Steve McElhiney, president of Tall Pines Insurance Company and chief executive officer and chairman of EWI Re, has been elected chair of the board of directors of the Captive Insurance Companies Association (“CICA”).
Mr. McElhiney joined EWI Re in 2004. His insurance industry experience spans two decades with groups including Fireman's Fund, TIG, Overseas Partners U.S. Reinsurance Company, and Argo. He is a past president and chairman of the International CPCU Society and is past chairman of the board of the Vermont Captive Insurance Association.
Mr. McElhiney has an M.B.A. in corporate finance and a B.S. degree from the University of Southern California.
“I look forward to building on the momentum CICA has created. We want to continue fostering relationships that connect the industry and strengthen our collective voice, elevate the emphasis on best practices, and engage top talent,” Mr. McElhiney said.
In addition to Mr. McElhiney, the board re-elected Lance Abbott (president of BevCap Management, LLC, director of BevCap Captive Group, and director/shareholder of BevCap's sponsored cell captive) to a three year term as vice chair and the board elected Renea Louie (vice president, Pro Group Captive Management Services) as secretary/treasurer.
Returning CICA board members are Joel Chansky, consulting actuary, Milliman, Inc., CICA board immediate past chair; Courtney Claflin, executive director of captive programs, University of California, Office of the President; Carol Frey, vice president marketing and business development, Great American Insurance Company; Fredrik Finnman, group risk manager, Sandvik Group, located in Sweden; Robert “Skip” Myers, partner, Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP; Michael Scott, attorney, Law Office of Allison & Mosby-Scott; and Michael Zuckerman, assistant professor, Temple University.
CICA also elected the following two people to three-year terms on the board:
Colin Donovan, president of STICO Mutual Insurance Company, a risk retention group, specializing in general liability, pollution liability, and contractual liability insurance for 120 storage tank manufacturers, pressure vessel fabricators, and petroleum equipment contractors. Mr. Donovan started with STICO in 1998, overseeing the underwriting, marketing, reinsurance placement, and investment management before assuming the presidency in 2015. He earned his B.S. in marketing and B.S. in mass communications from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1995 and earned his M.B.A., with distinction, from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, in 2002. He also earned his ICCIE associate in captive insurance in 2008.
Deyna Feng, captive manager for Cummins Risk International. Ms. Feng is responsible for captive governance, administration, financials, business and operations, and renewals of 11 existing property and casualty lines. She leads Cummins' global loss engineering program and supports global projects and corporate standard setup and reviews. Before relocating to the United States, Ms. Feng worked for Cummins China for over four years as regional risk manager for APAC. She earned a bachelor of laws degree in 2001. In 2017, she earned her 6 Sigma Green Belt and won the Finance Business Impact Award at Cummins. She also volunteers with the RIMS International Council and will chair the council in 2019.
The CICA's president, Dan Towle, said, “We are excited to have Colin and Deyna joining the CICA board. Their expertise is a strong fit for CICA's strategic priorities and our commitment to developing the next generation of captive professionals.”
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].