Julie Fortune is Senior Vice President and Chief Claims Officer for Arrowpoint Capital based in Charlotte, NC. The Arrowpoint Capital insurance operation has a 165-year history in the United States, formerly as part of the worldwide Royal & SunAlliance Insurance Group plc. Julie is responsible for the workers' compensation claims management operation.  She has more than 20 years of claims and legal experience in the insurance arena with both ongoing and run-off companies.

Prior to joining Arrowpoint Capital, Julie served as the Vice President of Staff Counsel, Services Provider Group and Claims at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., Sr. Vice President Claims Zurich Canada, Vice President – Customer Services Provider Group and National Litigation Manager for Zurich North America, and National Litigation Manager for Liberty Mutual. Throughout her career she has gained extensive experience in claims, organizational transition, and vendor and litigation management.

Julie earned her B.S. degree from the University of Oregon, M.A. degree from the Ohio State University, and J.D. degree from the Antioch School of Law.  She is a member of the Supreme Court of the United States, Tennessee, and Oregon.

She is a frequent speaker at industry events and has been quoted in various publications on the topic of claims and litigation management. She is the current Co-Chair and an Advisory Board member of the CLM, and a Chancellor for the Litigation Management Institute.  Julie is also a member of the American Bar Association and the Association of Corporate Counsel.

Kimberly George is senior vice president and responsible for corporate development, M&A, and healthcare at Sedgwick. In this role, she is the senior healthcare advisor for Sedgwick, its clients, and investors.  Kimberly is a sought after expert in the areas of integrated disability and absence, employee health models, workers' compensation, managed care, and health reform.  Over her 15 year tenure at Sedgwick she has had lead operational divisions, product development, and client services.

Ms. George is a sought after speaker and thought leader. She is often featured in industry journals and publications and is a highly regarded authority in healthcare.

Lisa Kinney is a Shareholder with the Cousineau, McGuire firm and  serves clients in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan from our office in Ironwood, Michigan. She focuses her practice on workers' compensation defense in all three states, as well as Michigan liability claims venued in state and federal courts.

Rich Lenkov brings a killer instinct and unparalleled focus to representing his clients. He partners closely with his clients, ranging from Fortune 50 Corporations to small businesses, to achieve successful litigation outcomes.

Over 20 years in claims with 13 creating and managing two nationally dedicated claims handling units for an international company.  Experience includes project and account management in a vendor partner and employer capacity, Third Party Administrator oversight and a proven ability to reduce the cost of risk through best reserving, and cost effective claim outcomes to achieve corporate objectives.     

A driven Enterprise Risk Management and Insurance professional with 18+ years of experience. Resourceful problem solver and proven leader capable of initiating formative solutions to complex issues. Highly developed managerial/decision-making skills in such disciplines including: enterprise risk management, insurance, loss prevention, claim processing, training/development and contract oversight.

GRC is the only unbundled property loss prevention company to offer a complete portfolio of in-house, site specific services and risk management solutions. Managing Consultants are responsible for managing and delivering the core services of GRC to their clients and maintaining oversight of all consulting activities on accounts. In my role I function as an Account Manager, primarily responsible for generating new business opportunities in addition to account management responsibilities. My goal is to focus on client retention, growth and new business of GRC's five primary global businesses; fire, boiler and machinery, infrared termographic surveys, jurisdictional inspections and natural hazards.

Ellen serves as the Membership & Host Committee Co-Chair for the Executives’ Club of Chicago. She is a member of the Chicago Chapter of the Risk and Insurance Management Society. Ellen serves an Advisory Board Member for the Davey School of Risk and Insurance, Butler University and the Trulaske School of Business, University of Missouri.

Ellen is actively involved in various local charitable events sponsored by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association and McHenry County Police Charities (SWAC). As well as charitable organizations, Ellen routinely donates her time to Friends of the Parks, local school projects and hunger projects.

Ellen is very family oriented, enjoys travel, sports, music and gardening.
 

DAVID B. MENCHETTI is a shareholder in Cullen, Haskins, Nicholson & Menchetti, P.C. in Chicago and concentrates his practice in the representation of injured workers throughout Illinois before the Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Circuit Courts and the Illinois Appellate and Supreme Courts. He graduated from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law (JD) and attained an undergraduate degree (BA) with distinction from Stanford University. Mr. Menchetti is a former staff counsel to Illinois State Senate President Philip J. Rock and concentrated in legislation dealing with insurance, pensions and licensed activities. He has served as counsel to Illinois State Senate President Emil Jones, Jr. and advised about and drafted reforms to the Workers’ Compensation Act in 1989 and 1991.

He is a member of: the Illinois State Bar Association (Workers’ Compensation Law Section Council Chair and Legislation Committee member); the Chicago Bar Association (Industrial Commission Committee Chair ); the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association (Workers’ Compensation Committee Chair); the Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Association (President); the American Association for Justice (Workplace Injury Section); the Workplace Injury Litigation Group; and the Board of the Chicago Area Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (CACOSH).

He serves as an advisor to the Illinois AFL-CIO on workers’ compensation matters and participated in the negotiations and drafting of the amendments contained in the 2005 and 2011 Workers’ Compensation reform legislation. He is listed in the Who’s Who in American Law, has been designated as one of the Best Lawyers in America by which he was named Workers’ Compensation Lawyer of the Year and has been selected by his peers as a Leading Lawyer and a Super Lawyer. The Illinois Trial Lawyers Association has presented him the President’s Award. By appointment of the Governor, he has served on the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Advisory Board.
 

Mr. Thackery has responsibility for office operations at the law firm and heads the Risk Management practice.  Previously he worked with American Medical Response as their Senior Vice President of Professional Services.   At AMR Ron lead safety, risk management, procurement and controlled substances administration. Previously, he was responsible for the integration of acquired companies into the organization, fleet administration, Paramedic Schools and he continues to the Logistics team for FEMA deployments. During his 22 years at AMR he led many teams of caregivers and leaders in the development of innovative programs in EMS.  Mr. Thackery received the Distinguished Service to Safety award from the National Safety Council in 2007 the highest individual award bestowed by the Council.  He recently received the Walter J. Schaeffer award for excellence from the American Ambulance Association.  He served on the Board of Directors for the National Safety Council and chairs the Professional Standards and Research Committee of the American Ambulance Association.  Prior to his service at AMR, he was Senior Counsel to Federal Express.  He is a Board Chair for the College of Emergency Services, a Board member of the AMR Charitable Foundation and an Advisory Board Member of Securisyn. Mr. Thackery holds a BA in humanities from Christian Brothers University and a JD from the University of Memphis. 

Oversight of enterprise Workers’ Compensation programs ensuring injured employees receive appropriate care and benefits which enable them to return to good health and to work. Responsible for management of third party claim administrator contract and performance as well as medical management partners in compliance with internal specifications and government statutory requirements. Financial responsibility for workers’ compensation expenses and processes to reduce and manage these resources. Also responsible for the oversight and management of five onsite medical clinics in Chicago, Cleveland, Guam, Houston, and Newark.

Scott has been practicing law since 1985, primarily in the areas of workers’ compensation and employment law. Over that time, he has represented both injured workers and employers, as well as the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation and the Industrial Commission of Ohio.

Scott is currently the Benefits Manager for R + L Carriers, a family-owned, national LTL motor freight carrier headquartered in Wilmington, Ohio. Over the past 10 years, he has overseen the company’s workers’ compensation and disability programs.

Scott received his BA from Grove City College, and his JD from The University of Akron. He is certified as a specialist in workers’ compensation law by the Ohio State Bar Association. His professional memberships include the workers’ compensation and employment law committees of the Columbus Bar Association and the Ohio State Bar Association. Scott is the course planner for the OSBA’s annual Basics of Ohio Workers’ Compensation seminar.
 

Bruce Bollman started his insurance career in the mailroom at Lumberman’s Mutual Insurance in 1972. After a stint in the Navy and graduating from the University of South Florida [USF], he signed-on with American States Insurance and then with Royal Insurance. He has been with Cincinnati Insurance since 1983. He re-entered USF and graduated in 1991 with a MA in Rehabilitation Counseling. With Cincinnati, he moved from the Tampa Bay area, to Durham, NC and on to Hanover, NH as a manager. He took a supervisory role in 2001 at their Cincinnati, Ohio Headquarters. Since then, he has handled WC claims nationwide and is the Assistant Manager of the Department.

Noah’s goal is to protect businesses from harmful litigation. He counsels businesses like restaurant chains, physician’s offices, Mom n’ Pop shops and manufacturers on labor and employment strategies to diminish the possibility of litigation.

Noah provides comprehensive labor and employment counsel including, but not limited to: drafting employment agreements, contracts, and handbooks; assisting with union successor collective bargaining agreements; responses to unfair labor practices and grievance administration through successful arbitration. He also provides practical advice for clients handling difficult employees and return-to-work situations following on-the-job injuries.

Noah has negotiated multiple favorable post-termination settlements in FLSA and discrimination/retaliation claims, and has significant experience advising clients on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Illinois Minimum Wage Law, and Illinois Wage Payment & Collection matters.

In the related area of workers’ compensation, Noah handles complex matters related to representation of uninsured employers and non-compliance matters, as well as workers’ compensation and occupational disease defense. Noah has obtained several successful resolutions before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission’s Insurance Compliance Unit. He has litigated Workers’ Compensation claims through the Illinois Appellate Court and has obtained numerous favorable awards on behalf of his clients.

Ms. Pechacek is the Risk Manager for Lake County, located in the Chicago metropolitan area. She directs the County’s 25 million dollar self-insured, self-administered operations and oversees the in-house claims department. Ms. Pechacek is responsible for protection of the County’s assets and resources, risk transfer techniques, civil litigation management, life safety, exposure assessment, cost reduction strategies, and crisis management. Lake County currently has over 3,000 employees and operates in a variety of high exposure areas including law enforcement, jail and juvenile detention, nursing home care, community health, courts and probation, public works, and highway transportation.

Ms. Pechacek previously worked as the director of a national detective agency and was also a licensed private detective specializing in fraud detection. Ms. Pechacek received her BA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is currently earning her Masters in Public Policy Administration from Northwestern University.

Jim is a shareholder in the Pittsburgh based law firm, Poerio & Walter, Inc. His practice is concentrated in the defense of workers’ compensation and Federal Black Lung claims. Jim was defense counsel in the landmark case of Republic Steel Corporation v. WCAB (Petrisek), which fundamentally changed the law in Pennsylvania eliminating most claim petitions filed by retirees, saving Pennsylvania employers and carriers literally millions of dollars. Jim is active in the National Counsel of Self-Insurers  in addition to the CLM, where he has served as Co-Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Committee, and is a member of the Workers' Compensation Community Advisory Board.  He earned his law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1981. He has been recognized as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in workers’ compensation law and for inclusion in “Best Lawyers in America” since 2006. Jim is AV Preeminent Rated by Martindale Hubbell.   Jim's firm, Poerio & Walter, Inc., has been recognized as well as a Tier 1 Firm for workers' compensation defense by US News & World Report Magazine.

Robert Sabetto has been a practicing attorney for over a decade. He has appeared before administrative agencies and both state and federal courts at the trial and appellate level. He is admitted in Illinois and Wisconsin, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

 
Rob has represented hundreds of insurance carriers, large corporations, small businesses, and individuals in litigated workers’ compensation, employment discrimination, ERISA, and tort claims. He has worked as an associate attorney at insurance defense and business litigation firms. He currently works as Staff Counsel for The Hartford, where he defends and counsels corporate clients on workers’ compensation and tort matters.

Rob earned his B.A. at Kent State University and his J.D. at DePaul University College of Law. During law school, Rob served as a research assistant for a year and as a staff writer and later business editor of the DePaul-LCA Arts and Entertainment Journal (now the DePaul University College of Law Journal of Art, Technology and Intellectual Property Law). He wrote Sticks and Stones and Chips of Bone: Shock Humor and Emotional Distress in Roach v. Stern, published in the Spring 2000 issue and contributed to a 2010 edition of an Illinois workers’ compensation reference guide. He lives in Chicago.
 

HEATH SHERMAN, Esq. is the managing member of The Sherman Law Group, LLC. A graduate of the University of Michigan (B.A.) and DePaul University College of Law (J.D.), Heath has handled all aspects of workers’ compensation litigation for over twenty years. Heath has tried numerous cases before the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission and has argued cases on appeal at the Commission, Circuit Court and Appellate Court levels. Heath is retained by insurers, third-party administrators and self-insured employers throughout the State of Illinois to represent their unique interests in the underlying workers’ compensation claim as well as employer’s liability defense, subrogation lien recovery, and employment litigation.
In addition to workers’ compensation, Heath has a national product liability practice and has successfully handled cases on behalf of domestic and foreign clients in state and federal courts in multiple jurisdictions including Alabama, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. Heath is admitted to the Illinois bar, the general and trial bars of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, and United States Court of Appeals for the 9th and 11th Circuits.

CINDY SLUBOWSKI has been in the insurance industry for 20+ years and currently she is the Senior Manager, Risk and Insurance for Kraft Foods Group, Inc. Prior to coming to Kraft, Cindy held positions on the brokerage side, in the insurance company arena and corporate risk management. Her most recent position at Kraft has her executing a risk management strategy, purchasing insurance, contract review, claims handling and resolving financial risk management issues.Cindy completed her undergraduate work at DePaul University and holds a Masters Degree in Organizational Development and Leadership from Capella University. Cindy maintains the following professional designations; Associate in Risk Management (ARM). In addition, Cindy was the founding President of The Quad City Chapter of RIMS and served as President for two years and on the Board for the Chicago Chapter of Rims for four years. Currently, she is the Chicago Chapter of RIMS President and serves on the board of the Spencer Educational Foundation.

As a graduate of Eastern Illinois University, Mike Benedeck began a long career in insurance claims administration. His experience at Martin Boyer Company, and Cambridge Integrated Services Group, spanned nearly ten years. During that time, he was a Claims Supervisor, having responsibility for thousands of claims. His experience in healthcare industry claims gave him the insight necessary to take on the daily challenges that he encounters at Centegra.

Mike brings more than 20 years of workers’ compensation claims experience to his current position as the Workers Compensation Administrator at Centegra Health System. He is a Certified Healthcare Safety Professional and is engaged in Workers Compensation claims administration and Occupational Safety training on a daily basis.

Centegra Health System is the largest employer in McHenry County, Illinois. Mike resides in McHenry with his wife and three children.

Michael J. Brennan is a native Chicagoan. Prior to joining Adelson, Testan, Brundo, Novell & Jimenez, P.C., he was a partner in a well known Chicago workers’ compensation defense firm. He has been an active litigator in Illinois for more than 30 years. Mr. Brennan earned an undergraduate and a Juris Doctorate Degree at DePaul University.

In the past, Mr. Brennan served as Chief of the Industrial Commission Division of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. He was also lead counsel in tax litigation, labor issues, and the criminal prosecution of Medicaid Fraud. His current client list includes insurance carriers, claim administrators, and self-insured employers. He has litigated numerous reported cases in the Illinois Courts.

In addition to litigation, he was a principal author of the Larson Series Illinois Workers' Compensation Handbook, for Matthew Bender and has written a multitude of articles for legal journals, including Thomson/Reuters. He has lectured on Illinois Workers’ Compensation topics and testified as an expert on Illinois Workers’ Compensation issues.

Mr. Brennan has been recognized by his peers as an Illinois Leading Lawyer, an Illinois Super Lawyer, a Best Lawyer in America and has achieved an AV Preeminent rating from Martindale Hubbell.

 While most strive to stretch the envelope, Dick Goff says, "Why does it have to be an envelope?" Then he fashions an entirely new metaphoric delivery system with contents no one would have thought possible if all they could use was an envelope.

Creative innovation has been the guiding principle of Dick's professional life in the insurance industry. Since 1968 as producer, underwriter, manager and broker for firms in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Chicago, and for the last 15 years as a senior executive of The Taft Companies, he has devised new and beneficial risk funding and management methodologies.

Dick is a highly respected professional on risk management issues and has held industry leadership positions as the co-chairman of ASAE's Board's Associate Member Committee's Technology Subcommittee; and has sat on the Self-Insurance Institute of America (SIIA) National Workers Compensation Committee, on whose behalf he has testified to the U.S. Senate, and SIIA’s Government Relations Committee; was instrumental in organizing an ART section; and is SIIA’s past President and Chairman. He was a Founding Director of the South Carolina Captive Insurance Association, the Captive Insurance Council of the District of Columbia, and the Montana Captive Insurance Association, of which he is still a Director; and was the Founding Chair of the American Risk Retention Coalition’s Steering Committee. Dick is a Fellow of the Claims and Litigation Management Alliance, a nonpartisan alliance committed to furthering the highest standards of litigation management, and sits on its Workers’ Compensation Committee.

Dick has served on the Board of Directors of eMERGE, a 501(c)(3) organization. People with developmental disabilities who are in need of services in order to live a more meaningful and complete life look to eMERGE for support. He is a past Trustee of Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana.

Dick is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. He is married, has a daughter, a son, a grandson and two granddaughters.                          

Mr. Higdon has 20 years of industry experience and is currently the Sr. Vice President of Partnership Services for ESIS.  In this role, he has responsibility for the management and development of client partnerships across all lines of business.  In addition, he has accountability for new client implementations, ESIS Achievement Academy, the construction and real estate practices, and global initiatives. 

Mr. Higdon began his career in consulting conducting and managing auditing, program evaluation, and program design projects for workers’ compensation and integrated disability management programs to large employers and service providers.  He left consulting for the third-party administrator (TPA) space where he held a variety of positions under information technology and client services developing and delivering differentiated solutions to clients.  With a strong focus on information delivery, his previous TPA experience culminated in the management of four departments focusing on client reporting, predictive modeling, client facing system enhancement and support, and loss control consulting and OSHA administration.  Before taking his current role, Mr. Higdon spent much of 2014 and 2015 with ACE Group Claims developing the 4DTM approach to utilizing predictive modeling and text mining in the claims management process.

Mr. Higdon holds two Bachelor of Science degrees in the social sciences from Northern Illinois University and a Masters’ degree in Information Technology and Management from Illinois Institute of Technology.  He is a former board member and Chairman for the Center for Employee Health Studies associated with the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Mr. Higdon supports industry development through participation in regional and national conferences and has published on key topics including integrated disability management, the data lifecycle, and predictive modeling over the years.  He is also a volunteer mentor and guest speaker at YearUp a community college based program for economically disadvantaged students.
 

Tyler is a partner in the workers’ compensation section of the law firm of Engles, Ketcham, Olson & Keith in Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. Laflin’s practice is devoted solely to workers compensation defense in Iowa and Nebraska. He handles all aspect of workers’ compensation litigation, and has argued cases before the Supreme Court in Iowa and Nebraska. Mr. Laflin earned his B.S.B.A from the University of Nebraska and his J.D. from Creighton University School of Law. He is a member of CLM and served on the Board of Directors of the Omaha Chapter. He is also a member of The Defense Research Institute, The National Retail and Restaurant Defense Association and the Iowa Association of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. Mr. Laflin is a 2016 graduate of the Litigation Management Institute.

Bill is a partner in the Mobile, Alabama office of Austill, Lewis, Pipkin & Maddox, P.C.  He has a civil defense practice, focusing on the defense of personal injury, workers' compensation, premises liability and general liability matters. 
 
 Admitted to practice in Alabama and Florida, he is an experienced trial and appellate attorney in both state and federal courts throughout Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.  He is AV rated in Martindale-Hubbell.  He is a member of the Alabama Defense Lawyers Association, the Defense Research Institute (Construction Law, Trucking Law and Workers’ Compensation Committees) and the Florida Bar.  He is past Chair of the Workers’ Compensation Section of the Defense Research Institute and is a frequent speaker at professional education seminars.  He is a Fellow of the American College of Workers' Compensation Attorneys and co-Chair of the National Workers' Compensation Review Program at the annual WCI Conference. He co-authored the CLM Workers' Compensation Claims Handling Guide for the State of Alabama for use by claims professionals and members of CLM.  He served as chair of the Workers' Compensation Section of the Alabama State Bar from 2006-2007He earned his J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1989 and his undergraduate degree in English and History from Birmingham-Southern College in 1986.