Meet the Board

Dean Fletcher has been in the insurance business since 1969. Prior to co-founding Mission Counties Insurance in 1977, he served as a salesman and sales manager for a direct writer and an independent agency. He has been the sole owner of the Bay Area agency since 1984. His many awards include Man of the Year for the Santa Clara County CPCU Society, Insurance Man of the year for the Santa Clara County Insurance Women's Chapter. Fletcher served eight years on the Board of the Professional Insurance Agents of California and Nevada and four years for The National Association of Professional Agents. In 1987-88, he was President of the PIA of California and Nevada. Fletcher was a member of the Board of Governors of the Society of CIC from 1988 to 1992 served as the Chairman of that Board in 1991. In addition, he served on the Board of Governors of the Society of Certified Insurance Representatives from 1992 to 1998 and served as the Chairman in 1996. Fletcher, along with his wife Beth and staff operate Mission Counties Insurance in San Jose. One of the original five founders of PIIB, Dean Fletcher was president for the first five years of operation and has served as the Chairman of the Board for the past ten years.

Gary Rossi is one of the five founders of PIIB. His experience in the insurance business dates back to 1969, when he was first employed by the Fresno office of Liberty Mutual as an underwriter upon graduating from Fresno State College. In the course of time he moved on to sales and auditing with State Compensation Insurance Fund, specializing in the farming industry. Rossi transferred to San Jose, and at a later time joined a Bay Area firm in 1985. Eventually he formed his own business, Rossi Insurance Services in San Jose. Nine years later, after meeting with three other agency owners who were seeking a way to increase their success, PIIB was formed. It didn't stop there. With two others, Rossi opened a regional office in Stockton in 2002. He now operates it on his own, giving credit to his competent staff. Rossi bucked the odds of retiring in 2009 and bought Ward & Associates Insurance Brokers, Inc. also in Stockton. He still has a Bay Area branch in Campbell, run by Roger Schmitz. Rossi, the recipient of the first PIIB Comedy Award claims that even though the other four originators claim it was theirs, PIIB was all his idea. "Currently I commute from San Jose, where I reside with my trophy wife, Bernie, and my beagle, Riley, and my office in Stockton, where I am on the Board of Directors of the Italian School of Language and Culture, and have developed a reputation as being the only Democrat in the entire San Joaquin Valley. When I get back to San Jose, my dog howls with excitement, and wags his tail. My wife does neither," he claims.

Doug Christie is one of the five founders of PIIB, bringing 44 years of expertise to the board of directors. He served as president for three years. A 1964 graduate of Oregon State University with a degree in business, Christie's experience includes a position with The Hartford Insurance Company as a package underwriter, a sales agent for Rochex and Rochex Insurance, and an agent with Peninsula Insurance in San Mateo in the late 60's. By 1975, he became the owner of Peninsula and eventually opened a second office in Morgan Hill, where he now resides. He also managed to find time to originate another company in 1972 - Jenssen Scales, Inc. - and still sits on their board of directors today. Christie is designated as an Accredited Adviser in Insurance (AAI). His resume includes past board membership on the San Mateo-Burlingame Agents Association and the Northern California Morgan Horse Club. An avid equine lover, has competitively shown horses and currently tends to eight on a daily basis. Christie confesses that his success would not have been possible without his wife Diana, who has been his 24-7 soul mate, business partner, and equal horse enthusiast for 45 years and is very proud to admit that they still get along.

David Haynes is a 35 year veteran in the insurance industry and has built three insurance agencies from scratch. Having partners in the first two, he went solo in September of 1997 and launched David Haynes Insurance Agency. After much research he found Pacific Interstate Insurance Brokers, finding the perfect match for his needs. He was delighted when PIIB was willing to offer his "start up" agency a membership based on his solid experience, which gave him the opportunity to work with first class markets as well as receive the support of fellow members who never hesitate to offer all the help that he needed. Haynes is now a stockholder of PIIB and a member of the Board of Directors and is happy to report that the objective today is the same as when he joined; to offer membership to qualified agencies, even if they are "start ups," giving the right match the opportunity to succeed in the insurance business and provide its members with the tools that they need to succeed on their own. Haynes and his staff of four operate his business in Santa Rosa, California.

Charles Katz' insurance roots date back to the late 60's, obtaining his license and working full time at an agency while attending California State University at Northridge as a full time student. After earning a degree in Psychology, he chose insurance as his career path. He first took a position at Equitable Life of New York and then moved on to Marsh & McLennan, at that time the world's largest broker handling fortune 500 insureds. His next career move was with INA/CIGNA Companies where he served in various management capacities running regional subsidiaries for 11 years. In 1985 Charles and family moved to Northern California for five year's tenure as District Sales Manager/Business Agent Manager and agent with Nationwide Mutual, and started his own retail agency. In 1992 and he formed Charles Katz Insurance Services in Pleasanton. Along with his wife Lynne, son Aaron, and additional staff of three, their office caters to business owners who desire personalized attention while receiving the same quality and expertise as received by fortune 500 companies. Charles joined PIIB in 1996, and was invited to join the PIIB Board in 1998, became a stockholder and currently serves as Vice President and a Director.

Kirby Wells brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the PIIB Board. In addition to managing his family 300 acre timber business in the High Sierras, he founded his first insurance agency in 1983, R.K. Wells Insurance Agency. In 1986, he formed The Wells Group in partnership with IBM, where he was responsible for developing software management and operation systems for data input and retrieval for insurance agencies, banks, title companies and related business enterprises. The firm became a leader in the development and implementation of document scanning and integration of data base management systems. In addition, he is an experienced expert witness; testifying in evaluation of insurance contract language, analysis of underwriting practices and sales practices as relates to contract language and assists attorneys and carriers in developing contract wording for special insurance coverage, CC & R's and Bylaws. Wells attended University of Nevada, Reno and was sent by IBM to Executive Training Institute in connection with development of above systems. In addition to speaking at several national conferences, he holds numerous licenses and certifications, belongs to ten professional organizations, and has completed over 30 continuing specialty, receivership & bankruptcy education courses. Wells joined PIIB in 2006 and became a board member in 2008. He owns and operates Independent Solutions United – Cordova Center, in Rancho Cordova just outside of Sacramento.

John-Bernard Duler is well known in the industry as the founder of the San Franciso based auto insurance provider, Esurance. He founded the company in 1998 and served as Chairman and CEO until the sale to the White Mountains Group and remained a director until 2002. With revenues today in excess of $1B, Esurance is still the fastest growing insurance company. Duler has a MS in engineering from the Ecole des Mines in France, a MBA in Finance from the Wharton School and received his Associate in Risk Management designation from the Insurance Institute of America. In addition, he is an advisor to the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. Dulers' resume includes serving as an engineer and senior underwriter for FM Global, an insurance and risk management firm in the European Headquarters. He also served as an executive with AXA, one of the world's largest financial services company, in a variety of underwriting and actuarial roles. From 1988 to 1998 Duler was an executive with CIGNA Worldwide (now ACE Ltd.). In 1994 he was promoted to Vice President and General Manager, West Coast operations, overseeing offices in 11 Western states. Prior to arriving on the West coast, Duler led worldwide marketing, sales, and business development for CIGNA's Global Risk Management, from the company's headquarters in Philadelphia, PA. In 2003, he founded Duler USA, a boutique insurance brokerage and benefits consulting company based in San Francisco, serving growing companies throughout the US. He joined PIIIB in 2006 and has served as a Director on the PIIB board since 2010. Duler brings a different view to PIIB, along with a wealth of experience.