Expertise and Dedication The ICBA Benefits Team
The ICBA Benefits leadership team is fully dedicated to serving your needs. Our decades of experience are mixed with genuine enthusiasm for our clients and the benefits you depend on. Our executive team, client relationship team, benefit administrators, agents, underwriters and finance team have assembled their talents, knowledge, hard work and determination to make ICBA Benefits one of Western Canada’s top third-party administrators, and a major force in the benefits industry.
Chris Gardner
President
Chris Gardner has led the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association since 2017, managing the platform through an exciting period of change and growth. Under his leadership in 2019 and 2021, ICBA won the Washington, DC-based Reed Award as North America’s best trade association. Before joining ICBA, he was a senior executive at two of the largest workforce accommodation and logistics companies in North America, Civeo and Britco, and served as principal secretary to the 35th Premier of British Columbia, Christy Clark.
Mark Spence
Senior Vice President, Group Health and Retirement Benefits
In late 2019, Mark took over the ICBA Benefits team after six years in employee group benefits leadership with GroupHEALTH Benefit Solutions. He has a long-term, demonstrated record of building and executing business plans, growing revenue, creating customer loyalty and business partner synergy, and leading successful teams across various industries including technology, marketing and not-for profit.
Karen Bell
Vice President, Strategic Systems
Since 2017, when she joined ICBA after three decades at Pacific Blue Cross, Karen has led and managed a significant modernization effort, updating several key ICBA information technology and client service systems. Her commitment to providing the best client experience possible drives all of her efforts.
Leah Rennie
Vice President, Client Services
Leah joined ICBA Benefits in 2007, and she leads a team of insurance professionals which uses group health insurance product and service expertise to deliver innovative solutions to clients in an increasingly complex industry. Leah’s strong commitment to providing clients an exceptional customer experience, means clients have the solutions to meet the needs of their teams.
David Harstrom
VP, Underwriting & Consulting
With 20 years dedicated to the group insurance industry, David has a strong reputation as both a creative force for his clients, and a valued partner to the insurers and service providers he chooses to work with. Knowledge, integrity, ingenuity and exceptional customer service are the cornerstones that David uses to build customized benefit plans for ICBA Benefits clients.
David Gaskin
Chief Financial Officer
David has been a Chartered Professional Accountant for the past 25 years. He joined ICBA in 2019 after working in financial institutions for more than two decades. While at Coast Capital Savings, he led the finance function as it grew into the first Canadian credit union to become federal, taking on clients outside its provincial borders.