Born 1964

Michael S. Dunlap, Executive Chairman of the Board, established the company that would become Nelnet with Stephen Butterfield in 1996. Mr. Dunlap previously served as Chairman and CEO of the company (co-CEO with current Vice Chairman Butterfield 2003-2007) from its inception.

Mr. Dunlap attained his undergraduate degree from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 1986, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 1988. He is a member of the Nebraska State Bar Association.

Mr. Dunlap serves on boards for many organizations, including Union Bank & Trust, Union College, Hudl, Capital Casualty Company, the University of Nebraska College of Law, and the Jeffrey S. Raikes School, among others.

In addition to his role as Executive Chairman of the Board, Mr. Dunlap also serves as Executive Committee Chair.

Chairman of the Executive Committee

Preeta D. Bansal has served as a member of Nelnet’s Board of Directors since November 2018.

Ms. Bansal has extensive experience in law, banking, financial services, regulation, government, and U.S. diplomacy. Her experience has included serving as general counsel and senior policy advisor for the president of the United States in the federal Office of Management and Budget, which oversees and coordinates all of the budgetary, regulatory, and management activities and initiatives of the departments and agencies of the federal government on behalf of the president; as global general counsel for litigation and regulatory affairs for HSBC Holdings in London; as partner and practice chair of the international law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York City; as Solicitor General of the State of New York, where she helped lead 600 attorneys in the New York Attorney General’s Office; and as Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a federal government human rights commission focused on promoting U.S. foreign policy interests in religious freedom and interfaith cooperation around the globe.

Ms. Bansal is a magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard-Radcliffe College, and a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, where she was supervising editor of the Harvard Law Review. She served as a law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens. She received the National Organization of Women’s “Woman of Power and Influence Award” in 2006 and was named one of the “50 Most Influential Minority Lawyers in America” by the National Law Journal in 2008.

Ms. Bansal has been a lecturer, senior advisor, and visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and is co-founder and CEO of Social Emergence Corporation, a not-for-profit, social benefit organization. She is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, she is on the Advisory Board of the Johnny Carson Center for the Emerging Media Arts at the University of Nebraska, on the Community Advisory Committee of the Superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools, an Honorary Board member of the Interfaith Center of New York, and on the Advisory Committee of the Pluralism Project at Harvard University. She has lectured on ethics and policy with respect to emerging technologies at MIT and at Singularity University in Silicon Valley. From 2015–2016, she served by appointment of the president of the United States as a member and committee chair of the President’s Advisory Committee on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, focusing on poverty and inequality in America.

Ms. Bansal serves on the Compliance Committee, Compensation Committee, and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Member of the Compensation Committee

Member of the Compliance Committee

Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Born 1964

Kathleen A. Farrell has served as a member of Nelnet’s Board of Directors since October 2007. Possessing admirable expertise in corporate finance, executive turnover, and executive compensation, Dr. Farrell is a Professor of Finance and Interim Dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Dr. Farrell also serves on the Board of Directors of Assurity, Inc., a mutual insurance company headquartered in Lincoln, NE.

Dr. Farrell joined the finance faculty at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in the fall of 1993. Dr. Farrell received her Ph.D in finance from the University of Georgia, and a BBA in finance and accounting from Kent State University. Dr. Farrell's publications have appeared in several academic journals.

In 1996, Dr. Farrell received the Distinguished Teaching Award and in 2004 she received the University Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Business Administration. Dr. Farrell draws on her experience from KPMG Peat Marwick as a supervising senior where she was involved with audit engagements.

An active board member, Dr. Farrell serves on the Audit, Executive, and Compliance committees, in addition to her leadership role as the Chair of the Risk and Finance committee.

Member of the Audit Committee

Member of the Executive Committee

Chairman of the Risk and Finance Committee

Member of the Compliance Committee

Born 1953

Thomas E. Henning has served as a member of Nelnet’s Board of Directors since August 2003. He currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Assurity Group Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Assurity Life Insurance Company.

Mr. Henning is a 1975 graduate of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, as well as Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University. He also has completed the Wharton School's Effective Management Program, as well as a comprehensive program of study by the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). Mr. Henning holds the CLU and CFA designations, and has been named an NACD fellow.

Previously, Mr. Henning served concurrently as President and Chief Operating Officer of National Bank of Commerce of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Executive Vice President of First Commerce Bancshares between 1985 and 1990. Mr. Henning serves on the boards of directors of the Nebraska Innovation Campus, Great Western Bancorp, the Investment Committee of the University of Nebraska Foundation, and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Corporation.

Mr. Henning serves as Chair of the Audit committee, as well as a member of the Executive and Risk and Finance committees.

Chairman of the Audit Committee

Member of the Executive Committee

Member of the Risk and Finance Committee

Born 1953

Michael D. Reardon has served as a member of Nelnet’s Board of Directors since December 2003 and is currently the Chairman of Provision Networks, a telecommunications consulting firm established in 2000.

A graduate of Arizona State University, Mr. Reardon holds a degree in economics. Mr. Reardon has gained over 35 years of experience in starting and building companies from the ground up, providing strategy, leadership, business development, and management expertise.

He also served as Director of HyperFlo, a manufacturer of precision cleaning equipment, from 2010 to 2013. Mr. Reardon previously served as Chairman for Geos Communications Inc., a publicly traded mobile communications company, from 2010 to 2013.

Mr. Reardon serves on the Compensation committee as well as Chair of the Nominating and Governance committee.

Member of the Compensation Committee

Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee