Prior to launching Redwoods Managers in late 2009, Bill Mecklenburg was the Executive Vice President and the Chief Operating Officer of The Redwoods Group. Through his 19-year insurance career Mr. Mecklenburg has held senior management positions at specialty insurance companies including running the Property & Casualty Division of KEMPES, Inc. and the Denver based Program Division of Orion Specialty. Mr. Mecklenburg also placed over $500 million of program business during his tenure as Managing Director at Guy Carpenter & Co. Mr. Mecklenburg graduated with honors from the University of California, Berkeley and he has served on the boards of several charitable organizations.
Kevin A. Trapani, Chairman
Kevin A. Trapani has been President and CEO of The Redwoods Group since its inception in 1997. Prior to the formation of The Redwoods Group, Mr. Trapani was Executive Vice President of Burlington Insurance Group; Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer of Coregis Insurance Group; held senior leadership positions at Great American Insurance Companies and the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies; and started the first statewide HMO in New Jersey. Mr. Trapani has been named one of the 50 most influential leaders in the state of North Carolina for his deep involvement in multiple philanthropic interests and his leadership of what is broadly recognized as one of the most innovative socially conscious for profit companies in the nation.
Brian Keel is Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Redwoods Group and has been with the Company since 2011. Prior to joining The Redwoods Group, Mr. Keel was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the YMCA and JCC of Greater Toledo, the only integrated YMCA/JCC operation in the United States. Prior to his time with the YMCA, Mr. Keel spent nearly a decade building and managing a consulting practice as a CFO-for-hire working with manufacturing, construction and wholesale businesses across the Midwest and gained considerable experience in Mergers and Acquisitions. Mr. Keel holds both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration from the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio and is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant in both North Carolina and Ohio.
Jennifer Trapani is a Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer of The Redwoods Group. Prior to her role at Redwoods, she was the YMCA Program Manager for Coregis/Westport Insurance Company, and has been responsible for this program since 1990. Prior to working for Coregis, Ms. Trapani was an underwriter with Industrial Indemnity Insurance Company, and she is a 1989 graduate of California State University at Sacramento.
Jim Fryling is Senior Vice President of Claims and General Counsel for The Redwoods Group. He is a cum laude graduate of Gannon University in Erie, PA with a Bachelor’s degree and earned his law degree from Cleveland State University’s Marshall College of Law. Jim served on the board of the YMCA of Greater Erie from 1987-2007. Jim currently serves on the Corporate Advisroy Board for Action for Children North Carolina.
Doug Page is Senior Vice President and Program Director for The Redwoods Group Insurance Program for YMCAs, Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) and nonprofit resident camps. Prior to Redwoods, Page was Director of Loss Prevention for Discovery Insurance Company, Risk Control Manager for Specialty Programs for the Durham, NC office of Coregis, and Risk Control Supervisor for Great American Insurance Company. Page holds a bachelor in science degree in Fire Safety and Protection, Arson Investigation from the University of New Haven, CT.
Brian Fannin assumed the role of Chief Actuary for The Redwoods Group at the beginning of 2012. Prior to joining Redwoods, he served in a variety of positions in the commercial insurance market, for both primary and reinsurance companies in the US and Europe. In addition to his experience as a pricing actuary, he has also spent four years underwriting retroactive reinsurance and spent three years as a consultant on a variety of Enterprise Risk Management projects. Brian is a member of the Casualty Actuarial Society and the American Academy of Actuaries.
Dan Moore is Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for The Redwoods Group. Prior to joining Redwoods, Dan was a marketing consultant and advertising executive whose clients included Kellogg’s, MetLife, Hasbro, Nationwide, Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Logitech, Eaton and many others. Dan is a graduate of the University of Florida.
Mr. Khan is the Information Technology Manager for The Redwoods Group and has served in this and other roles since 1998. Prior to Redwoods, Aleem managed and developed insurance and finance related systems at Preferred National Insurance Company for 10 years. His experience includes information technologies and credit, and finance management. He earned Bachelor’s degrees in the areas of Accounting and Finance from St. Thomas University and holds MBAs in Information Technology and Business Management from Nova Southeastern University.
Mr. Robbins is the Director/Compliance and Systems Integration for The Redwoods Group. Prior to joining Redwoods in 2002 he served as Senior Vice President of American Specialty Insurance Services and prior to that as Vice President for Lincoln National Health & Casualty Insurance Company. During his 35-year insurance career, Mike has held various executive, compliance, underwriting, and reinsurance positions. He is a 1970 graduate of the University of St. Francis with a B.A. degree in English/Education.
Mr. Kochik is VP Underwriting, YMCA Program for The Redwoods Group, Inc. He has over 30 years of commercial underwriting experience with State Auto, INA, CIGNA, USF&G, Highlands Insurance Group, and CHUBB. His duties have included underwriting, reinsurance, marketing and program management. He is a graduate of Clarion University with a BS degree in business management.
Erin Garney is the Director of Human Resources and Community Investment Programs for The Redwoods Group. Prior to joining Redwoods in 2005, Ms. Garney worked for SciQuest, an internet software company, as the Director of HR. She has held several roles in human resources across multiple industries since 1994. Ms. Garney is a 1993 graduate of the University of North Carolina- Asheville with a B.S. in Marketing Management.
Prior to launching Redwoods Managers in late 2009, Bill Mecklenburg was the Executive Vice President and the Chief Operating Officer of The Redwoods Group. Through his 19-year insurance career Mr. Mecklenburg has held senior management positions at specialty insurance companies including running the Property & Casualty Division of KEMPES, Inc. and the Denver based Program Division of Orion Specialty. Mr. Mecklenburg also placed over $500 million of program business during his tenure as Managing Director at Guy Carpenter & Co. Mr. Mecklenburg graduated with honors from the University of California, Berkeley and he has served on the boards of several charitable organizations.
Kevin A. Trapani has been President and CEO of The Redwoods Group since its inception in 1997. Prior to the formation of The Redwoods Group, Mr. Trapani was Executive Vice President of Burlington Insurance Group; Senior Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer of Coregis Insurance Group; held senior leadership positions at Great American Insurance Companies and the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies; and started the first statewide HMO in New Jersey. Mr. Trapani has been named one of the 50 most influential leaders in the state of North Carolina for his deep involvement in multiple philanthropic interests and his leadership of what is broadly recognized as one of the most innovative socially conscious for profit companies in the nation.