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Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon plc, has promoted Matthew Schneider to chief operating officer for the Greater New York region.

Based in Aon’s New York office, Schneider will focus on retaining clients, optimizing service standards within the account executive ranks, driving blended property/casualty and health and benefits middle-market growth, as well as working with local carrier management.

Schneider has held a variety of leadership positions during his more than 20 years at Aon. Most recently, he served as president and resident managing director of the Morristown, N.J., office where he provided risk management consultation and insurance broking services to midsize and Fortune 500 clients.

Schneider is also an adjunct faculty member at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., and serves on the grants committee of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation.

Wells Fargo Insurance, part of Wells Fargo & Co., named Richard Colton head of its mergers and acquisitions industry practice. Based in New York, he will report to Peter Gilbertson, regional managing director for Wells Fargo Insurance’s Northeast region.

Wells Fargo Insurance’s mergers and acquisitions industry practice serves middle-market and large corporate customers, including private equity firms, with insurance, risk, due diligence, and employee benefit services and solutions.

In his role, Colton will work closely with clients pursuing opportunities with private equity-related transactions, as well as lead related sales and growth initiatives, and operations.

Colton previously served as co-founder of Aon’s mergers and acquisitions group, and was also former chairman of Lockton’s mergers and acquisitions group.

In a separate announcement, Wells Fargo Insurance also named John Haskell managing director for the Pacific Northwest.

Haskell will lead business development, client service and sales, and cross-sell strategy for the company’s insurance operations in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Based in Seattle, he reports to Rich Lane, regional managing director for Wells Fargo Insurance’s Northwest region.

Haskell has worked for Wells Fargo for the past 12 years and has held several production and leadership roles throughout the company, serving most recently as head of commercial lines for the Seattle office. He began his career as an underwriter with Aetna Casualty & Surety Co., and worked at Marsh, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies.

Wells Fargo Insurance’s Pacific Northwest region includes 11 offices and more than 370 team members who provide insurance services to Wells Fargo’s business banking, middle market, large corporate, and high-net-worth customers throughout the region.

Wells Fargo Insurance is part of San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co, a financial services company with $1.4 trillion in assets.

Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corp. ( LWCC) has promoted two key executives. Paul Buffone is now senior vice president and chief claims and information officer, and John Hawie is senior vice president and chief strategy and investment officer.

Buffone started with LWCC in 1993 as a law clerk. He later held various attorney positions for the company before becoming senior corporate counsel. He also has served as named director of litigation services, assistant vice president of risk management services and vice president of risk management services. Most recently he was senior vice president of risk management services.

Hawie joined LWCC in 2009 as senior vice president and chief investment officer. He was previously senior vice president and chief investment officer for Commerce Group in Webster, Mass., and prior to that served as team leader/portfolio manager for General Re-New England Asset Management in Farmington, Conn.

Topics New York Aon Risk Management Human Resources