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Veteran Chicago financial services executive Michael Fisher has been appointed director of new market development by Country Insurance & Financial Services and will manage its newly created Chicago district office. Fisher’s hiring as director of new market development accelerates the organization’s plans to offer insurance and investment products in Chicago for the first time in its 80-year history. Bloomington, Ill-based Country Financial said it plans to open an 8,000-square-foot Chicago district office at 55 W. Monroe in June.

Columbus, Ohio-based State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. has elected the following individuals to its Board of Directors and as senior executives.

Kenan L. Schultheis and Edwin J. Simcox have been elected to the board of directors of State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. Schultheis is agent/principal of Schultheis Insurance Agency Inc., an independent insurance agency in Evansville, Ind., and Simcox is president of the Indiana Energy Association in Indianapolis, Ind.

Schultheis, 44, became an independent insurance agent in 1981 after attending the University of Evansville. He is currently vice president and treasurer of the family owned agency. Schultheis, a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), is also a member of the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana and Society of Certified Insurance Counselors associations.

Simcox earned a degree in government and economics from Indiana University, and a Juris Doctor from the Indiana University School of Law. He served as Indiana

Secretary of State from 1978 to 1986, prior to joining the Indiana Energy Association. Simcox, 62, is a member of the Indianapolis and Indiana State Bar associations.

Lester Brue and Chris Johnson have been elected assistant vice presidents by the board of directors.

Brue, State Auto’s director of acquisition integration, has nearly 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, the last 15 of which have been with State Auto. He has served as a field sales representative, territory manager, and most recently, branch manager in Des Moines, Iowa. Brue is currently guiding the integration of the Beacon Insurance Group of Texas into the State Auto group.

Johnson, who serves as the company’s claims counsel, joined the State Auto companies in 2001 after 16 years with Nationwide and Cincinnati insurance companies. He is a former Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper who earned a juris doctor from Capital University Law School.

Kaufman Financial Group/Burns & Wilcox announced that Christopher Zoidis has joined the company as director of corporate development. In this newly created position, Zoidis will focus on acquisitions and new business opportunities. Most recently, he served as senior manager in the insurance consulting practice at Deloitte Consulting LLP, where he provided consulting services to insurance clients in the areas of mergers and acquisitions.

Schaumburg, Ill.-based Zurich announced that Cathy Benton has been named Automobile Line of Business director for its Technical Center unit in North America. Benton will manage all aspects of the Automobile Line of Business. Benton has held field and corporate office positions with Zurich for more than 15 years.

The Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions & Professional Registration announced that Larry McCord has been named the new deputy director and general counsel. McCord has served as a unit manager for DST Systems Inc., financial analyst for Sprint, corporate trust officer for UMB Bank and associate attorney for Shaffer Lombardo Shurin, P.C. in Kansas City. He also served in Operation Desert Storm and worked in private practice before taking his current position as vice president, general counsel and assistant secretary for Cameron Insurance Cos.

Lindene E. Patton, senior vice president and counsel in Zurich North America Commercial’s environmental group, has been selected to serve as a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB). Patton will provide advice and recommendations from a financial services industry perspective for EPA environmental financing programs and remediation projects. EFAB is composed of leading environmental finance experts from all levels of government, the finance, banking, business, industrial and legal sectors, as well as representatives from public interest groups.

Schaumburg, Ill.-based Assurance Agency Ltd. recently announced the addition of Mike Roseri as vice president, executive benefits consultant on Assurance’s Benefits team. He will report directly to Jackie Gould, executive vice president. Most recently, Roseri was the regional vice president for Transamerica Capital Inc. In this role he was responsible for the sales and marketing of Transamerica annuities and IDEX mutual funds. Prior to joining Transamerica in 1999, Roseri held the position of vice president and regional sales manager at LaSalle Financial Services.

Tangram Insurance Services has announced the appointment of Tom Holloway as a consultant in its Chesterfield, Mo., office. Holloway will be charged with new business development and overall management of self insurance programs, focusing on workers’ compensation, property and casualty claims adjustment, and overall risk management for both public and private entity clients in the Midwest and nationwide.

Grange Insurance recently announced that it has realigned its personal lines division by naming two regional personal lines presidents. Barry Hunlock has been named regional personal lines president for Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia and Pennsylvania. He will also oversee the company’s Integrity Insurance region, which includes Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as the special lines group, business analysis and quality assurance.

Joe DiMartino was named regional personal lines president for Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. His responsibilities also include underwriting and research.

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