Chip Terhune spent years climbing to the top of Oregon’s workers’ comp world, taking over as SAIF’s CEO in July 2021 and landing among the state’s highest paid public employees. This spring, it unraveled fast. He submitted his resignation on March 25, with a last day set for May 1, after an internal ethics investigation and a board move to line up a closed-door discipline meeting. SAIF later cut Terhune a lump-sum separation check for $260,000, and he quickly resurfaced in a senior regional post with national broker Brown & Brown.
Board Installs Interim Leader
In the scramble that followed, SAIF’s board turned to Ian Williams, naming him interim president and CEO in an April 9 press release and setting April 13 as his start date in the top job. The board said it had met to discuss Terhune’s resignation letter and offered public praise for his role in modernizing the organization. SAIF also said it would launch a nationwide hunt for a permanent successor.
Complaint, Interviews And A Quick Exit
Reporting by the Oregon Journalism Project shows that an anonymous employee filed a sexual harassment complaint on Dec. 10, 2025. SAIF then hired the Barran Liebman law firm to run an ethics investigation. Emails obtained by the outlet indicate that the corporation’s chief legal counsel, Jill Gragg, oversaw the work and kept the board updated while investigators interviewed Terhune and other employees. When the board signaled it would call a closed session to consider discipline, Terhune turned in his resignation on March 25 and asked to stay through July. The board instead locked in May 1 as his last day. Oregon Journalism Project
Terhune’s Next Move
Terhune did not stay on the sidelines for long. Within weeks of leaving SAIF, he was tapped by Brown & Brown to lead its Portland and Southwest Washington operations. S&P/MarketScreener reported that the company announced the move on May 7 and that Terhune is slated to start June 15. The position puts him over a much smaller local business than SAIF, which has a workforce of roughly 1,200 people, and marks a quick jump back into the private sector. S&P/MarketScreener first flagged the hire.
Secrecy And Public Records Fight
According to the Oregon Journalism Project, SAIF has declined to release the investigator’s report, citing attorney client privilege. The Oregon Department of Justice later refused to force disclosure in a public records dispute, a decision that keeps the findings locked away even as SAIF negotiated Terhune’s exit and the six figure release payment. Oregon Journalism Project
How The Law Treats Internal Probes
Oregon’s public records rules give agencies room to hold back certain investigative files and legal advice, using attorney client and investigatory exemptions, and they set up an appeal route to the Attorney General for people who are denied records. State guidance from the Department of Justice walks through how those exemptions work and how to challenge a denial, a path that many requesters follow before heading to court. Oregon DOJ
Why This Matters To Employers And Workers
SAIF is a major state chartered insurer that covers more than 54,000 employers and plays a big role in Oregon’s worker safety and comp system. It returned a $210 million dividend to policyholders in 2021, then cut that payout to $50 million in 2025 as conditions shifted. Those swings, laid out in the company’s public filings and annual materials, help explain why lawmakers and businesses keep a close eye on how SAIF is run and how transparent it is when trouble hits the C suite. SAIF’s 2025 annual report
What’s Next
SAIF says its leadership is keeping the focus on employers and injured workers while the board searches for a permanent CEO, but the fast turnover at the top has stirred new calls for clarity on how public corporations handle internal misconduct investigations. For Terhune, the story is a quick pivot back into a well paid private sector role. For SAIF policyholders and Oregon officials, it is a test of how public money and public trust are handled when a high profile leader exits under a cloud and the details stay behind closed doors.
