John L. Mekus is NextClaim’s Chief Executive Officer. John is the ideal leader for the complex and distinctive world within which NextClaim operates, thanks to his deep claims experience and storied tenure heading a nationally renowned claims processing facility. His ability to build relationships and make decisions that are aligned with NextClaim’s goals and values, as well as our key stakeholder’s goals and values, makes John the natural choice for CEO.
John earned his J.D. in 1985 and started his career as an associate attorney at Rendigs, Fry, Kiely & Dennis. John earned his lawyering chops working on product liability and environmental litigation. In 1987, he made a pivotal career shift and entered the world of claims as a litigation handler at Transport/Leader Insurance Company. Over the next 12 years, John worked his way up the chain of command at Transport/Leader. He advanced quickly: from litigation handler to Claims Regional Manager, then VP of claims, Regional Product Manager, ending up as Division Manager for the Midwest Division—a division that held 60% of the company’s total written premium. Climbing up the ladder in this way gave John firsthand exposure to all aspects of the claims industry. The leadership roles he earned provided him with valuable insights into the particular management challenges involved in claims processing, particularly how the correct configuration of technology and workflow can lower expenses and decrease delays for both plaintiffs and defendants. John also earned his Executive MBA from Stanford while at Transport/Leader, further sharpening his management and leadership skills.
In 1999, John moved to AIG Specialty Auto. At AIG, he ran large processing organizations and was responsible for profits and losses of the six-state Northeast Region, worth $135 million in written premiums. John also showed his talent for building effective claims teams, creating a successful 60-person claims/underwriting service center.
John accepted the invitation to join the leadership team at Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust (“Celotex”) in 2003. John managed and led Celotex as Executive Director until 2006, overseeing all claims processing, financial reporting and audits. His legal background came in handy, as John also played a significant management role in all Celotex litigation. John proved himself indispensable to Celotex’s success. It was no surprise, therefore, when he was appointed CEO of the Delaware Claims Processing Facility (“DCPF”) in 2006 when Celotex joined it. His responsibility includes managing claims processing for 10 asbestos trusts, composed of 14 separate entities. Applying the lessons learned from earlier in his career, as CEO, John worked with his DCPF team to create industry-leading claim technology and workflow. The results of John’s exceptional leadership speak for themselves. As Chief Executive Officer John will lead the NextClaim team in pursuing settlement administration in the complicated world of mass tort settlements.
Richard, our Chief Operational Officer, is the reason the internal operations, processes, and people at NextClaim hum like a well-oiled machine. The DCPF has grown tremendously since 2006. Richard honed his skills leading the expansion of the DCPF facility, IT infrastructure and the dramatic increase in the DCPF workforce.
Richard entered the world of claims processing in 1991 as a Facilities Supervisor at the Dalkon Shields Claimants Trust. There, Richard was quickly promoted to Facilities Manager. On top of running day-to-day facilities and office services, Richard created and supervised a “Trust Project Team,” dedicated to cross-training and empowering employees to meet fluctuating workloads and numerous special projects. Richard also led Dalkon’s successful retention and management of 40 million pages of documentation. Richard also played a key leadership role in the facility’s wind-down at the successful completion of its mission. While at Dalkon, Richard completed his MBA in 1996 at Virginia Commonwealth University.
In 1998, Richard joined Celotex Asbestos Settlement Trust (“Celotex”) as Operations Manager. He was promoted to Chief Operational Officer in 2001, and given responsibility for overall facility operations and administrative functions. Richard was instrumental in setting up Celotex’s workflow design and controls. He oversaw several staff increases, created numerous foundational processes that efficiently integrated people and systems to increase efficiency and improve overall quality. Since 2006, Richard has been the COO of the Delaware Claims Processing Facility.
Among Richard’s responsibilities are claim review, quality assurance, administrative support, IT, and data analysis functions. In addition, Richard and his team have worked to continually develop and enhance an industry-leading claim processing system. He is responsible for creating the complex workflows that have allowed our team to efficiently and accurately process numerous demanding settlements and projects.
Entrusting Richard with the Chief Operating Officer seat at NextClaim was an easy decision. His experience, leadership, and management of the processes, systems, and people under his purview has contributed majorly to the success of the DCPF and we know Richard will lead NextClaim’s development and implementation of new settlements as he always has – with excellence.
Our Chief Financial Officer, Joseph L. Foley, oversees all aspects of the operation’s finances. Joe’s attention to detail and love of numbers makes him invaluable to us and to our clients.
In 2001, Joe made his debut in the settlement claims world when he became the Chief Financial & Operating Officer of $3.2 billion AHP (Fen-Phen) Settlement Trust in Philadelphia. Joe developed his intimate understanding of all aspects of finances and operations in this arena during his 6 years at the AHP Trust.
A CPA, Joe held his Series 7 Certification (General Securities Representative) from 1987-1990, and obtained his MBA in Finance from Drexel University in 1995. He started his career as a Staff Auditor at The Prudential, then became a Controller at Metpath, Inc. Joe remained in healthcare for a number of years. In 1994, he took on the role of Corporate Controller for Qualmed Plans for Health, Inc. in Philadelphia before accepting Coventry HealthCare of Delaware, Inc.’s invitation to become Divisional CFO in 1996. In 2007, Joe became the Chief Financial Officer for Delaware Claims Processing Facility, LLC.
Joe is responsible for all financial matters. This includes tax preparation, financial audits, overseeing claim payments and creating operating budgets. Joe is also practiced and exceedingly skilled at developing and implementing time- and cost-effective claims processing policies and procedures, while ensuring full compliance with all applicable (and often-complicated) settlement and legal rules. NextClaim is fortunate to have a CFO with Joe’s experience and skills at the financial helm.
An entity is only as good as its people, and Jennifer’s business is people. Because of Jennifer’s background in developing claim procedures and training, she can identify client needs and strategies in order to mold our workforce to meet those needs. Jennifer is the ideal choice for the NextClaim Chief Marketing Officer because of her deep experience and understanding of what it takes to get a settlement process up and running quickly and effectively.
Jennifer joined Delaware Claims Processing Facility, LLC (“DCPF”) in 2006 as Director of Facility Development and Training. Jennifer is passionate about investing in the personal and professional growth of our staff and leadership. Jennifer’s emphasis on professional development and growth directly improves our work quality, and by extension, the bottom line.
Previously, Jennifer served as the Statewide Training Coordinator of The University of Delaware, where her passion for employee development and her talent for providing tangible growth opportunities was first stoked. She created and implemented various training programs for new and seasoned entrepreneurs alike, tailoring the programs to each audience’s unique needs. Jennifer’s ability to create and manage successful programs for high performers translated directly into her ability to develop and manage effective corporate leadership teams.
Jennifer’s superior communication and problem-solving skills, as well as her ability to build relationships with clients are a great asset to our organization. She has heavily influenced our culture by creating an open and communicative environment. Her ability to communicate, forge relationships and work collaboratively makes Jennifer the right person to share NextClaim’s vision with the mass tort arena. It is no surprise, then, that we are proud to call Jennifer NextClaim’s new Chief Marketing Officer.
