Corporate Management
Tracey Carragher
Chief Executive Officer
Nobody is more passionate about what she does than Tracey Carragher. Tracey lives and breathes the insurance business. Most folks who meet her see her as fun-loving, hard-charging, empathetic, smart, fair and understanding. She’s had an exceptional career beginning at McKinsey. She’s held top jobs at Frank B. Hall and Alexander & Alexander before she became part of the senior management team reporting to the President at Aon. There she was a problem solver who inspired performance. Her responsibilities and successes were worldwide and throughout the Aon organization. When Aon sold its investment in Cambridge Integrated Services she stayed on as CEO transforming the company into the largest Third Party Administrator. The Breckenridge culture is a reflection of her management philosophy: she listens, she really listens. And then she and her team get it done.
For more information about Tracey, read here.
Bill Chesley
Executive Vice President › Finance and Operations
As he explains it, Bill kind of wandered into the insurance business about a dozen years ago turning left when he should have gone straight ahead. Later, he was handling special projects for Aon when he crossed paths with Tracey Carragher. Those assignments led to more with increasing responsibility and authority. He worked side-by-side with Tracey reengineering many of the operations that they both managed. Before Aon, he ran a manufacturing company, a tech company, represented investors in turnaround situations and worked in a slew of different industries.
For more information about Bill, read here.
Joe Filardo
Executive Vice President › Reinsurance
Joe landed in the insurance business by accident. He planned after graduating from Fordham to move on to graduate school. But, when he scanned The New York Times want ads, he saw an opportunity with an insurance company in the management training program working as an underwriter for “highly protected risks.” Since then he’s been a successful top executive at the major reinsurance brokers including Guy Carpenter and Aon Specialty Re managing exceptionally successful operations. In between, Joe has run five marathons, a few triathlons and done his share of mountain biking.
For more information about Joe, read here.
James Robertson
Executive Vice President › Business Development
James has insurance in his blood. After he graduated from Texas A&M, he joined his Dad’s successful brokerage and soon James bought out the family business. It grew quickly before he sold it. After a stint in the technology business, insurance continued to call. A few years later, James became the CEO of a Texas-based TPA in turnaround mode. His efforts became even more intense after a meeting with an enthusiastic woman exec from Aon. That was Tracey Carragher. Soon he was reporting to her as his company became part of the Aon subsidiary Cambridge Integrated Services. Today he’s once again working side-by-side with Tracey.
For more information about James, read here.
Craig Rubin
Senior Vice President › Operations, Compliance and Marketing
If Craig had his way, no grass would grow beneath his feet. It was his interest in travel, in fact, that landed him in the insurance business. After Cal Poly, he joined General Electric where he worked in the finance department. Meanwhile, a recruiter called and asked him about his interest in a job with Safeco, the insurance carrier. The job required he spend about 60 percent of his time traveling. Craig was hooked and insurance quickly became his profession. He hasn’t stopped moving and spent 21 years at Swett & Crawford gaining experience, knowledge and management skills in all phases of the wholesale brokerage business. Craig has thrived in Breckenridge’s entrepreneurial culture.
For more information about Craig, read here.
Vernon Southerland
Senior Vice President › Underwriting & Program Management
Vernon’s one of those analytical guys who can figure a half dozen different ways to solve a problem, probably a reflection of his skills at chess. Vernon came by a career in insurance inadvertently when he came across a chance to interview with USAA for a job and landed work as a claims adjustor. As his career progressed he became a wholesale broker known for creating successful programs and innovative solutions. One of his toughest assignments was coverage for a group of nursing homes in Colorado. It’s tough to underwrite a single nursing home, no less 50. The solution, a pooling arrangement, took persistence to implement. He replicated the program in a number of other states. Breckenridge, he points out, is the kind of company built to solve complicated risk problems with creative solutions and hard work.
For more information about Vernon, read here.