Executive Staff
Overall corporate supervision at the Mutual is handled by a management team consisting of three highly experienced individuals:
R. Austin Wallace, M.D.
Chairman of the Board, President and CEO
The Chairman, President and CEO is R. Austin Wallace, M.D. Dr. Wallace has been an integral contributor to the Mutual, serving on the Board of Directors since its formation. During that time he has also served as the Chairman of the Claims Committee and as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, before becoming the Chairman of the Board in 2009.
In January 2012, Dr. Wallace became President and CEO of the Mutual.
Specializing in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, Dr. Wallace has been in private practice for almost 30 years at the Eye and Ear Clinic, now Charleston Surgical Hospital, located in Charleston, WV, where he serves as Board Member and is a past President.
He has been recognized as one of “America’s Top Physicians” by the Consumers’ Research Council since 2003 and is a member of a variety of professional societies and associations, including: the American Academy of Otolaryngology, the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy/Head and Neck Surgery, for which he is a board examiner, and the American Medical Association. Additionally, Dr. Wallace is the past president of the West Virginia State Medical Association, the Physician’s Alliance of WV, and the West Virginia Academy of Otolaryngology.
Dr. Wallace attended college at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, and graduated from the West Virginia University School of Medicine in 1977. Subsequently, Dr. Wallace completed his Otolaryngology residency at West Virginia University Hospitals after a General Surgery internship at Carilion Health Systems in Virginia.
Tamara Lively-Huffman, CPCU
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
The Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer is Tamara Lively-Huffman. Ms. Lively-Huffman has 40 years of experience in the professional liability arena in West Virginia having served with the McDonough/Caperton insurance agency and its successor, Wells Fargo. She has been the prime officer for the West Virginia malpractice pool and has been one of the principal proponents of the West Virginia Legislative efforts to enact tort reforms and establish the new Mutual. Ms. Lively-Huffman holds the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) designation. She has lived all her adult life in West Virginia. Ms. Lively-Huffman has ultimate responsibility for Underwriting, Claims and Risk Management as well as Marketing and general administration.
Gary Schultz
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
The Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer is Gary Schultz. He brings substantial experience to the Mutual having served in a similar capacity for more than 25 years at PHICO in Harrisburg, PA. Mr. Schultz is a graduate of the University of Maryland and has spent most of his professional career in Pennsylvania. Mr. Schultz is responsible for the Accounting divisions of the Company and also holds major responsibilities for Auditing, Actuarial, Tax and Reinsurance issues.