BLOOMINGTON, Minn., September 9, 2026 — Emerging Therapy Solutions® (ETS), a leader in the management of cell and gene therapies and transplants, today announced the appointment of Richard Fleder to its Board of Directors.
Fleder’s appointment completes a two-position expansion of the ETS Board as the company continues to broaden its reach across the self-insured employer, payer and risk-bearing markets. His experience building and scaling organizations across the health benefits ecosystem brings an important commercial and strategic perspective as ETS expands CGT360™ and its broader high-cost complex-care capabilities.
Fleder brings decades of experience building, leading and advising companies across the self-insurance market. His background spans third-party administration, benefits consulting, stop-loss and reinsurance, pharmacy benefit management, specialty-drug cost containment and private equity-backed growth. His perspective will help ETS further align its high-cost complex care solutions with the needs of self-funded employers, health plans, stop-loss and reinsurance carriers, and the advisors serving them.
“Richard is a proven entrepreneur and one of the most experienced and respected leaders in the self-insured market,” said Ashley Hume, CEO of Emerging Therapy Solutions. “He understands how employers, payers, carriers and advisors evaluate risk, build sustainable programs and bring innovative solutions to market. He also knows what it takes to build and scale companies in complex healthcare markets. That combination of industry knowledge, commercial judgment and entrepreneurial experience will be invaluable as ETS continues to grow and expand the impact of our solutions.”
Fleder began his insurance career in 1975 and went on to build and lead several successful health benefits organizations. In 1978, he created Comprehensive Benefit Service Company, which grew to become the largest third-party administrator in the Northeast before its sale. He later developed Thesco Benefits, one of the country’s largest independent benefits brokerage and consulting firms, and subsequently founded ELMC Risk Solutions, which consolidated stop-loss and health maintenance organization reinsurance managing general underwriters.
Most recently, Fleder has focused on pharmacy benefit management, prescription-drug cost containment and payment integrity. He founded ELMCRx Solutions in 2019 and serves as its CEO, now under the rebranded identity, Caribou. Caribou is focused exclusively on pharmacy claims auditing, claims monitoring, and fiduciary oversight, partnering with benefit brokers, TPAs, and self-funded employer groups to deliver its services.
“The cost and complexity of advanced therapies are creating significant challenges across the self-insured market, but they are also creating an opportunity to approach health care risk differently,” Fleder said. “ETS is combining clinical expertise, data, patient support, provider access and financial strategy to help organizations act before a high-cost claim occurs. I look forward to working with Ashley and the board to build on that strong foundation, sharpen the company’s strategy and bring these capabilities to more employers and payers.”
Fleder also serves on the Self-Insurance Institute of America’s 2026 Cell and Gene Task Force, chaired by Hume, bringing together leaders from across the industry to address the clinical and financial implications of advanced therapies.
He has served on corporate boards and industry advisory groups throughout his career, including roles with health benefits, insurance and cost-management organizations. Fleder earned his degree from Franklin & Marshall College and holds the Chartered Life Underwriter designation from The American College.
His appointment follows the August addition of Luke Prettol, CEBS, to the ETS Board. Together, the two new directors bring complementary perspectives from the employer, payer, stop-loss, reinsurance and broader self-insured markets as ETS continues expanding its reach and capabilities.
ETS provides specialized solutions across the complex care continuum, beginning with pipeline and population-risk intelligence and proactive patient identification and continuing through treatment navigation, Centers of Excellence and provider access, clinical and financial management and outcomes monitoring. Its expertise helps payers anticipate and manage the clinical and financial risks associated with cell and gene therapies, solid organ and bone marrow transplants, and other highly specialized treatments.
About Emerging Therapy Solutions
Emerging Therapy Solutions® (ETS) helps self-funded employers, health plans, stop-loss and reinsurance carriers, and their advisors anticipate and manage the clinical and financial complexities of cell and gene therapies, transplants and other high-cost complex care.
Through CGT360™, ETS provides end-to-end insight, foresight and oversight across the treatment journey, including pipeline and population-risk intelligence, proactive patient identification, clinical management, personalized patient navigation, financial protection strategies, and access to specialized centers of excellence and treatment networks. Serving hundreds of payers and the brokers and consultants who advise them, as well as 90% of stop-loss and reinsurance carriers, ETS helps clients anticipate needs, improve care, reduce costs and protect long-term financial stability. Its flexible solutions, contracts, and pricing models can be tailored to each organization’s risks, priorities, and existing coverage. For more information, visit emergingtherapies.com.
