James D. Watt
President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of EBS
Jim joined EBS at its founding in 1995.
Jim’s primary responsibilities include the management of the firm and oversight of client engagements. With 24 years of experience in the design, communication, administration and the funding of employee benefit plans, his experiences have involved companies of all sizes, including Fortune 1000 companies. During his career, his expertise in ERISA and regulatory compliance, post retirement and post employment benefits, employee communications and plan administration has helped complete many strategy design projects and consult on group health and welfare plans, self-funded and VEBA trust funded plans and other managed care health plans.
Previously, Jim was a Senior Account Executive of CIGNA Healthcare in Sales and Marketing in Los Angeles. In October 1993, he was instrumental in engineering the development of the first market based Health Insurance Purchasing Cooperative (HIPC).
Jim is a frequent speaker at seminars sponsored by HR Houston, Houston Business Group on Health (HBGH) and other industry related forums. Jim is a thought leader and the "voice" of healthcare issues in Texas, and he’s frequently quoted in the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Business Journal and Market News.
Jim is also the former Director of the Employee Benefit Planning Association of Los Angeles and is a graduate of the Boston University School of Management, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1985.
John A. Currie, CLU, CEBS
Principal and Vice President of EBS
John’s primary responsibilities include the development and implementation of innovative strategies for the design, funding and administration of corporate and public sector employee benefit plans. With 35 years of experience in the design, administration and funding of employee benefit plans, his extensive experience encompasses group health and welfare plans, self-funded and VEBA trust funded plans, managed care health plans as well as qualified and non-qualified retirement plans. John’s also an expert in ERISA and regulatory compliance, post-retirement and post-employment benefits, employee communications, and plan administration.
John began his career as a Group and Pension Representative with Aetna. He joined the newly formed employee benefits and life department of Adams & Porter Associates in 1978 and took over management of that department in 1985. When Adams & Porter was acquired in 1987 by Aon Corporation, John became the President and Chairman of the operating company for Aon's benefits consulting and brokerage operations in Texas. He served Aon as a Senior Vice President and Head of the Houston Office of the international benefits consulting firm Godwins Booke & Dickenson (currently known as Aon Consulting) and was a member of the firm's National Health & Welfare Practice Council. In 1995, he joined the regional benefits consulting firm J. E. Stone & Associates, where he spent three years as a Principal and Account Manager.
John is a graduate of Bowdoin College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Government and Legal Studies. His professional accreditations and degrees include Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) from The American College and Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. John is a member of the SouthWest Benefits Association (SWBA) and the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS). John has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Houston Chapter of ISCEBS and the Board of Trustees of The Regis School of the Sacred Heart.
Brett R. Haugh
Principal and Consultant with EBS
Brett assists clients in the design, funding, administration, implementation and management of total compensation and human resource policy programs.
Before joining EBS, Brett served as a Senior Consultant with Towers Perrin for seven years in the Houston office. Prior to his work with Towers Perrin, Brett was a consultant in the Actuarial Benefits and Compensation Consulting Practice at Coopers & Lybrand (C&L), working in human resource management and benefits program consulting. During that time, his responsibilities included the financial analysis, strategic design and marketing of a wide range of benefit programs.
Since joining EBS, Brett has worked with clients to establish benefit plan objectives, develop flexible benefit programs that meet those objectives and monitor benefit plan performance.
Brett has extensive experience providing consulting services to high growth and acquisition-oriented companies that value the role of benefits as a form of total compensation and understand the importance of human capital in the workforce. Brett currently serves as an active member of the University of Houston - Clear Lake Undergraduate Advisory Review Board in Healthcare Administration and serves as a member of the Louisiana Healthcare Association's Advisory Commission on managed care health plans. Brett is a frequent speaker at seminars sponsored by HR Houston, Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, Louisiana Healthcare Association, the Bluebonnet Human Resource Management Group and the Houston Compensation Association at the Texas Total Rewards conference.
Brett holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University.