The Story Behind the Abrupt Departure of One of Oregon’s Highest-Paid Public Employees

It’s not every day that a public employee in Oregon walks away from a job that pays nearly $850,000 a year.

But when Charles “Chip” Terhune III abruptly—and quietly—left his post as CEO of SAIF Corp. last month, his employer announced the departure in a remarkably indirect fashion.

On April 13, the company issued a press release headlined “SAIF names Ian Williams as interim president and CEO” of the state-chartered public corporation that dominates the…