People – East

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. named Nicole Gardner as chief diversity and inclusion officer.

In her new role, Gardner is responsible for “driving cultural and organizational change at Marsh & McLennan Companies, working with leadership to promote a vibrant, inclusive, and diverse culture across the global enterprise,” according to the announcement.

The company said she will sit on its diversity council and be a member of the human resources executive team, reporting to Chief Human Resources Officer Laurie Ledford.

Gardner was a partner at Oliver Wyman, MMC’s management consulting unit where she led its General Consulting Group. At Oliver Wyman, she also was involved in its inclusion and diversity efforts, establishing and managing the function, and serving as a member of the Inclusion Council.

Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide promoted Bill Churney to the newly-created position of chief operating officer.

Based in AIR’s Boston headquarters office, Churney will have responsibility for all product management, software product development, global business development, marketing, consulting, and client service activities. Churney joined AIR in 2002 and most recently served as senior vice president of AIR’s business development and marketing groups.

The ACE Group promoted Derek Talbott to division president, North America Property & Specialty Lines. Talbott succeeds Paul McNamee, who has been named deputy president of ACE’s Asia Pacific region.

Talbott has been serving as London-based executive vice president, international property, for ACE Overseas General. He will begin his new role on a full-time basis on Sept. 1 after he relocates to Philadelphia from London.

Talbott will have responsibility for managing ACE’s property-related products and services across the company’s North American retail and wholesale franchises: ACE USA, ACE Canada and ACE Westchester.

Liberty Mutual Insurance’s Commercial Insurance strategic business unit appointed Douglas Cauti as senior vice president and chief underwriting officer of its construction practice. Cauti will lead a unit that serves large general contractors, subcontractors and construction project owners.

W. R. Berkley Corp. appointed Jonathan Levine to the office of vice president and chief marketing officer.

Levine has 20 years of experience in the field of marketing, most recently at a leading global insurer, according to the announcement.

Union Mutual of Vermont Companies announced the promotion of Michael Nobles to the position of chief operating officer. Nobles joined the company in 1995 as a staff accountant. He was named the senior vice president/treasurer/chief financial officer in 2011. He has also been serving as CEO of Eastern Mutual Insurance Company, an affiliate of Union Mutual, since 2012.

Union Mutual also promoted Jennifer Galfetti to assistant treasurer. Galfetti has held the position of accounting manager since joining the company in 2009.

The Navigators Group Inc. announced that its principal underwriting agency subsidiary, Navigators Management Company, named Timothy Ryan as president of the Excess Casualty unit of Navigators Specialty, which focuses exclusively on U.S. wholesale brokers. He reports to Jeff Saunders, president of Navigators Specialty, who has until now also served as president of the Specialty Excess Casualty unit.

Prior to joining Navigators, Ryan was executive vice president and chief excess casualty officer at Aspen Insurance.

Ames & Gough, an insurance broker and risk management consultant serving design professionals, law firms and other professional organizations, promoted Tom Marchetti to vice president from assistant vice president. He is based in the firm’s McLean, Va., office.