The counsel behind
Kite Services
Russ is the founding and principal partner of Kite Services, L.P. — a strategic consultancy built on more than four decades of senior leadership experience at the intersection of risk management, underwriting, and organizational strategy. His primary expertise lies in designing and managing complex risk programs, group medical structures, and self-funded benefit plans for organizations ranging from public entities and risk pools to private-sector companies of all sizes.
Throughout his career, Russ has served as CFO, Chief Investment Officer, and Chief Underwriting Officer, and has designed and administered over twenty self-funded group risk programs — spanning group health, workers' compensation, unemployment, and property-casualty lines. His deep fluency in underwriting, actuarial strategy, and risk retention enables him to translate complex program structures into clear, actionable counsel for boards and executive teams. Most recently, Russ served as Managing Partner and Senior Vice President at one of the top 20 commercial insurance brokerage firms in the United States.
Beyond risk and finance, Russ brings the credibility of an entrepreneur. He has built and operated multi-franchise restaurant and hospitality ventures — experience that grounds his strategic counsel in the realities of ownership, operations, and the decisions that actually matter at the business level.
Beyond the Work
For Russ and his wife Barb — married over forty-two years — travel and pilgrimage are not vacations. They are life experiences. Together they have walked hundreds of miles on two of the world's most celebrated pilgrimages: the Camino de Santiago, the ancient route across northern Spain to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, and The Way of St. Francis (Via di Francesco), tracing the path of Saint Francis through the hills and medieval villages of central Italy. These journeys — undertaken on foot, in faith, and in each other's company — reflect a life oriented toward something larger than work.
When closer to home, Russ and Barb can be found on the fairways of some of the finest golf courses the Texas Hill Country has to offer — chasing a good round among the live oaks and cedar-scented air. When away, he and Barb trade the rolling hills for the mountains, where bluebird mornings on the slopes and crisp evening rides along Yampa River are the reward for a week well spent. Russ is equally at home on the pickleball court or casting a fly line in search of a beautiful trout.
Above all, Russ and Barb are grateful for the opportunity to serve and support the organizations and communities they are part of. They are proud grandparents to nine — Daniel, Henry, Rose, George, Tommy, Vivi, Joe, Maura, and Evan — and can often be found cheering them on at games and every kind of adventure.