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Miami insurance agent Alex Soto has been inaugurated as the new president of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”), with Robert E. Fulwider and C. Brett Nilsson assuming the offices of president-elect and vice president, respectively. The new officers were sworn in at the Big “I” Leadership Conference in New Orleans.

Soto is president of Miami, Fla.-based InSource Inc. Soto has been active in the Big “I” nationally and in the Florida Association of Independent Agents during his 34-year career as an independent insurance agent. He is a past chairman of the FAIA and also a past director on IIABA’s national board. He has served as chairman of the Big “I” Communications Committee, Branding Task Force and other committees. He was a founder of the Trusted Choice brand for independent agents and brokers.

Fulwider is principal and president of the Ray Wuestenberg Agency Inc. in West Liberty, Iowa, and of the Fulwider Agency Inc. in West Branch, Iowa. He also is president of Bob Fulwider and Associates, a life-and-health financial-planning agency in eastern Iowa. Fulwider started his career as an independent agent in 1973. He is a past president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Iowa and currently sits on its Education Committee. He also is the only two-time Agent of the Year in IIAI history (1983, 1990) and was inducted into the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame in 2003. Nationally, he is a past chairman of the Big “I” Government Affairs Committee and the association’s Crop Insurance Task Force, and he also has chaired several other Big “I” national committees.

Nilsson is senior vice president for The Buckner Company, based in Salt Lake City. Nilsson served as president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Utah from 1992-93. He also served as a director on the Big “I” national board for nine years. Nilsson was chairman of IIABA’s Finance Committee, which he chaired from 1999-2003, and served on IIABA’s Communications Committee. He has been intimately involved in the Big “I” Trusted Choice Junior Classic golf tournament for a number of years. Nilsson is a past recipient of Utah’s Agent of the Year and Young Agent of the Year awards, and he received an IIABA Presidential Citation in 2001. In 2003, Nilsson received his state association’s highest individual honor, the Burgener Award.

The national insurance agency network, Strategic Independent Agents Alliance, announced that Bill DeChard has been promoted to SIAA’s executive vice president for marketing and consolidations. DeChard will serve as a senior marketing officer responsible for distribution of various SIAA services and products.

DeChard joined the New Hampshire-headquartered SIAA three years ago as a member of the SIAA senior management team with the task of working on the recruitment of agencies. He previously worked as a retail producer, Florida surplus lines agent and owned a retail agency.

Burns & Wilcox, the specialty insurance provider, has opened a new office in Portland, Maine. The announcement was made by Richard C. Trippe Jr., Burns & Wilcox assistant branch manager for the company’s Baltimore office.

Burns & Wilcox also announced that Linda Pope, who most recently served as senior underwriter for Burns & Wilcox’s Atlanta office, will spearhead the opening of the Maine office and will manage the center’s day to day operation. The New England office’s initial focus will be on commercial lines products, including large property, liquor liability, general liability, professional liability, excess and umbrellas. Other Burns & Wilcox product offerings include environmental and ocean marine-related packages for marine related risks.

On the heels of its fifth anniversary, Mystic Capital Advisors Group LLC out of New York announced the newest member of its investment banking team: Allen Go, a senior associate. Go is relocating from Philadelphia to become a part of Mystic Capital’s New York City office. He will primarily focus on North American-based insurance transactions.

Mystic Capital Advisors Group provides financial consulting services to the insurance and financial services industries.

Michael Ascher has joined The Demetriou Group as a marketing representative. Ascher will be responsible for advertising materials, broker relations and business development. Demetriou Group is a wholesale broker with offices in New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Ascher comes to Demetriou Group from previous work as an account manager with a Florida and Oklahoma marketing firm. Most recently he was with the advertising agency, McCann Erickson.

Joseph Morrello has been hired as Beazley Group plc’s U.S. Eastern region underwriting manager, mid-market commercial property, covering the east coast from Maine to Florida. He will be based in New Jersey.

Beazley has been underwriting U.S. commercial property business, generally for large risks, on a surplus lines basis through the Beazley syndicates at Lloyd’s since 1992. From early next year, the company plans to also serve mid-market clients seeking coverage on an admitted basis.

Morrello joins Beazley from FM Global/Affiliated FM Insurance Company where he was operations vice president.

Insurance broker Beecher Carlson has expanded its New York Executive Liability team with the addition of Michael McGowan as producer. Prior to joining Beecher Carlson, McGowan served as national sales and marketing manager for NWI Investigative Group Inc. McGowan also served as national sales and marketing manager for InPhoto Surveillance Inc., a private investigative company.

WKF&C Agency Inc., an excess and surplus lines managing general agent headquartered in New York, has added a regional office in Southern California. Bill Kropp has been hired as vice president and will spearhead the operation from the new offices in Woodland Hills. Kropp will be writing small, medium and large property accounts. He will also be responsible for all activities for the new California office.

GAB Robins North America Inc., the global risk management services firm, has named Kim Tranquilli to lead sales efforts in the New York City area.

Tranquilli joins GAB Robins from Risk Enterprise Management Ltd., where she served as a senior account executive covering the Northeast. Prior to that, she was with ESIS covering the New York area.

Topics Florida New York Agencies Excess Surplus Iowa Maine