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The Insurance Marketing and Communications Association named Richard Look president. He is a marketing communications veteran with agency and insurance company experience, and currently serves as vice president of marketing communications for Inventure Inc., a privately owned insurance services company based in West Chester, Pa. Look has served as director of communications for Venture Insurance Programs and was vice president of brand marketing for Commonwealth Risk Services. On the agency side, he served as president of Jenkins Advertising, vice president and account supervisor of McAdams, Richman & Ong, and managed e-marketing initiatives through Kingswood Interactive.

Other appointed IMCA 2008/2009 officers and directors are:

• Executive Vice President Linda Collins of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
• Vice President Randall Clinger of SwissRe
• Vice President Mitch Dunford of Insurance Journal
• Past President at Large: Reg Pierce of Bailey Brand Consulting

IMCA also appointed three new board members: Zdenka Melnyk of Manitoba Public Insurance, Krista Winters of American Modern Insurance Group and Mark Friedlander of Main Street America Group.

American International Group Inc. (AIG) has named Russell Johnston president and chief executive officer of AIG Environmental, a unit of AIG Commercial Insurance. Johnston assumes management responsibility for AIG Environmental from Joseph Boren, who has left the company.

Johnston joined AIG in 1990 serving in senior management positions within AIG’s Risk Management Group, including president of National Accounts, president of Domestic Risk Management and most recently as president of AIG Risk Management.

In addition, Kimberly Hanna has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of AIG Environmental. Hanna joined AIG’s Canadian operations in 1996 and in 2000, she became a product line manager for AIG Environmental. She has held various positions within the Environmental unit, including her most recent position as senior vice president and chief underwriting officer.

American International Group (AIG) named Peter Eastwood as president and chief executive officer of its surplus lines insurer Lexington Insurance Co., a unit of AIG Commercial Insurance. Eastwood assumes management responsibility for Lexington from Kevin H. Kelley, who has left the company to join Ironshore.

Eastwood joined AIG in 1991 serving in senior management positions within AIG Executive Liability, AIG Risk Finance, AIG Reinsurance Advisors and Lexington Insurance Co., including division vice president of Commercial Directors and Officers Liability Insurance and president of AIG’s Risk Specialist Companies.

Specialty insurer Ironshore Inc. named Kevin Kelley chief executive officer. Kelley has been the longtime CEO of Lexington Insurance Co., which under his leadership became the largest excess and surplus lines insurer in the world. Ironshore was formed in 2006 and writes property catastrophe and property all-risk coverage for small to mid-sized commercial risks. Bob Deutsch, the company’s founding CEO, will become Ironshore’s president.

Mark Lann has been named president and CEO of the newly created Modern Insurance Consultants, a joint venture between Rockwood Programs and Modern Insurance of Florida. The operation will be located in Homestead, Florida, and will focus on errors and omissions (E&O) insurance for insurance agents, insurance companies and miscellaneous professional liability classes.

Atlanta-based Beecher Carlson has expanded its National Property Practice with the addition of four industry professionals who will be based in Atlanta. The new team members include Cliff Simpson, Joel Troisi, Michael White and Sarah Waite.

Simpson will serve as senior managing director of the National Property Practice. Simpson has 16 years experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining Beecher Carlson, he served as executive vice president and national practice leader for Willis HRH’s North American Property Practice. He also previously worked for the Hobbs Group.

Troisi will serve as managing director. Prior to joining Beecher Carlson, Troisi served as managing director of the Southern U.S. Complex Property Group for Willis HRH.

White will serve as managing director. Prior to joining Beecher Carlson, White served as complex property marketing manger, midwest region, for Willis HRH. Before that, he served as assistant vice president at HRH. His areas of specialization include real estate, retail and manufacturing.

Waite will serve as assistant vice president, where she will be responsible for client satisfaction and retention, account management, and the support of new business production. Prior to joining Beecher Carlson, Waite served as property broker for Willis HRH.

Marsh has named David L. Eslick as chairman of Marsh & McLennan Agency, its new agency for small and emerging growth U.S. companies. Eslick most recently was chairman, president and CEO of USI Holdings. He led USI’s rapid expansion during the past five years to become the ninth largest insurance brokerage in the U.S., negotiating and completing more than 50 acquisitions in the process. Under his leadership, USI doubled its annual revenues. He will work with Jack Butcher, president and CEO of the new agency.

Eslick joined USI in San Francisco in 1997, serving as a senior vice president of Sales. He became president and chief operating officer in 1999, and chairman, president and CEO in 2002.

He began his insurance career with Ohio National Life in 1979, and held positions with Prudential Insurance and Acordia (now Wells Fargo Insurance) before joining USI.

American International Group Inc. (AIG) has named Russell Johnston president and chief executive officer of AIG Environmental, a unit of AIG Commercial Insurance and the nation’s leading Pollution Liability insurance provider. Johnston assumes management responsibility for AIG Environmental from Joseph Boren, who has left the company. Johnston joined AIG in 1990 serving in senior management positions within AIG’s Risk Management Group, including president of National Accounts, president of Domestic Risk Management and most recently as president of AIG Risk Management.

In addition, Kimberly Hanna has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer of AIG Environmental. Hanna joined AIG’s Canadian operations in 1996 and in 2000, she became a product line manager for AIG Environmental. She has held positions of increasing responsibility within the Environmental unit, including her most recent position as senior vice president and chief underwriting officer.

American International Group (AIG) named Peter Eastwood as president and chief executive officer of its surplus lines insurer Lexington Insurance Co., a unit of AIG Commercial Insurance. Eastwood assumes management responsibility for Lexington from Kevin H. Kelley, who has left the company to become CEO of specialty insurer Ironshore.

Eastwood joined AIG in 1991 serving in senior management positions within AIG Executive Liability, AIG Risk Finance, AIG Reinsurance Advisors and Lexington Insurance Co., including division vice president of Commercial Directors and Officers Liability Insurance, executive vice president and chief operating officer of AIG Risk Finance and president of AIG’s Risk Specialist Companies.

Specialty insurer Ironshore Inc. named Kevin Kelley chief executive officer. Kelley has been the longtime CEO of Lexington Insurance Co., which under his leadership became the largest excess and surplus lines insurer in the world. Ironshore was formed in 2006 and writes property catastrophe and property all-risk coverage for small to mid-sized commercial risks.

Bob Deutsch, the company’s founding CEO, will become Ironshore’s president.

Nicholas Schroeder is the first executive director of the new Surplus Lines Association of Minnesota, a non-profit organization of brokers of insurance that is placed with companies that are not licensed in Minnesota.

Schroeder previously worked as a commercial lines insurance agent for both an independent agency and a direct writer agency.

Schroeder graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2005 with a degree in Business Management Information Systems.

The association was created by legislation in 2008 to serve as a “stamping office” for surplus lines insurance policies. In Minnesota, all surplus line placements must now be filed for review with the association.

Hylant Group, one of the nation’s largest privately held commercial insurance brokerage firms, recently named Todd Belden as president in its Cincinnati, Ohio office. In his new role, Belden will be responsible for the management, direction and growth of the office.

Under Belden’s direction and leadership, Hylant will focus on further expansion in the large account and middle market segments in southwestern Ohio and Kentucky while continuing to expand the employee benefits and healthcare divisions.

Prior to joining Hylant, Belden was the CEO at Willis of Tennessee. He was also president of Willis Ohio and senior vice president of Wells Fargo in Cincinnati.

Jeff Sanders, former president of the office, will concentrate his efforts on the expansion of the large account practice in the region.

International insurance insurer Hiscox has appointed Jim Whetstone as senior vice president for Global Errors and Omissions (E&O) in the Global Markets area. He is based in Hiscox’s Chicago office.

In this capacity, Whetstone will be underwriting Hiscox technology and privacy protection products for US-based entities.

Prior to joining Hiscox, Whetstone underwrote the professional liability product suite, specializing in privacy and technology, in ACE USA’s Professional Risk division. Prior to joining ACE USA, he was a vice president in Aon’s Technology and Professional Risk group where he worked with companies to address risk management best practices, contracting process improvements, and risk transfer solutions related to their use of and dependence on technology.

Prior to working in the insurance industry, Whetstone spent more than 10 years in various technology-related roles in both traditional and new-economy industries.