When Ric Rosario, CPA, CGMA, first joined CAMICO in July of 1992, he knew little about the company, the insurance industry, and was initially hired as a temporary employee to support CAMICO’s Loss Prevention efforts.
Six months later, he became a permanent employee and sixteen years later he became the second President and CEO of CAMICO Mutual Insurance Company.
“Between the nice environment, people and the work – where I was helping CPAs – it was very fulfilling,” Rosario said. “That’s what kept me at CAMICO initially, that’s where it all started. Things fell into place that really fit me, and I never wanted to leave.”
From the Beginning
In 1980, Rosario earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., and upon graduation, he was recruited by the CPA firm John F. Forbes and Co., in San Francisco, along with his college classmate Sherry Swiess, who later married John Dodsworth, the original founding CEO of CAMICO.
Rosario worked in the audit division of the regional firm for about four years and then set off to join a startup real estate venture where he served as the Controller and then Chief Financial Officer. When the business filed for bankruptcy due to a recession, Rosario took some time off and reconnected with John Dodsworth at a social event where he suggested that Rosario apply for an opening in CAMICO’s Loss Prevention Services.
“I had done a lot of different things, but the idea of helping CPAs through Loss Prevention, but not having to do accounting work was appealing,” Rosario said. “I loved accounting but didn’t want to do financial statements every month. I was much more interested in the business part of accounting.”
When Rosario began working in Loss Prevention, he said it wasn’t a department, but rather a subgroup in the Claims department.
“There were just a few of us working in Loss Prevention, and as it grew over time, it became more significant,” he said. “More significant in the sense of realizing how important Loss Prevention was for helping over the long-term to reduce claims and how much policyholders enjoyed getting help ahead of time before it was a claim.”
Building a Lasting Career at CAMICO
After a decade of learning the ins and outs of risk management and being promoted to Loss Prevention Manager, Rosario continued to grow in his career and gain more exposure in different areas of the company, such as in Underwriting and Marketing.
“I enjoyed public speaking and interacting with policyholders face-to-face, so I would travel to different states to promote CAMICO when it started to expand outside of California,” Rosario said. “I would attend trade shows and sell Loss Prevention services, but not insurance, since CAMICO wasn’t yet licensed in other states.”
Eventually Rosario was promoted to Vice President of Loss Prevention Services and then to Executive Vice President, where he gained executive oversight of Underwriting, Claims, and Marketing and Communications at CAMICO. And then in 2009, his biggest opportunity was presented: to become CAMICO’s next top leader.
Leadership Plans
In planned a transition, Rosario succeeded John Dodsworth as CEO on January 1, 2009. Dodsworth had served as CAMICO’s CEO since the company’s inception in 1986 and continued to serve as a member on CAMICO’s Board of Directors through June 2020.
The two objectives that Rosario wanted to have an impact on as CEO were to help CAMICO grow into a bigger market share (also a company goal) and (internally) to improve CAMICO’s ability to service the policyholder.
“But when I took over, it wasn’t anticipated that the Great Recession was going to hit,” he said. “In hindsight, the first goal, because of what had happened with the Great Recession, then came a third one that I didn’t count on, which was to stabilize the company financially and put it back in a good position.”
By the end of 2008, CAMICO’s claims losses, largely caused by the economy, had produced the unusual occurrence of an underwriting loss that was not covered by investment income. CAMICO’s Board strengthened the company’s loss reserves in response to the developments. This action, when combined with unrealized investment losses, reduced CAMICO’s surplus by 30 percent. CAMICO still had more than sufficient surplus and reserves to meet its claims obligations, but the reduction in surplus prompted the rating company A.M. Best to lower CAMICO’s financial strength rating from A- (Excellent) to B++ (Good) with a rating outlook of “Stable.”
“That wasn’t in the plan and probably was the biggest task I had over the 15 years as CEO,” Rosario said. “But sometimes we have to rise to the challenge that is presented to us. It came down to profitability, building up our surplus and most importantly, getting our A.M. Best rating upgraded. All of those things are back in place now, but it took 15 years to achieve it.”
Key partners during that challenging period were Chief Financial Officer at the time, Jay Stewart, and former Vice President of Marketing and Communications Sandra Maker, Rosario said.
“Jay’s experience as CFO was critical for me to be able to do what I was able to do, and have a sounding board as I was coming up with solutions,” he said. “Other significant people in my succession were Sandra Maker, who helped build and expand the CAMICO’s brand. She and I partnered on a lot of things as CAMICO grew and would solve problems in a positive way. Also, Sue Holl in Loss Prevention, who has followed in my footsteps in a lot of different ways and has been instrumental in leadership, different achievements and working together throughout my career.”
During those difficult financial years at CAMICO, Rosario and his team worked on tangible solutions such as partnering with Berkley Alliance Managers (a Berkley company), enacting management changes and focuses, working with reinsurers and coming up with a new reinsurance program.
“There was the tactical side, but there was also the human part of all of it and the impact to someone asking, ‘Am I going to lose my job because the company isn’t going to make it?’ That’s a hard thing to correct,”’ Rosario said. “It’s about communication and maintaining a level of confidence that we can get through this. That was a big part of what I had to do, was give people some hope that we could get out of it, to stand up and say, ‘We can do this, and you can do it too, so let’s get at it.”’
Former CAMICO Board Member (for 21 years) and previous board chairman (2012- 2018) Robert P. (Pat) Evans, CPA, CISA, said Rosario’s strategic critical thinking and response to the Great Recession in 2008- 2009 was an example of highly principled leadership.
“His leadership, personal high integrity and commitment to CAMICO’s culture kept our management team and staff together during a very trying time,” he said. “He was always listening and engaging, including colleagues, the Board and key advisors, and then acting in the best interest of the company with key strategic moves like choosing Liberty and eventually Berkley, to ensure that our policyholders had the very best insurance policy and coverage possible.”
CAMICO co-founder Louis J. Barbich, who retired in 2012 after serving as CAMICO’s first chairman for 26 years (since the company’s founding in 1986), said Rosario’s traits and actions during challenging times have been valuable contributions to the company and have made him a valuable leader.
“Ric has the ability to stay calm in spite of the turmoil that was going on in the company in prior years,” he said. “He explores all possible options and identifies the best option. Even when CAMICO was not in the position of strength, he never showed it and, in my opinion, ends up negotiating a deal that is to CAMICO’s advantage.”
Improving the Policyholder Experience
Because CAMICO didn’t have a Customer Service Unit for the first few decades, Rosario said he made creating one a priority, with a plan of implementing a centralized customer service system where trained representatives would always answer the phone and be able to determine where calls should be directed, who would be calling the policyholder back and be trained to some level to answer questions.
“We didn’t have enough on staff to form the unit, and people didn’t want to leave their departments,” Rosario said. “It took a few years to channel those resources but with the help of Sue Holl and Stephen Dixon (Vice President of Human Resources and Administration), we were able to round up and recruit employees specifically for customer service and created a unit. The important thing for me was to build a stronger organizational sense of service to the policyholder in every way. It was basic, as far as picking up the phone and letting people know that we will make sure they get to the right professional and that they will receive a call back by the next day.
That’s one of the things I’m most proud, to have influence on in my role as CEO, was to improve the level of our ability to deliver high level of service.”
The CAMICO Difference
What makes CAMICO different from other companies and its competitors is because CAMICO is a mutual insurance company, Rosario said.
“Because of CAMICO’s mutuality, there isn’t hierarchy or bureaucracy,” he said. “The mutual concept has allowed CAMICO to focus on the policyholder and the CPA. So from the Board, to the CEO and throughout the staff, everyone knows who we are serving – the policyholder, our customer is the owner. Having the organization at every level focused on the same thing aligns everything really well. I think those efforts are so powerful and our policyholders see it.”
With Rosario’s 32 years of history and experience with CAMICO (which has been in business for 38 years), Rosario said he is proud of recovering the company after the Great Recession and seeing the growth and success of CAMICO employees.
“Throughout the organization, there are really good people and to see them flourish brings great satisfaction to me,” he said. “I believe in finding the right people as long as we’re all in agreement on where we’re going. I expect people to believe in what we’re doing, in our mission of taking care of our policyholders, treating everyone professionally and creating a really nice work environment. And I think our great culture is evident in our 10-year (on average) staff and how long employees stay with CAMICO.”
It’s great to be a part of an organization that has made a difference, Rosario said.
“We’ve become thought leaders in the profession and that didn’t exist 30 years ago,” he said. “Now CAMICO is considered a driving force for the good of the CPA profession. With some luck and a lot of hard work from everyone, we truly make a difference to the accounting profession.”
Mike Ray, CPA, who joined CAMICO in February 2023 as Chief Financial Officer, is now phasing into the CEO role as planned by Rosario and CAMICO’s Board of Directors. Rosario will continue to serve as a member of CAMICO’s Board of Directors after his retirement as CEO and will succeed Andrew M. Eassa, CPA, as Chairman of the Board when Eassa’s term expires in June 2025.
“I have the years of experience that hopefully I can share, be useful and supportive of Mike (Ray) and the management team,” Rosario said. “I’ve worked for all three prior board chairs of the company and all three of them have been very effective, have had strengths and I’ve learned something from each of them. So hopefully I can bring those positive things I thought they did and my own, to whatever I may add.”
Former CAMICO Chairmen speak on Ric’s CAMICO Leadership & Legacy
“Ric’s leadership style allows him to evaluate and select the right person to fill management positions and to promote the right people to leadership positions within the company. He has built a great team at CAMICO. An example of this is having the person who will succeed him already in the management team of CAMICO. Ric’s contribution to the success of CAMICO is immeasurable. CAMICO will always be indebted to him for CAMICO’s success.”
— Louis J. Barbich, CPA, MBA (Board Chairman from 1986-2012)
“I have known many leaders and owners of large and small businesses. No one touches the leadership and character exhibited by Ric during the past two decades. He embraced CAMICO’s history and culture every day and built an enduring partnership with the CAMICO Board. Under high stress and incredible pressure, he led CAMICO’s efforts in strengthening its team and systems, achieving high financial strength and profitability and serving policyholders across the nation.”
— Robert P. (Pat) Evans, CPA, CISA (Board Chairman from 2012- 2018)
