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SAIF promotes Ian Williams to chief operating officer

Pamela Ahr promoted to new role of chief safety officer.

SAIF has promoted Ian Williams to chief operating officer. Ian currently is vice president of human resources.

In his new role, Ian will oversee the claims, information technology, and administrative services divisions. For the near future, he'll also continue to directly oversee HR. SAIF's current COO, Bill Barr, will be retiring on April 1.  

“As vice president of HR, Ian set in motion important strategic initiatives to improve SAIF's culture, employee experience, and diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Kerry Barnett, president and CEO of SAIF. “He has shown himself to be an excellent problem solver and one who can act quickly and reliably in any situation.”

A graduate of the University of Bedfordshire in the United Kingdom, Ian has held a variety of HR positions in both the U.K. and the U.S. Most recently, he served as a vice president of human resources at Belden Inc. in Portland before joining SAIF in 2019.  

In addition, Pamela Ahr has been promoted to a newly created position, chief safety officer. In the new role, she will be part of SAIF's executive leadership team and will continue leading SAIF's Safe and Healthy Workplace Center.  

Pamela has been with SAIF since 2003, primarily as a field safety consultant. She graduated from Arizona State University and has a master's degree from the University of Oregon. She also has an associate degree in risk management and is a certified safety professional.  

About SAIF

SAIF is Oregon's not-for-profit workers' compensation insurance company. Since 1914, we've been taking care of injured workers, helping people get back to work, and striving to make Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work. For more information, visit the About SAIF page on saif.com.

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