Employees

Our employees are what set us apart from other brokers.  The following are the biographies of our two principal consultants.

Executive Team

Sam Slade, CEBS
President

Sam is the president of Bluff Head Enterprises, which he founded in 1992 after working as a consultant at Johnson & Higgins/A. Foster Higgins and Travelers Insurance Company.  

Sam joined Johnson & Higgins/A. Foster Higgins as a consultant in their Anchorage office in 1987, where he worked primarily for large, and complex, Taft-Hartley Trust Funds.  In 1998, he transferred with Johnson & Higgins back to their Stamford, Connecticut office where he worked primarily for middle market and large corporate clients.  Prior to working at Johnson & Higgins, Sam worked with Travelers in their Anchorage, Alaska field sales office of the Group Insurance department.

Sam is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where he obtained a Bachelors degree in 1983.  Sam has achieved the prestigious Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) designation that is co-sponsored by the Wharton School of Business, and is generally recognized as one of the more demanding professional development programs.

Sam lives in Wakefield, Rhode Island, with his wife Susan and their three young boys.  He is involved in coaching youth sports, and enjoys traveling with his family and competing in amateur golf events in his spare time.

 

Patrick Canavan
Vice President

Patrick Canavan is a vice president at BHE and has been with BHE since 1999.  Patrick is responsible for managing all aspects of daily client activities.  He has experience with health & welfare plan design, flex plan administration, legal compliance and employee communications to go along with his financial and technical expertise.

Prior to joining the BHE team, Patrick worked at Towers Perrin for five years.  He worked in the Defined Benefit Systems group as a pension calculation analyst in their Philadelphia office and then transitioned to the Personalized Communications practice in their Boston office where he led personalized communication and interactive open enrollment projects.  At Towers Perrin, Patrick had led projects for clients such as International Paper, Fleet Bank, Scotts Company, Boston University, University of Miami, and Gilbane.

Patrick received his Bachelor's Degree in Mathematics and Operations Management from LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York and a Master's Degree of Business Administration in Finance from Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York. 

Patrick lives in Kingston, Rhode Island with his wife, Catherine, and their two daughters.  He enjoys sailing, tennis and coaching youth sports.

 

Michael Micgiel
Consultant

Michael Micgiel is a consultant and has been with BHE since 2009.  Mike is responsible for our work with both small and large group clients, as well as the day-to-day operations of Bluff Head Enterprises itself.  In the fall of 2009 he was licensed for life and health in Rhode Island.

Mike received his Bachelors degree in Accounting from Providence College in 2008, and then joined BHE after he completed his Masters Degree in Business Administration, also at Providence College.

Mike lives in Warwick, Rhode Island.  He enjoys basketball, photography, and music.

 

What are our clients saying about us?

We have worked with Bluff Head Enterprises since our inception in 1998.  Every broker will tell you that they can deliver the best plans for your company and provide great customer service, but BHE actually delivers on that.  The BHE consultants are always available to address our concerns and answer our questions.  Even though they are based on the east coast and we are based in California, we have never had an issue getting a timely response.  They have been one of our strategic partners and have assisted us with all of our benefits challenges over the years.  Regarding the quality of their work, BHE always works hard and delivers on their promises so we are confident that we are providing the most cost efficient plans for our employees.

Vice President of Finance & Administration, Irvine, CA