2009-2010 Officers of the Board

President and Chairman
Douglas J. Holtz, CPCU, CIC, CSP, CRM

Douglas J. Holtz, CPCU, CIC, CSP, CRM, is a commercial underwriting consultant at the School Product Management Group of the Liberty Mutual Agency Markets in Indianapolis. He has served the Society as a Governor, and as a member of the Executive and Audit Committees. He is a past president of the Society’s Central Indiana Chapter, where he also served in other chapter offices and on numerous committees.  In 2006, Holtz received the Mark W. Gray Award from the Central Indiana Chapter, and in 2007, the Insurance Company Professional of the Year Award from the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana. He is a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers and the Society of CIC, and serves on the board of directors of the National Alliance Research Academy in Austin, Texas. Holtz earned his MBA from Anderson University and his undergraduate degree from Central Michigan University.

President-Elect
Warren L. Farrar, CPCU, CLU, ChFC

Warren L. Farrar, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, is assistant vice president–claims for State Farm.  He will serve as the Society’s 2010-2011 president and chairman. He has served on the Society’s Board as Interest Group Governor and on its Audit Committee, Executive Committee and Governance Overview Board Working Group.  He joined the Society’s Loss Control Interest Group Committee in 1992 and served as its chairman from 1996 to1998. Farrar joined State Farm as a commercial underwriter in 1975 after earning a master’s degree in science from the University of Nebraska, from which he also holds his undergraduate degree.  In addition to his Society volunteer work, Farrar and his wife were co-chairs of the OSF St. Francis annual fundraiser in 2006.

Vice President
Steve McElhiney, CPCU, MBA, ARe, AIAF

Steve McElhiney, CPCU, MBA, ARe, AIAF, is president of EWI Risk Services, Inc., a reinsurance intermediary based in Dallas and a subsidiary of NL Industries.  He is also president of Tall Pines Insurance Company of Vermont. Over the last two decades his experience includes service with Fireman’s Fund, TIG Specialty, Overseas Partners US Reinsurance Group and Argonaut Group. He is author of Reinsurance Commutations, a required reading for the Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) designation. McElhiney holds an MBA and Bachelor of Science degree, cum laude, from the University of Southern California. He serves as a board member of North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition, Inc., and is a member of the Leadership Council of the Texas Health Research and Education Institute.

Secretary/Treasurer
Brian P. Savko, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, MSFS, FLMI

Brian P. Savko, CPCU, CLU, ChFC, is a team manager in State Farm’s Murfreesboro, Tenn. Office. Savko, who served as the Society’s 2008-2009 Secretary-Treasurer, is serving a second term. He has been a member of the Society’s Budget and Finance Committee since 1999, and has served as president, vice president and secretary of its Mid-Tennessee Chapter. He holds a master’s degree in financial services from the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Savko is a member of the Society of Financial Service Professionals and is a Knights of Columbus volunteer.

Immediate Past President and Chairman
Marvin Kelly, CPCU, MBA

Marvin Kelly, CPCU, MBA, is executive director of the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association. He has worked as senior casualty underwriter for Transamerica Insurance Company in Hartford, Connecticut, and commercial lines underwriter for Chubb & Son Insurance in Pittsburgh, PA. He served as the risk manager for the City of Beaumont and City of Austin in the state of Texas for six years. Kelly retired as a major in 1996 from the US Army Reserves. He has received numerous accolades, including a Teaching Excellence Award at the University of Texas in 1999; the James A. Johnston Award in 1999; and the CPCU National Standard Setter Award in 2000-2001. He has 27 years of experience in the field of insurance.  He holds a BS in insurance from the University of Hartford, and an MBA in risk management and insurance from Walden University.

Chief Executive Officer
James R. Marks, CPCU, CAE, AIM

James R. Marks, CPCU, CAE, AIM, is Chief Executive Officer of the CPCU Society, headquartered in Malvern, PA. Marks, who serves as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors, joined the Society staff in 1986 as head of the Communications Department, and was named chief staff officer in 1995. He is secretary and Society trustee for the CPCU-Loman Education Foundation and a member of the Foundation's Loman Club. Marks began his insurance career at A.M. Best Company and held various positions at the Insurance Information Institute in New York and Atlanta before joining the Society staff.