CRICO Introduces New Company President

Leadership Transitions as Jack Mc Carthy Retires

Cambridge, MA , Oct. 16, 2012—CRICO, the patient safety and medical professional liability company serving the Harvard medical community, today announced the selection of Mark E. Reynolds as new President. Reynolds replaces John (Jack) L. Mc Carthy, current President of CRICO, who will retire at the end of 2012 after 23 years of service to the organization.

Reynolds joins CRICO with 20 years of experience in the health care and insurance industries, most recently as CEO of Neighborhood Health Plan of RI, where his outcome-driven approach resulted in it being rated among the nation’s top 10 Medicaid health plans. Throughout a career path involving complex governance, health care, and financial environments, he has exhibited a consistent commitment to excellence and service to the community.

“We are confident Mark is the right person to successfully lead CRICO and strategically navigate us through this changing health care environment,” said Allan Bufferd, Treasurer Emeritus MIT and Chair of the CRICO and RMF Boards. Bufferd participated in the committee which was chaired by fellow board member, Professor Stephen Bradley of the Harvard Business School, which launched a nation-wide search in mid-January 2012.

“The nature of CRICO’s structure is a unique mix of insurance, business, and health care," said Bufferd. He added, "Finding the right individual to continue the successful legacy built by Jack was incredibly challenging—but the search committee and the Boards of CRICO and RMF are confident we have found the right elements in Mark Reynolds.”

In 1976, the crisis of insurance availability led the Harvard Medical Institutions to form a “captive” medical professional liability insurer, CRICO, with MIT subsequently being invited to also participate. Soon thereafter came the creation of the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions (RMF) which focuses on claims management and patient safety. Harvard’s model of creating a captive—an insurer owned by the facility or healthcare system it exclusively insures—was later replicated by other health systems across the US.

Today, CRICO is an internationally renowned leader in evidence-based risk management, proudly serving more than 12,000 physicians (including residents and fellows), 22 hospitals, and nearly 209 other health care organizations.

Reynolds will be CRICO’s third President, stepping into a role which has established Jack Mc Carthy as a thought leader in the industry with marked success in convening clinical leaders of the Harvard institutions around collaborative patient safety initiatives.

“It is an honor to be asked to lead CRICO,” says Reynolds. “CRICO’s reputation in promoting patient safety and supporting Harvard’s clinical community is unsurpassed. CRICO’s mission-driven approach to its work makes the role so appealing.”

As the new President, Reynolds will guide the strategic direction of CRICO in its objectives: to provide a superior claims management program that protects the reputations of insured physicians, to capitalize on a wealth of data and expert analysis to target areas of risk and to fund patient safety initiatives, and then to disseminate and grow a culture of safety through international outreach.

“Throughout the search we were fortunate to meet some incredible leaders in the fields of insurance, health care, and business,” says Robert DeVore, Senior VP of Strategy and Special Projects for CRICO, who coordinated the search process. “What distinguished Mark from the other candidates was that he clearly understood and embraced our mission of delivering the safest health care in the world. He got it.”