of graduate school in 1968, Paul began his professional career as a marketing representative with IBM in San Francisco and has been a permanent resident of the San Francisco Bay Area since that time.

Paul is the managing partner of Plan Design Consultants, Inc. and spends the majority of his time working directly with clients. He has been active in industry activities having taught the American Society of Pension Actuaries Pension Fundamentals course numerous times.  He has the ASPA credential of QPA (Qualified Pension Administrator). He was one of the principal founders of the Small Plans Pension Conference of Northern California in 1978 and was the Chairman of that organization for over 10 years.  Paul is a frequent speaker at technical seminars within the industry and is a frequent guest speaker for technical sessions put on by the accounting profession.  In 1998, Paul made over 50 401(k) employee education presentations.

Paul has designed and programmed a number of software packages for the pension industry, including a client management system (database); a distribution planning system; a trust accounting system and a "new comparability" design system.  He is also involved in the design of our Web page.

J.D. Carlson - Director of Sales and Marketing

J.D. Carlson has been with Plan Design Consultants, Inc. since March of 2004.   J.D. currently focuses on the sales and marketing direction of the company.  Working side by side with Investment Professionals, CPAs and Plan Sponsors, helping evaluate retirement plan options with regards to plan design, available programs and administrative issues.

Richard P. Viola - Vice President and Sr. Consultant

Richard P. Viola, CPA, QPA, is a Vice President of the our company and serves our clients as a Senior Consultant.

Rich has been in the pension business since 1974.  A graduate of San Francisco State University, Rich is a licensed Certified Public Accountant, serves on the Tax Committee of the California Society of CPAs and is a member of the Small Plans Pension Conference.

Rich merged his firm, Richard Viola & Associates, Inc., into Plan Design Consultants, Inc. in 1987.  In addition to helping our clients and their professional advisors in the design and administration of their retirement programs, Rich is responsible for our firm's computer network and industry application software systems.

Judith Bono - Vice President of Administration & Team Leader

Judy has been working in the pension field since 1975, which is over 25 years. She joined Plan Design Consultants, Inc. over 19 years ago as a Plan Administrator and  is the Vice President of Administration. Previously, she worked for an Insurance Company as a Pension Plan Administrator.

Judy has obtained the designation of Qualified Pension Administrator which is earned through the American Society of Pension Actuaries. This study program requires extensive knowledge in all aspects of pension administration. Judy developed a successful trust accounting software package for the pension industry.

Judy obtained her degree from Metropolitan Junior College in Kansas City, Missouri and then attended College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California where her major was Business Administration.  Judy is married and lives in Belmont, California.

Houry Viola - Assistant Vice President and Team Leader

Houry has been on the staff of Plan Design Consultants, Inc. since 1985, having worked previously in the banking industry. In her role as one of our Team Leaders, Houry supervises the work of several of our Retirement Plan Specialists, and carries her own client caseload.  She is our company's lead technical person providing much of our research and assisting our administrators with technical issues.

Houry is a specialist in Defined Benefit and Target Benefit Pension Plan administration, in addition to having extensive experience with other defined contribution plans, particularly 401(k) Plans.  Houry is a member of the Small Plans Pension Conference.