Biographies

William Lhota
Chair of the Board
Member of Audit and Governance Committee
Represents self-insuring employers
Term expires June 12, 2010
William Lhota, of Worthington, has been president and CEO of the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) since 2004. Lhota previously spent 37 years at American Electric Power, where he served in various management positions. Lhota also created and managed AEP’s corporate compliance program in the early 1990s and served as chief compliance officer until retiring in 2001. Lhota received a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in 1964 and master’s degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1978.

Charles Bryan
Chair of the Actuarial Committee
Actuary
Term expires June 12, 2010
Charles Bryan, of Columbus, has 35 years of experience as a casualty actuary. His actuarial career spans several companies including Nationwide Insurance, Ernst and Young, United Services Automobile Association (USAA) and Allstate Insurance. He is the founder and current president of CAB Consulting, a property-casualty insurance consulting company. Bryan serves on the boards of Medical Mutual of Ohio, Safe Auto and Tower Insurance Group. He received a bachelor’s degree from John Carroll University in 1968, a master’s degree in mathematics from Purdue University in 1969 and an MBA from Golden Gate University in 1976.

David Caldwell
Member of Investment Committee
Represents Employee Organizations
Term expires June 12, 2009
David Caldwell, of Pataskala, is a 37-year member of the United Steelworkers of America. Caldwell has held several positions in the United Steelworkers State of Ohio District 1; he presently serves as legislative coordinator and assistant director. He has also held various local union offices, including president of USW Local 2342 and chairman of the workers’ compensation committee. Caldwell is currently the president of the Central Ohio AFL-CIO and a member of the Ohio AFL-CIO Executive Committee.

Alison Falls
Vice Chair of the Investment Committee
Chair of the Governance Committee
Investment and Securities Expert
Term expires June 12, 2010
Alison Falls, of Port Clinton, operates a local practice in Port Clinton that serves financial services institutions, mid-cap corporations and non-profits. She previously served as a managing director for Banc of America Securities, Inc., on Wall Street from 1994 to 2002. Falls is currently the board chair for the United Way of Greater Toledo. She received a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York (SUNY Binghamton) in 1970 and a master’s degree in economics from The Ohio State University in 1972.

Philip Fulton
Vice Chair of Audit Committee
Member of Actuarial Committee
Represents Employees
Term expires June 12, 2008
Philip Fulton, of Columbus, is the owner of Philip J. Fulton Law Office, a firm that represents injured workers in workers’ compensation and social security disability cases. He has served in several capacities at Capital University Law School, including as an adjunct professor for workers’ compensation law. Fulton has received recognition for his legal work, including the Workers’ Compensation Outstanding Service Award from the Ohio Academy of Trial Lawyers in 2005. Fulton received a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in 1977 and a law degree from Capital University in 1980.

Kenneth Haffey
Chair of the Audit Committee
Certified Public Accountant
Term expires June 12, 2009
Kenneth Haffey, of Chester Township, has been a licensed CPA in Ohio since 1986. He is currently a partner in CPA firm of Skoda, Minotti and Co. in Mayfield Village. Haffey has served as a managing partner and vice president for Century Business Services, Inc., a Cleveland CPA firm. Haffey has also worked as a vice president for banks in Cleveland and Chicago, and has served as an adjunct accounting professor at Case Western Reserve University since 1990. Haffey received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1978 and an MBA from DePaul University in 1982.

James Harris
Member of Actuarial Committee
Member of Investment Committee
Represents of Employee Organizations
Term expires June 12, 2010
James Harris, of Gahanna, currently works part-time for the United Auto Workers on workers’ compensation legislation. He retired in 2003 after more than 20 years of experience on the UAW international staff. Harris also served as the director of the Ohio Department of Industrial Relations from 1983 to 1991. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Wayne State University in 1980.

James Hummel
Member of the Actuarial Committee
Represents state-fund employers with more than 100 employees
Term expires June 12, 2008
James Hummel, of Dover, is the vice president of human resources for Lauren International, a manufacturer with more than 500 Ohio employees. Since 1993, Hummel’s responsibilities have been to protect the company’s assets and employees which include safety and workers’ compensation. Under Hummel’s supervision, Lauren International created a wellness program that successfully reduced health and workers’ compensation related expenses for employees. Hummel received a bachelor’s degree from Malone College in 1998.

Jim Matesich
Vice Chair of Actuarial Committee
Represents state-fund employers with fewer than 100 employees
Term expires June 12, 2009
Jim Matesich, of Granville, has worked for Matesich Distributing Company, a family owned wholesale beverage distribution business in Newark, for nearly 32 years. He currently serves as president and CEO, and oversees the company’s administration, accounting procedures, investment account and operations. Matesich serves on the boards of directors for the Wholesale Beer and Wine Association of Ohio and Hospice of Central Ohio. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University in 1977 and received an MBA from Ohio University in 1987.

Larry Price
Member of Investment Committee
Represents the Public
Term expires June 12, 2008
Larry Price, of Columbus, was a state representative for the 26th House District from 2003 to 2004. Price is currently the president and chief consultant for L. Price and Associates Consulting in Columbus. He previously served as an assistant to Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and worked in the Ohio Senate for nearly 20 years as a message clerk and assistant sergeant-at-arms. Price received a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University.

Robert Smith
Chair of the Investment Committee
Investment and Securities Expert
Term expires June 12, 2009
Robert Smith, of Beachwood, has nearly 30 years of experience in investing, finance, accounting, management and marketing. He currently serves as president and CEO of Spero-Smith Investment Advisers, Inc., in Cleveland. Smith is a member of several boards of directors, including the Cleveland-Cuyahoga Port Authority, Motorists Insurance Group and Ohio Gratings, Inc. He is also on the board of trustees for the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. Smith received his bachelor’s degree from Ohio Northern University in 1975 and an MBA from Duquesne University in 1982.

Duties

The new Board of Directors is an independent body of fiduciaries entrusted with setting overall administrative policy for BWC.

Sumary of duties

• Advising BWC’s administrator on all policy and operational matters
  


• Safeguarding the assets of Ohio’s workers’ compensation system, including maintaining the solvency of the State Insurance Fund
  


• Providing independent verification of BWC’s financial and operational performance
  

• Manual premium rate adjustments
  The board has 90 days to establish policy for BWC’s Adjudicating Committee, including how to make manual premium rate adjustments.
  


• State Insurance Fund
  


• The board has specific responsibility to safeguard and maintain the solvency of the State Insurance Fund and other funds.
  


• The board has 90 days to adopt a rule on how to handle any surplus of the State Insurance Fund (issue cash refunds or reduce premiums, for example).
  


• Investment duties
  
  
  • Approve the investment policy developed by the investment committee if the policy satisfies the requirements in the law.
  
  
  
  • Review and publish the investment policy annually, and prohibit any investment contrary to the policy.
  
  
  
  • Vote to open each investment class (requires majority vote of board, and adopt rules establishing standards for investing in the class).
  
  
  
  • Submit an annual report to the governor and the leaders of the four legislative caucuses on the value and performance of each investment class.
  
  
  
  • Vote to close any investment class.
  
  

• Actuarial duties
  
  
  • Prepare and submit (no later than 60-days following introduction) an actuarial analysis of any introduced legislation expected to have a measurable financial impact on BWC. This analysis must include the following:
    
  1. A summary of the statutory changes being evaluated;
  2. A description of or reference to the actuarial assumptions and actuarial cost method used in this report;
  3. A description of the participant groups used in the report;
  4. A statement of the financial impact of the legislation, including the resulting increase, if any, in employer premiums, in actuarial accrued liabilities and the relevant percent premium increase associated that would be required to amortize the increase in those liabilities as a level percent of employer premiums over a period not to exceed 30 years;
  5. A statement of whether the employer premiums paid to BWC after enactment of the proposed change should be sufficient to satisfy the funding objectives the board establishes.
  
  
  • Prepare an annual actuarial report that consists of valuation of the assets, liabilities and funding requirements of all BWC funds, which will include the following:
    
  1. A summary of compensation and benefits provided;
  2. A summary of the census data and financial information used;
  3. A description of the actuarial assumptions, cost method, and asset valuation method used;
  4. A summary of findings that includes actuarial accrued compensation and benefit liabilities and unfunded actuarial accrued compensation and benefit liabilities;
  5. A schedule showing the effect of any changes in compensation and benefits, actuarial assumptions, or cost methods since the previous report;
  6. This report must be submitted to the legislative committees that hear BWC legislation as well as the Workers’ Compensation Council no later than September 1 of the year following the year studied.
  
  
  • Conduct an investigation every five years to update BWC’s actuarial assumptions. The investigation should analyze the experience of employers, the mortality, service and injury rates of employees, and the payment of temporary total disability, permanent partial disability, and permanent total disability. The board must submit this report to the Workers’ Compensation Council and the standing legislative committees that hear BWC legislation by November 1 following the fifth year studied, and must include all of the following:
    
  1. A summary of relevant decrement and economic assumption experience;
  2. Recommended changes in actuarial assumptions to be used in actuarial variations;
  3. A measurement of the financial effect of the recommended changes.
  
  
• General administrative duties
  
  
  • Review BWC’s progress in meeting cost and quality objectives, and in complying with relevant statutes.
  
  
  
  • Submit an annual report to the Ohio Senate President, House Speaker and Workers’ Compensation Council, including the following specific criteria:
    
  1. An evaluation of the cost and quality objectives of the bureau;
  2. A statement of the net assets available for the provision of compensation and benefits, as of the last day of the fiscal year;
  3. A statement of any changes that occurred in the net assets available, including employer premiums and net investment income, for the provision of compensation and benefits and payment of administrative expenses, between the first and last day of the fiscal year;
  4. The following information for each of the six consecutive fiscal years occurring previous to the report:
     
  • A schedule of the net assets available for compensation and benefits;
  • The annual cost of the payment of compensation and benefits;
  • Annual administrative expenses incurred;
  • Annual employer premiums allocated for the provision of compensation and benefits.
  5. A description of any significant changes that occurred during the six years for the portion of the report described above that affect the ability of the board to compare that information from year to year.
     
  
  
  • Review all independent financial audits.
  
  
  
  • Study issues as requested by the governor or administrator.
  
  
  
  • Contract with all of the following:
  1. Independent actuarial firm to assist administrator in setting premium rates;
  2. Independent investment counsel to assist the investment committee;
  3. Independent fiduciary counsel to assist the board in its duties.
  
  
  • Advise and consent on all of the following:
  1. Administrative rules for the classification of occupations or industries, for premium rates and contributions, for the amount to be credited to the surplus fund, for rules and systems of rating, rate revisions, and merit rating;
  2. Administrator duties and authority;
  3. Rules adopted for HPP and QHP;
  4. Rules regarding the Public Employment Risk Reduction Program and the protection of public health-care workers from exposure incidents.
  
  
  • Meet with the governor to discuss administrator performance.
  
  
  
  • Develop and participate in a board education program. The board must submit this plan to the Workers’ Compensation Council for approval. The program must consist of the following:
  1. An orientation for newly appointed members;
  2. A continuing education program;
  3. A curriculum that includes member duties, compensation and benefits, ethics, governance processes and procedures, actuarial soundness, investments.
  
  
  • Appoint the Audit, Investment, and Actuarial Committees within 90 days.
  
  
  
  • Create any committee in addition to the workers’ compensation audit, actuarial, and investment committee that the board deems necessary to perform its duties.

Terms

• Initial board members will serve one-, two- or three-year terms.
  (Please see member biographies for individual terms.)



• After the initial appointments, board members will serve three-year terms.



• The governor appoints board members, with the advice and consent of the Ohio Senate.



• Members can be reappointed.

Compensation

• $2,500 for attending one or more board meetings each month
  


• Not to exceed $60,000 per year when combined with compensation for committee assignments
  


• Member must attend at least one board meeting per month to receive compensation for that month