About CHSI
The name was chosen to communicate the company's passion, spirit, and values for which it stands: commitment, honesty, service, innovation. CHSI was established in Nevada in 1996 by CEO Jim Leftwich. The vision was to create alternative risk financing solutions not generally available to businesses in Workers’ Compensation, capitalize on tools developed and lessons learned over the years for risk management, and to give small and medium-sized employers a competitive edge not otherwise available to them. With over 1200 clients today, CHSI is making that vision a reality. Last year CHSI managed over $60 million in assets and gave back over $9 million in dividends.
Senior Management Team
Jim Leftwich, Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Leftwich has twenty-plus years of corporate management experience in the manufacturing, retail, and service sectors of industry. In his career he has held management positions that have ranged from Production Manager of a mid-market manufacturer, to Director of Risk Management for a multi-billion dollar retailer, to President of a Wellpoint/ Blue Cross subsidiary organization. Mr. Leftwich has held Board positions on a number of private and non-profit companies and served for three years as the Chairman for the Emergency Physicians Insurance Company (EPIC), a national medical-malpractice insurance company, as well as Board seats on the Nevada Gaming and Hospitality Association, the Nevada Captive Insurance Association, and the TriState Medical Insurance Company. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Southwest University and holds national accreditation as a “Senior Professional in Human Resources”.
Craig McCarty, President
Mr. McCarty started his insurance career as an underwriter for Fidelity and Casualty Company of New York in San Francisco in early 1960 after his graduation from the University of Oregon. After completing the company’s fast track training program along with postgraduate studies at Golden Gate College of Insurance, Mr. McCarty accepted a position with the international brokerage firm Johnson & Higgins where he was responsible for instigating and promoting national and international sales programs for major corporations. In twelve years he guided the first Johnson & Higgins' "start up office" ever attempted to a high level of profitability with well over seven figures in commission income including ten of the twelve Fortune 500 clients in the Portland region. Mr. McCarty departed Johnson & Higgins in late 1976 to start his own business, WAMAC, INC. In late1976, WAMAC associated with Venus De Milo Health Salons a small start up operation in Santa Ana, California. By 1980 the company had grown from start up to over 250 locations nationwide and was sold. In 1981, Mr. McCarty joined UniCare Insurance Company a newly chartered workers compensation company in Irvine, California. As the Senior VP of Marketing, Mr. McCarty propelled the company from a privatly held startup to a public company with assets nearly 300 million. During that time he also founded Innovative Care Systems, a new paradigm worker's compensation claims / loss control / wellness service delivery system. In 1994, UniCare was sold to Wellpoint / Blue Cross of California. Mr. McCarty served as Senior Vice President of Wellpoint / Blue Cross during the transition phase and retired in 1995.
Joe Burgess, Senior Executive Vice President
For two decades Mr. Burgess has specialized in developing innovative programs in loss prevention and management. In 1986, Mr. Burgess developed Back Working, a unique EPN (exclusive provider network) that delivered substantial savings in the costs associated with back injuries and created highly effective partnerships between medical/chiropractic providers and businesses. Companies such as Wal-Mart, Gottschalks, Mervyn’s, Save Mart, Ross Stores and others worked with Mr. Burgess and his outcome management program and utilized him as a speaker for employee education on health and safety issues. After joining CHSI at the end of 1996, Mr. Burgess managed the company’s operations in northern Nevada, building new membership for the company’s self-insured groups and providing exceptional client support programs. Mr. Burgess joined the board of CHSI in 2002 and by 2004 he managed the development of the first self-insured group program in California for the restaurant industry, the California Restaurant Mutual Benefit Corporation. CRMBC was approved by the Department of Industrial Relations on December 1, 2004 and began operations on January 1, 2005. CRMBC has since experienced unprecedented growth since its formation and become the largest self-insured group in the state.
Eric Robinson, Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Robinson brings over twenty-three years experience in executive senior management and marketing to CHSI. Post graduation at California State University Sacramento, Mr. Robinson began working for the Quixote Corporation, a diversified technology holding company specializing in Legal and Medical software solutions. In just over a decade, Mr. Robinson was selected to lead the strategic Quixote re-development of all subsidiaries and assisted in the creation and implementation of new product plans for companies such as Windows 95 and Windows NT. In 1994, Mr. Robinson co-founded Astute Systems Inc., an $8 million software developer and outsource service provider located in Reno, NV. In five years, Mr. Robinson increased productivity by 75%, reduced expenses by 50%, and retained Fortune 500 healthcare organizations as clients. From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Robinson held the position of Vice President of Sales in multi-million dollar software solution companies who experienced dramatic growth under Mr. Robinson’s lead such as Kemtah Group, Inc., Lakeview Technology, and Vision Solutions, Inc, before accepting the position of Vice President of Special Projects and Business Development at CHSI. Mr. Robinson is a dedicated leader capable of effectively communicating, managing, and delivering multiple initiatives whether concepts or implementations with measurable results.
Rick Faulkner, Vice President of Safety & Loss Control (Nevada)
Mr. Faulkner is a Safety, Loss Control, and Human Resources professional with twenty-five years of experience at both national and local levels. Mr. Faulkner holds multiple degrees in Science, including Sport Medicine, and Occupational Cumulative Trauma Disorders from Oregon State University and University of Michigan respectively. Mr. Faulkner has provided close operational support for his clients on risk control and claims issues and has developed specialized programs and training for single clients and larger groups. Using his special operational and management background, Mr. Faulkner focuses on improving productivity and reducing costs through an integrated approach to OSHA compliance, health and safety, and human resource management. Mr. Faulkner's services have been engaged by organizations such as AON (a multi-national company), Associated General Contractors (AGC), International Paper Company, Stimpel-Wiebelhaus Associates (a General Engineering contractor) Cardinal Employment Leasing Services, Krump Construction and others. Today, Mr. Faulkner offers his services exclusively to clients of CHSI of Nevada. He will personally be involved in all client accounts requesting his service, as well as those accounts suffering from excessive losses, injuries due to accident, and any OSHA actions.
Ben Hernandez, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Hernandez brings to CHSI well over 30 years of experience as a senior insurance financial executive. Following his service in the United States Marine Corps, Mr. Hernandez began his career at Ernst & Ernst, the predecessor of Ernst & Young. Subsequently, Mr. Hernandez was an executive with Transamerica Insurance and California Reinsurance before joining a new Workers’ Compensation insurer, UniCare Insurance Company, as it entered the California market. Rising to become Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Hernandez played an important role in the remarkable growth of UniCare from 1982 to 1994 from a privately held company with assets of $21M to a publicly traded company with assets of $298M. After the purchase of UniCare by Wellpoint/Blue Cross, Mr. Hernandez helped to support the transition and then moved into the brokerage community as a chief financial executive for a number of major companies, working closely with the Chief Executive Officers to support growth. After successful stints with Anderson and Anderson, Pacific Pioneer and J. Gregory Brown, Mr. Hernandez became the Chief Operating Officer for Arthur J. Gallagher’s Aliso Viejo office. Throughout his career, Mr. Hernandez has been able to blend his conceptual understanding of insurance financial operations with the needs of entrepreneurial and growth focused companies. In his executive position with CHSI, Mr. Hernandez supports a company that is strongly oriented towards innovative program design and close-in client support with experience and knowledge that lays a financial foundation for successful group operations.
John Kalb, Vice President of Underwriting (California)
Mr. Kalb worked as a field representative / premium audit with USF&G in Phoenix after graduating from Arizona State University in 1973. He later transferred to the corporate office in Baltimore, MD to assist in forming a new corporate department—Quality Assurance. His responsibilities included development and installation of data quality programs and branch operations and system audits in 50 USF&G branch offices. In 1981, Mr. Kalb joined Western Employers Insurance Company (a Workers Compensation focused company) as Manager of Audit and Collection. He later transferred to the corporate home office in Southern California as VP of Systems and Procedures. In late 1990, Mr. Kalb joined the workers compensation specialty carrier UniCARE Insurance Company as VP of Information Services. His primary responsibility was development and implementation of a new underwriting and claim system – a system that remains in use today. Mr. Kalb became General Manager of UniCARE in 1995 and was the driving force for Blue Cross to enter into the managed care / cost containment areas of workers compensation. He planned and developed a new profit center in 1997 and after many months of negotiation, the California State Compensation Insurance Fund was enlisted as the first client at an annual fee of $10,000,000+. WellPoint sold the workers compensation business in 1998 to Fremont Compensation Insurance Co. Mr. Kalb accepted a position as VP - Division Manager with Fremont and held that position until 2001.
Lee Mashore, Vice President of Information Technology Services
Mr. Mashore served as Senior Partner and Principle for Networks, Inc. before he joined CHSI of Nevada in 1999. He is now VP of the Information Technology division and leads a small team of certified engineers in providing IT solutions to CHSI clients. Mr. Mashore is a Novell certified Network engineer and has extensive knowledge in a number of business-oriented software applications and operating platforms. He has served as a consultant in the computer industry for over ten years and has the following certifications: Certified NetWare Engineer (CNE), Certified NetWare Administrator (CNA), Certified Novell Salesperson (CNS), Cisco Design Specialist, Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), and Hewlett Packard NetServer Technical Professional. Mr. Mashore’s strengths lie in his ability to analyze and design computer network systems that efficiently manage business details with custom solutions. A long time resident of Nevada, Mr. Mashore attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he pursued a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Ron Paine, Vice President of Risk Control & Client Services (California)
Ron's academic credentials include a Masters in Industrial Relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a BS in Sociology from Pitzer College (of the Claremont Colleges), as well as post collegiate coursework in insurance, business, and risk management. His professional certifications and memberships include: Associate in Risk Management (ARM), OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer for teaching OSHA 10 and 30 Hour General Industry Safety classes, First Aid and CPR Instructor (English and Spanish), and Professional Member of American Society of Safety Engineers. Mr. Paine was VP of Loss Control for UniCARE Insurance during its peek as premier California Workers’ Compensation Carrier. He is experienced in the construction, manufacturing, food processing, transportation, and health care industries. His bi-lingual capabilities in Spanish have been invaluable to his clients. Mr. Paine remained with Blue Cross after their acquisition of UniCARE in 1994. The transition allowed Mr. Paine the opportunity to broaden his expertise to include the control of employee health care costs, as well as experience in “wellness” efforts, and the general operations of the employee health insurance industry. After leaving Blue Cross, Mr. Paine started Upscale Safety Services, Inc., a consultancy service he formed to provide aggressive and effective risk control services designed to help clients control the escalating workers’ compensation costs that have been threatening the financial survival of California employers over the past few years.
James G. Trope, Vice President and General Counsel
Mr. Trope joined CHSI as Vice-President and General Counsel to apply his broad experience in both traditional and alternative risk financing operations to a company that is developing new initiatives in this field. While Mr. Trope’s experience and qualifications as an attorney in the insurance industry have placed him in important positions in different companies, his acumen for operations and business development have made him an especially valuable resource to growing enterprises. Serving as a Captain in the United States Marine Corps and a Major in the Army National Guard, Mr. Trope commanded an aviation unit and was a command helicopter pilot. After beginning as Vice-President for Legal Affairs at St. Vincent Charity Hospital and Health Center in 1982, Mr. Trope served with American Medical International and the esteemed brokerage firm of Johnson & Higgins before joining FCCI Insurance Group in 1989. FCCI began as an alternative risk financing operation that grew to become a significant property and casualty insurance company operating in 14 states with $1.3 Billion in assets. Mr. Trope played a significant role in supporting FCCI’s strategic growth plan, assisting in the opening of new markets and the effective management of key board relationships. Following his tenure at FCCI, Mr. Trope then shepherded the expansion of two financial service companies into major multi-state operations. Mr. Trope’s extensive legal experience ranges from contract law to mergers and acquisitions to claims and business litigation. His skills in operational development and his experience in creating new insurance alternatives for small, medium and large sized businesses make him a strong asset to support CHSI operations.
Ted Hall, CPA, President-CHSI Captive Insurance Managers
Mr. Hall is an author and expert in specialized areas of alternative risk management and insurance company operations. He has significant experience organizing and managing insurance companies and their finance and operational functions. As former tax Partner with the accounting firm of Ernst & Young, Mr. Hall was a member of the firm’s insurance industry specialization group. His writings include The Captive Insurance Manual (3 vols.); Practical Risk Management (Contributor, Topic B-5, Taxes); The Alternative Market; and other journal articles. He has been a lecturer for both the Hartman Institute for Insurance Taxation and the Crittenden Tax Seminars.







