Iowa Insurance Commissioner Therese M. Vaughan has resigned effective at the end of the year and will join the faculty at Drake University, the school announced recently. Vaughan has been named the Robb B. Kelley distinguished professor of insurance and actuarial science. Vaughan was chairwoman of the insurance department at Drake before being named Iowa’s insurance commissioner in 1994. She is the longest-serving commissioner in Iowa history, and was noted for her company-friendly approach toward regulation. Vaughan will be succeeded by her deputy, Susan E. Voss.
Shibu Joykutty has been named director of internal audit at Ohio-based property/casualty insurer Westfield Group, assuming responsibility for the short- and long-range development, planning and implementation of a comprehensive, independent, internal audit function. Joykutty held various internal audit positions before joining Westfield in August 2002. Most recently, he served as the technology risk and assurance director and was charged with evaluating the technology risks of the organization.
Peoria, Ill.-based specialty risk insurer RLI Corp. appointed Jordan W. Graham to its board of directors, effective Nov. 18, with a term expiring in 2005. Graham, a business strategy and technology consultant, most recently was an executive with Cisco Systems Inc., where he was vice president of Cisco’s Services Industry Consulting. His team provided business strategy and Internet consulting services to senior executives at Global 500 firms in the financial services, healthcare, pharmaceutical, energy, and media/entertainment industries globally.
The Farmington Hills, Mich.-based home office of national specialty insurance wholesaler, underwriter and managing general agent Burns & Wilcox recently announced two promotions.
Joanne Roe was promoted to manger of technical services and home office manager, and Jack Graham was promoted to manager of technology application and development. In addition to Roe’s current duties, she is also responsible for the professionalism and decorum of the home office. Roe will assist management with guidance on office conduct, dress code, workstation appearance and general office appearance to uphold the polished, professional image of the company to their clients.
Roe joined Burns & Wilcox in June 2002 as manager of the newly formed technical services group. With more than 30 years of property/casualty insurance experience, she has developed standard processes and procedures for policy processing and improved the company’s filing system in addition to serving as an expert on best practices across multiple lines of business. Roe resides in Livonia, Mich.
As manager of application development and support, Graham is responsible for leading all programming, testing, implementation and support activities for the company’s application system in addition to new development projects and IT support. Graham joined Burns & Wilcox in April 2004 as IT systems analyst. With more than 15 years of IT experience in the insurance and banking business, he has developed and supported systems for insurance companies, MGAs and retail agents including web-based systems, system conversions, and customizing packaged applications. Graham currently resides in Royal Oak, Mich.
East Lansing, Mich.-based regional medical liability insurer American Physicians Capital Inc. announced that private investor Joseph Stilwell has joined the company’s board of directors in exchange for supporting the company’s slate of directors. Stilwell is a New York based-private investor and his Stilwell Group is one of the company’s largest shareholders. Spencer Schneider, who was appointed to the board in 2002 as a nominee of the Stilwell Group and later elected by shareholders for a three-year term, will continue as a director.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, has named Natalie J. Romo to serve as a commissioner on the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission. She will serve as the employer representative on Panel B, and handle calls in Chicago, Collinsville and Mt. Vernon. Romo holds a law degree as well as a master’s degree in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois. As an attorney, she has concentrated her practice in representing employers in workers’ compensation claims for the law firm of Hennessy and Roach. The appointment requires Senate confirmation. Her term is effective immediately and runs through January 2007.
The Cincinnati Financial Corp. announced that at its regular meeting on Nov. 12, 2004, the board of directors received and accepted the request of Robert C. Schiff to retire, effective immediately, from boards of the parent company and its four insurance subsidiaries. Additionally, the board accepted Frank J. Schultheis‘s request not to stand for re-election to boards of the parent company and two insurance subsidiaries. He will complete his regular term, which runs until the April 2005 annual meeting of shareholders.
Schiff was a founding agent and director of the Cincinnati Insurance Co. in 1950 and a director of Cincinnati Financial since it was incorporated in 1968. He retired earlier this year from Schiff, Kreidler-Shell Inc., a large Cincinnati-area insurance agency where he had served as chairman since 1991 and president from 1984 to 1991. He formed the agency in 1984 after leaving his position as senior vice president of CIC to expand his agency business, previously named Schiff Insurance Inc. Schiff is the uncle of Chairman and CEO John J. Schiff Jr.
Frank Schultheis joined the Cincinnati Financial board in 1995 and was appointed in 1996 to the boards of CIC and the Cincinnati Indemnity Co. He served on executive committees of the parent company and property casualty insurance subsidiaries. He is the retiring president of Schultheis Insurance Agency Inc., an Evansville, Ind.-based independent agency that has represented the Cincinnati Insurance Cos. since 1970.
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