1. Communications
2. News
3. Press Release

GIDEON BAUM SUCCEEDS ALEX SWEDLOW AS PRESIDENT OF CWCI

     Oakland, CA – Effective September 1, 2025, Gideon Baum will become the fifth President of the California Workers’ Compensation Institute (CWCI) in more than 60 years. Mr. Baum formally joined CWCI last year as Chief Operating Officer, where he focused on internal operations, public policy research, and representing the Institute’s members. 

     Prior to joining CWCI, Mr. Baum was a Vice President of Policy at the California Hospital Association (CHA) from 2021 to 2024, representing CHA’s members on legislative and regulatory matters impacting the health care workforce. Prior to CHA, he served as a committee consultant of the California State Senate Committee on Labor and Public Employment. In this role, Mr. Baum was closely involved with the creation and passage of significant workers’ compensation legislation, including the 2012 workers’ compensation reform bill (SB 863), the 2015 formulary bill (AB 1124), and the 2016 anti-fraud bill package (AB 1244 and SB 1160).

     “I’m deeply honored to take on this new responsibility and lead CWCI in its next chapter,” said Mr. Baum. “As CWCI looks to its next 60 years, we will continue our critical role as a truth teller and objective community resource.”           

                                                                                                              ###

The California Workers’ Compensation Institute, established in 1964, is a private, nonprofit organization of insurers licensed to write workers’ compensation in California, as well as public and private self-insured employers, who serve as associate members. CWCI’s primary function is to generate reliable, objective data that can be used to identify and monitor system-wide trends, assist members in assessing their own operations, and to analyze key issues of interest to the workers’ compensation community and public policymakers. Toward that end, the Institute also produces a wide variety of research publications, provides information and technical training to help industry professionals stay abreast of changes, and serves as a forum where members can consider system-wide issues and reach consensus on practical solutions. CWCI members include insurers that write approximately 76 percent of the workers’ compensation business in the state, and two dozen public and private self-insured employers. The Institute’s website is www.cwci.org.