One Call CEO departs...

Jay Krueger is leaving One Call after serving 5 1/2 year, first as a Director than for the last 3+ years as CEO. One Call will miss Jay, who added stability, a level head, and understanding of the workers’ comp space to leadership and the Board.

He also led One Call when it drastically improved its profitability, no mean feat.

Note I consider Jay a personal friend; he is a good man.

Long-time readers will know I weighed in frequently on One Call’s various travails, self-inflicted wounds, under-performing management, lack of a coherent strategy and various financial disasters - all of which (except some highly questionable Board decisions) did NOT occur while Jay was CEO.

In what I can only describe as yet another misstep by the Board, Jay’s replacement marks a return to wondering “what were they thinking?”.

While undoubtedly a very successful former CEO with a long track record, Nicholas Mendez has no documented familiarity with the workers’ comp industry, a notoriously parochial sector always on the watch for non-work-comp execs entering industry and hyper-alert to categorize them as “outsiders”.

Mendez’ background is on the provider side in medical devices and equipment and specialty care (kidney disease). While there is some carry-over, the weirdness of workers’ comp requires a steep learning curve, one laced with landmines (what is a “claim”, the long tail of work comp, a shrinking industry regulated by 52 different entities with almost no exposure regulation by CMS and the Feds…)

I’d note that One Call has abandoned its foray(s) into non-workers’ comp sectors started under Jay’s predecessors. With very few exceptions these efforts by other workers’ comp services companies have - to be generous - not worked out. Kudos to Jay and his team for making what was likely a tough decision.

Lastly, what, exactly, is “The Plan”?

Other sources indicate the Board is, well, less than collegial - the company’s owners have sued each other.

At some point the owners will want to sell the business…and there haven’t been credible reports of internal investment or acquisitions to increase earnings.

All that coupled with what may well be unrealistic expectations for a sale price and reluctance by potential buyers to look at a company that hasn’t invested in the business whose owners are suing each other makes it difficult - at least for me - to figure out The Plan.

What does this mean for you?

The business case that is One Call continues to provide lessons for us all.