Graham Ritchie Jr.

G&R's former owner, Graham Ritchie, Jr., now serves as the vice president of CH Benefits.

"The chemistry was right, the timing was right, and the need to put a whole package together for the clients was right," Ritchie says of the new company.
...
CH can now market insurance to the clients Ritchie brought with him, while Ritchie can serve the benefits needs of CH's insurance clients.
...
Ritchie, a graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius High School, received his undergraduate degree in agricultural and life sciences from Cornell University before attending the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania for his MBA.

Ritchie then spent four years on Wall Street doing trading and investments for the Bank of New York, before moving back to Central New York in 1991.He worked as a life-insurance agent with New England Financial until starting G&R in 1997.
...
His goal, Ritchie says, will be to work with employers to help them find the best matches for their benefits needs.The cookie-cutter approach to benefits is long gone, he noted, with a variety of options for employers.

That's especially important when it comes to health-care benefits, Ritchie says."It's probably the second-largest expense after payroll," he says.And costs are increasing about 15 percent a year, so employers are constantly looking for ways to keep costs manageable.

CH Benefits is independent of, but affiliated with, CH Insurance, and housed in the CH offices at 100 Madison St. Ritchie is currently the primary employee, assisted by the CH Insurance staff.

Ritchie would like to have one or two employees at CH Benefits within a year and about five employees within three years.