About Texas Mutual

Jeanette Ward
President and CEO

Jeanette Ward joined Texas Mutual in 1993 after earning her government degree from the University of Texas at Austin. She has since climbed the company’s ranks and has accumulated over 30 years of valuable experience, serving in a variety of roles including chief operating officer and overseeing strategic planning and budgeting, policyholder services, underwriting, information technology and actuary.

Jeanette also gives her time and talent to several charitable organizations, including the American Heart Association, United Way, Early Matters Greater Austin and the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation. She has been a featured speaker at numerous national industry events, was named a 2018 Business Insurance Woman to Watch by Business Insurance magazine which recognizes women leaders doing outstanding work in risk management and commercial insurance worldwide, an Executive to Watch in 2020 by Risk & Insurance Magazine, and recently honored by Insurance Business America as one of the 2020 Elite Women in the insurance industry.

Kim Haugaard
Senior Vice President, Policyholder Services

Kim Haugaard joined Texas Mutual in 2004 and was responsible for leading the development of the first medical network in the Texas workers’ compensation system. Most recently, he directed the implementation of WorkWell, TX, Texas Mutual’s health care network. Mr. Haugaard has been at the forefront of numerous medical cost containment strategies and worked closely with the claims operations management team on training, process and system initiatives.

Michael Hernandez
Chief Data and Analytics Officer

Mike Hernandez joined Texas Mutual in 2018 as chief data officer, after serving in the same role at CoBank. In 2023, Mr. Hernandez was named chief data and analytics officer to lead a unified analytics and data organization positioned to develop strategies, operating models and talent. Mr. Hernandez has held senior roles in data strategy at Crowe Horwath LLP and PNC Financial Services. He has spoken at national industry conferences discussing finance transformation and enterprise data management. Mr. Hernandez holds a Bachelor of Science from Penn State University, and a Master of Business Administration from Ohio University.

Randy Johnson
Senior Vice President, Investments

Randy Johnson joined Texas Mutual Insurance Company in 1995. His Investments team is responsible for managing the company’s more than $7 billion diversified investment portfolio. Mr. Johnson is a University of Texas graduate who has over 25 years of senior-level investment, financial and management experience. He is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Texas Society of CPAs.

Jeff Lentz
Senior Vice President, Underwriting

Jeff Lentz first joined Texas Mutual in 1993 as an underwriter after earning a Bachelor of Business Administration from Stephen F. Austin State University. He worked as an underwriter for three years, then went on to work for several other insurance companies, before returning to Texas Mutual in 2004 to lead underwriting and marketing operations at the company’s Dallas Regional Office. In 2011, he was promoted to vice president of underwriting. As SVP of Underwriting, Mr. Lentz oversees corporate underwriting, underwriting support services, regional underwriting, distribution, agency operations, business development and customer engagement.

Larry Martin
Senior Vice President, Human Resources

Larry Martin joined Texas Mutual in 1994 after several years at Blue Cross Blue Shield. He has served in a variety of HR roles at Texas Mutual including as VP of HR Consulting Services for the last four years. Mr. Martin oversaw the growth of our college recruiting program and the implementation of our learning and development and performance management strategies. He is responsible for ensuring human resource strategies and policies support our company’s mission, values and employees’ well-being. Mr. Martin holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of North Texas.

Jo Betsy Norton
Senior Vice President, Public Affairs

Jo Betsy Norton joined Texas Mutual in 2007 and has over 20 years of experience in corporate public affairs representing insurance companies at the local, state and federal levels. Before joining the private sector, Ms. Norton was appointed by Governor George W. Bush to serve as a commissioner on the Texas Employment Commission and the Texas Workforce Commission. She serves as chair of the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association, is chair of TXBIZ Votes and is on the board and executive committee of the Texas Association of Business.

Bill Potter
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Bill Potter joined Texas Mutual in 2018 as the vice president of premium audit. Under his leadership, the team enhanced their focus on customer service resulting in 98% of our policyholders in 2020 indicating that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with their audit. Prior to joining Texas Mutual, Bill accumulated over 25 years of finance, accounting and business leadership experience in multiple CFO roles and other finance executive roles with large national and international carriers. Mr. Potter is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from Wright State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Dayton.

Paul Schlaud
Senior Vice President & General Counsel

Paul Schlaud joined Texas Mutual in 2019 after working with the company as outside counsel for over 15 years. Mr. Schlaud oversees the office of the general counsel, as well as corporate strategy and innovation, risk management, marketing and community affairs, product management, the agile office, the legal department and our special investigations team at Texas Mutual. He began his career as a law clerk to Judge Merrick Garland, became a litigation associate at Vinson & Elkins and was later a founding partner of Reeves and Brightwell LLP. He received his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he also served as editor for the Harvard Law Review. He is a member of the American Law Institute.

Jeannette Sprague
Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer

Jeannette Sprague joined Texas Mutual in 2006 with more than 15 years of experience leading technology organizations in a variety of industries, from a small nonprofit startup to a global semiconductor manufacturing corporation. At Texas Mutual, Ms. Sprague has led the systems modernization efforts since 2012. She has spent the past four years as vice president of software engineering, continuing the modernization journey which will enable the business to better serve its customers and stakeholders. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Texas and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems from Texas State University. Ms. Sprague serves on the board of directors and finance committee for the Austin Center for Grief and Loss, a nonprofit that provides mental health services to children and adults dealing with loss, grief and bereavement.

Elise Teeter
Senior Vice President & General Auditor

Elise Teeter joined Texas Mutual in 2007 as a senior auditor and ten years later was promoted to vice president general auditor. Previously, Ms. Teeter held various positions in marketing, business operations and internal audit. Ms. Teeter holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Dallas. Ms. Teeter is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified Information Systems Auditor. She is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and ISACA.

Hon. Ron Simmons, Chairman • appointed

Mr. Simmons, of Lewisville, Texas joined Texas Mutual's Board of Directors in 2019 and is currently chairman. He also serves on Texicare's Board of Directors. He is the former chairman and founder of Retirement Advisors of America and served as a State Representative in the Texas House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. He is a former board member of the American Legislative Exchange Council and has served on the Education Commission of the States. Additionally, he is the former vice chairman of the Autism Society of America. Mr. Simmons received a Bachelor of Arts in Business from Dallas Baptist University.

Steve Oldham, Vice Chair • elected

Kristi Koncaba, Secretary • appointed

Ms. Koncaba was appointed to Texas Mutual’s Board of Directors in 2018. She has over 20 years of experience in commercial banking, including being the co-founder and president of Texan Bank, National Association which sold in March 2022.

Ms. Koncaba serves on the boards of Stewart Security Capital, Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce and South Belt-Ellington Chamber of Commerce. She was a past chairperson for the Texas Bankers Foundation, Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and Bay Area YMCA Advisory Board. She was a 2013 Change Magazine Women Creating Change honoree, a 2016 University of Houston–Clear Lake Early Achievement Award recipient, a 2017 Perry Family YMCA Volunteer of the Year, a 2019 Houston Business Journal Women Who Mean Business awardee and a University of Houston Cougar 100 honoree each year from 2018 to 2022.

Lexi Elliott • elected

Ms. Elliott, of Georgetown, Texas joined Texas Mutual's Board of Directors in 2021 and also serves on the Texicare Board of Directors. She has over 20 years of experience in the planning and execution of talent acquisition strategies and solutions across multiple industries. As a talent acquisition leader, she has experience in process optimization, executive recruitment, exempt and non-exempt recruiting, temporary/contingent staffing, mergers and acquisitions, talent management and project management. In 2017, Ms. Elliott founded Cadence Talent Resources where she continues to serve as a principal consultant. She also serves on the boards of Georgetown Seeds of Strength and the Georgetown YMCA. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from West Texas A&M University.

Brett Flagg • appointed

Mr. Flagg, of Frisco, Texas was appointed to Texas Mutual’s Board of Directors in 2019. He has been a practicing attorney in Texas for 35 years. He served as a partner in the largest law firm in Dallas before establishing his own firm, Flagg Law Group PC. His practice focuses on estate planning, asset protection, probate and general business counsel for high net worth entrepreneurs. Mr. Flagg currently serves as an Elder at Stonebriar Community Church and a member of the Board of Directors of e3 Partners Ministry/I Am Second. He is a past chairman of the Trinity Christian Academy board in Addison, Texas and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Frisco Chamber of Commerce and the Baptist Church Loan Corporation. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and law degree from Baylor University, and an LLM Taxation degree from Georgetown University.

Danny Phillips • elected

Mr. Phillips was elected to Texas Mutual’s Board of Directors in 2012. He currently manages his own financial investments and is the owner of the Diamond P Ranch, a registered Texas Longhorn cattle operation. Mr. Phillips also serves on the Board of Directors of Fortress Youth Development Center in Fort Worth, Texas, the Investment Board of Abilene Christian University and the Board of Directors of Caris Life Sciences.

Mr. Phillips began his career as a certified public accountant at Condley and Company. He later served in various senior financial roles at Harken Energy Corporation, was chief financial officer for Aloha Petroleum, and ultimately served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer for AdvancePCS, where he helped grow the firm from a small, privately owned company into a Fortune 500 corporation that became the largest provider of pharmacy benefit management services in the U.S.

William Quinn • elected

Mr. Quinn was elected to the Texas Mutual Board of Directors in 2021. He is a retired executive chairman of American Beacon Advisors, an asset management and mutual fund company he founded in 1986. Mr. Quinn joined American Airlines in 1974 as vice president and controller of Sky Chefs, and he served as assistant treasurer from 1979 to 1986. Mr. Quinn served as the chairman and vice chairman of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System from 2017 to 2023. He served as the independent trustee for the $26 billion National Railroad Retirement Investment Trust, chairman of the Committee for the Investment of Employee Benefit Assets and a director of four public companies (CSW Industrials Inc., Hicks Acquisition I and II, and Crescent Real Estate Equities). Mr. Quinn devotes much of his spare time to serving on the finance and investment committees of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, Catholic Charities of Fort Worth and Southern Methodist University Endowment Fund. He received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Fordham University in 1969 and is a New York Certified Public Accountant.

Kevin Robnett • appointed

MrMr. Robnett, of Fort Worth, Texas, was appointed to Texas Mutual’s Board of Directors in 2022. He is currently an attorney and investor with Robnett, PLLC. He is the co-founder of Lithos Industries, Inc. (Element 3 Resources), a critical materials exploration and production company. Mr. Robnett previously served as a senior vice president at Tiedemann Advisors.

He is chairman of the board for National Security Technology Accelerator, a former director for Texas Lyceum and a former board member of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. Mr. Robnett is also a member of the State Bar of Texas, Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate, the Teneo Network and the University of Texas System Chancellor’s Council. In addition, he is an inaugural fellow of the NexGen Project at the Straus Center of International Security and Law, a member of Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation Stewards of the Wild and a founding member of Renaissance 21. Mr. Robnett received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. He also served in the U.S. Navy for more than 10 years as an intelligence and operations officer.

Gary Gibson • appointed

Gary Gibson, of Houston, was appointed to Texas Mutual’s Board of Directors in 2023. He retired from Star Furniture Company after having served as chief financial officer since 1994. Mr. Gibson is a member of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Executive and Government Affairs Committees and chairs the institution’s Cancer Prevention Committee. Additionally, he is a Member Emeritus of the Texas Business Leadership Council. He is also a member and former chair of the Chapelwood United Methodist Church Board of Stewards. Mr. Gibson is former chairman of the Texas Association of Business Board and former member of the Texas Retailers Association Executive Committee and has served on several other private company and nonprofit boards. Additionally, he is a former board member, finance committee member and audit committee member for the University of Texas Medical Branch. Mr. Gibson received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Texas A&M University and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Sam Houston State University.