Leadership & Board

Executive Leaders

Wade D. Willard, JD
President and Chief Executive Officer
Wade D. Willard, JD, serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Preferred Physicians Medical Risk Retention Group (PPM). He was elected President and Chief Operating Officer in November 2017 and, in 2025, was elected to continue as President while also assuming the role of Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Willard joined Preferred Physicians Medical in 1997. He was promoted to Senior Claims Attorney in 2000 and later assumed leadership of the Claims Department as Claims Department Supervisor in 2008. In 2010, he was promoted to Vice President of Claims.

As President and CEO, Mr. Willard is responsible for PPM’s overall insurance operations and for executing the company’s short- and long-term business strategies. He is focused on growing the organization while maintaining PPM’s strong underwriting standards and steadfast commitment to serving the needs of the anesthesia specialty.

In addition to his leadership responsibilities, Mr. Willard is a frequent speaker at national and regional society meetings and regularly conducts on-site risk management seminars.

Mr. Willard is a graduate of the Washburn University School of Law. Before joining Preferred Physicians Medical in 1997, he clerked for the Kansas Medical Society and Kansas Medical Mutual Insurance Company.

Deanna R. Olson
Chief Financial Officer, Vice President-Finance, Treasurer and Secretary
Ms. Olson is responsible for all accounting and financial reporting for the Company. She is responsible for preparation of the financial statements, as well as coordinating efforts with regulators and auditors. She is also directing the enterprise risk management process for the Company. Ms. Olson, a CPA since 2004, joined PPM after spending three years as a Director with McGladrey & Pullen, where she was charged with development and training of the national insurance practice curriculum and audit documentation. Prior to McGladrey & Pullen, Ms. Olson spent seven years with KPMG, leaving as a Manager having served companies of varying size almost exclusively within the insurance industry audit practice. She received her graduate and undergraduate degrees in accounting from Missouri State in 2002.

Brian J. Thomas, JD
Vice President-Claims and Risk Management
Mr. Thomas joined PPM in 1999 and was promoted to Vice President-Risk Management in October 2015. In 2022, Mr. Thomas was promoted to Vice President-Claims and Risk Management. With over thirty years of insurance industry experience, Mr. Thomas has focused the past twenty-five years exclusively on providing risk management services to anesthesia providers and defending high severity medical negligence litigation. Mr. Thomas is also editor of PPM’s risk management newsletter, Anesthesia & the Law. Mr. Thomas was elected to the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) Board of Directors in 2019, and serves on the APSF Corporate Advisory Council.

Mr. Thomas has authored or co-authored in several prominent publications, including international, national, and state anesthesia journals such as Anesthesia & Analgesia, ASA Monitor, APSF Newsletter, Communique and Scope. Mr. Thomas has conducted over 300 on-site and virtual risk management seminars and frequently lectures on anesthesia risk management topics for national, regional, and state medical society meetings and other health care organizations.

Mr. Thomas is a 1995 graduate of Washburn University School of Law. Prior to joining PPM, he served as in-house counsel to several national insurance companies where his duties included the management and supervision of claims and litigation.

Warren L. Rhodes, CIC
Vice President-Underwriting
Mr. Rhodes was elected Vice President-Underwriting of PPM in October 2022. His responsibilities include the day-to-day direction of all underwriting, policyholder service, and office service activities. Mr. Rhodes joined Preferred Physicians Medical in July of 2022. Prior to joining PPM, Mr. Rhodes spent the last 26 years holding various underwriting and business development leadership positions with both regional and national insurance carriers in the commercial insurance industry. Mr. Rhodes is a graduate of Pittsburg State University Kelce College of Business.

Steve J. Stark
Vice President-Business Development
Mr. Stark was elected Vice President-Business Development in June 2018. Mr. Stark’s responsibilities include management of the day-to-day operations of the business development functions including client retention and growing PPM’s policyholder base of highly qualified anesthesia groups. In addition, Mr. Stark attends numerous anesthesia conferences each year. Mr. Stark joined PPM in 1989 as Regional Sales Representative when the Company insured fewer than 200 anesthesiologists and was promoted to National Sales Manager in 2001. Mr. Stark has been a key member in PPM’s growth and success.

Board of Directors

Robert P. Edwards, MD -- Chair
Dr. Edwards has been a Director of PPM since 2011, and was elected Board Chair in October 2022. Dr. Edwards is a board-certified anesthesiologist in the Salt Lake City, UT area. He was a member of Mountain West Anesthesia, having served as a Treasurer-Secretary on their Board of Managers. Dr. Edwards has served as an Executive Board member and Treasurer of the Utah Society of Anesthesiologists and as Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at The University of California at San Francisco. He earned his MD at the University of Illinois, College and Medicine and pursued his specialty in anesthesiology at the University of California, where he also completed his fellowship.

Richard E. Anderson, MD, FACP
Richard E. Anderson, MD, FACP, is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Doctors Company. Dr. Anderson also leads the TDC Group of companies and is a Director of The Doctors Company Foundation. He was a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and is Past Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Scripps Memorial Hospital, where he served as senior oncologist for 18 years.

Dr. Anderson is the editor of a book, Medical Malpractice: A Physician’s Sourcebook, and the author of a number of peer-reviewed publications on medical malpractice, the Harvard Medical Practice Study, and the impact of defensive medicine.

He has been invited to address numerous medical and legal forums, including the American Medical Association, the American College of Surgeons, the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons, the College of American Pathologists, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons®, a number of medical school faculties, including the medical centers of Stanford, UCLA, UCSD, Case Western, and the Cleveland Clinic, and the law schools of Columbia, Stanford, and Northwestern.

Industry presentations include the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the former Physician Insurers Association of America (PIAA), which is now MPL Association, the Professional Liability Underwriters Society (PLUS), Lloyd’s of London, Crittenden, the American Association of Health Plans, and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Dr. Anderson currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the RAND Institute for Civil Justice and several committees within the MPL Association. He serves as an honorary faculty member for the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). He also serves as a member of the Finance Committee for the Napa Valley Community Foundation and as a member of the OLE Health Foundation Board of Directors.

Dr. Anderson is the former Chair of the MPL Association and served on its Board for 10 years. He is a recipient of the Peter Sweetland Award of Excellence for his contributions to the MPL Association, the insurance community, and the healthcare professions.

He is also the first recipient of the PLUS Foundation’s Award for Outstanding Leadership in Healthcare Professional Liability.

After graduating from Stanford Medical School, Dr. Anderson completed his internship and residency at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Hospital, followed by his postdoctoral fellowship in medical oncology at Stanford. He received his bachelor of arts degree magna cum laude from Yale College.

Julius E. Hamilton, MD
Dr. Julius Hamilton was elected to the Board of Directors of PPM in October 2025. He is a practicing cardiac anesthesiologist and serves as President and CEO of Physician Specialists in Anesthesia, P.C. (PSA), based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded at Saint Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta in 1980, PSA has grown into one of the region’s largest and most respected community-based anesthesiology practices. Dr. Hamilton has held leadership roles in both state and national anesthesiology societies, reflecting his commitment to advancing the specialty. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from the Medical University of South Carolina, completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Chicago, and finished his medical training with a cardiothoracic anesthesiology fellowship at Emory University.

Ian J. Kallmeyer, MD
Dr. Kallmeyer was elected a Director of PPM in October 2020. A board-certified cardiac anesthesiologist based in Phoenix, AZ, Dr. Kallmeyer previously served as Senior Vice President of Anesthesia for Envision Physician Services and as President of Valley Anesthesiology Consultants, Ltd. In 2026, Dr. Kallmeyer returned to full-time clinical practice to continue a passion for patient care. Dr. Kallmeyer is a Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesia at the University of Arizona and a Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

David McHale, JD
David McHale, JD, is the Chief Legal and Human Resources Officer of The Doctors Company, where he oversees the legal, regulatory compliance, human resources, and government relations activities for the company. Prior to joining The Doctors Company, Mr. McHale was a Vice President and Deputy General Counsel with Nationwide Insurance. Prior to joining Nationwide, he served in a variety of positions with Allstate Insurance Company. A frequent presenter before trade associations and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, he has also authored articles on cybersecurity and cyber, legal, and enterprise risk management.

Mr. McHale holds an undergraduate degree in government from the University of San Francisco, a law degree from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Illinois.

Steven R. Sanford, JD
Mr. Sanford rejoined the PPM Board as a Director in 2017. Mr. Sanford previously served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of PPM until his retirement in November 2017. During his 26 years with PPM, he served in various leadership roles beginning his career in the Claims Department. Prior to joining PPM, Mr. Sanford was Senior Attorney for Kansas Health Care Stabilization Fund, an excess insurance provider for health care practitioners in the state of Kansas. Mr. Sanford also served 11 years on the Board of Directors of the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation and is a practicing attorney in Topeka, Kansas.

Steven B. Schulman MD, MHA, FASA
Dr. Schulman has served as a Director of PPM since 2026. He is a board-certified anesthesiologist practicing in Roslyn, New York, and has been President of New York Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, P.C. since 2013. He also serves as Associate Medical Director at St. Francis Hospital and Heart Center in Roslyn, New York.

Dr. Schulman is the Past President of the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists and an active member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Committee on Economics. He earned his medical degree from Albany Medical College and a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

A nationally recognized speaker, Dr. Schulman frequently presents on practice management and private practice anesthesiology.

Charles C. Smith, MBA
Mr. Smith was appointed a Director of PPM in March 2022. Mr. Smith has served as the CEO of Mountain West Anesthesia, LLC (MWA) in the Salt Lake City, UT area since 2003. Prior to becoming the CEO of MWA, Mr. Smith was the Regional Director Practice Management for Team Health Anesthesia Management Services and Regional Director Practice Management for Integrated Specialists Management Services, Inc., being directly involved in operations for clients acquired in surrounding states. His work included improving governance, operations, internal client communications and expansion of business. Mr. Smith worked closely with Legal and Finance Departments to coordinate resolution of financial, legal, or governance related client issues. Mr. Smith has an MBA from Westminster College, Salt Lake City, UT; and a BS in Accounting from Brigham Young University in Provo, UT.

Marco Vanderlaan, CPA
Marco Vanderlaan, CPA, is the Chief Financial Officer for The Doctors Company and Treasurer of The Doctors Company, an Interinsurance Exchange. He also serves as TDC Group Chief Risk Officer. Mr. Vanderlaan serves on the boards of, and as CFO and Treasurer of, a number of TDC Group strategic business units. Prior to joining The Doctors Company in 2001, Mr. Vanderlaan was Vice President of Finance for Move.com (now Move, Inc.) and a Senior Manager with Deloitte & Touche (now Deloitte). Prior to becoming CFO in 2019, Mr. Vanderlaan held a variety of finance-related senior leadership positions with The Doctors Company. As CFO, he is focused on enhancing our market leadership, financial success, and risk intelligence while maintaining the conservative business philosophy that empowers our mission to advance, protect, and reward the practice of good medicine.

Mr. Vanderlaan holds a bachelor’s degree in business economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is a certified public accountant.

Robert E. White, Jr.
Robert E. White, Jr., is President of TDC Group. In his current role, Mr. White oversees the operations of the four business units that make up TDC Group: The Doctors Company, TDC Specialty Underwriters, Healthcare Risk Advisors, and ProAssurance. He assists in the growth of TDC Group and expands its mission-based platform for service to healthcare in whatever practice model members and insureds choose.

Mr. White has more than 50 years of experience in the insurance industry. He managed the claims and loss prevention departments of several commercial and doctor-owned insurance companies before coming to The Doctors Company in an administrative capacity more than 25 years ago. Additionally, he served as President of the insurance operations of FPIC Insurance Group from 2002 to 2011.

He graduated magna cum laude from San Francisco State University. Mr. White is Chairman of the Board of the Florida Justice Reform Institute, a Member of the Florida Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and a Board Member of the Florida Insurance Council, as well as a Board Member and former Chair of the Board of Governors of the Florida Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association. Mr. White is also a former Board Member of the Medical Professional Liability Association, and currently serves on three of its committees. Mr. White received the 2026 Award of Excellence in Honor of Peter Sweetland; the award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated exceptional service, leadership, and long-standing commitment to the MPL community.