People – Southeast

Liberty Mutual Insurance’s Commercial Insurance strategic business unit has 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. The construction practice has almost $500 million in construction premium, according to the company.

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.

With more than 20 years of experience in the global property insurance arena, Talbott has been serving as London-based executive vice president, international property, for ACE Overseas General, a position he has held since joining ACE in 2009.

Talbott is scheduled to begin his new role on a full-time basis on Sept. 1 after he relocates to Philadelphia from London.

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

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. in New York has 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 subsidiary where she most recently led its General Consulting Group. At Oliver Wyman, she also was involved in its inclusion and diversity efforts, establishing and managing the function. Gardner co-founded and was executive sponsor of Gay & Lesbians at Oliver Wyman, as well as co-founder and senior advisor to Women at Oliver Wyman.

Regions Insurance has established an office in Columbia, S.C. and hired insurance executive Frank Norris to lead the office, its first in South Carolina. Norris and his team join Regions Insurance from Frank B. Norris and Co., a Columbia-based insurance brokerage.

Norris founded Frank B. Norris & Co. in 1984. Specialties include residential homebuilders and trade contractors. The team also brings expertise in property, including East Coast and Caribbean resorts.

Also joining Regions Insurance from Frank B. Norris and Co. are Charles Foster, Gus Brabham and Bennett Griffin.

Foster is a 24-year insurance industry veteran specializing in construction and property management insurance. Brabham has 19 years of insurance industry experience specializing in construction and other business insurance. Griffin has 14 years of experience in construction and business insurance.

Trevor Johnson has joined the Ted Todd Insurance Agency’s senior management team as its sales manager. He will oversee sales operations in all seven of the Allstate agency’s offices located in Bonita Springs, Estero, Fort Myers/Lehigh Acres, Cape Coral, Sarasota, Viera and Delray Beach.

Johnson is a graduate of Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan with a dual degree in Business Administration and Professional Golf Management. He relocated to Florida in 2003, where he became the assistant golf professional at Fiddlesticks Country Club and in 2009 was named the golf professional at Bay Colony Golf Club in Naples.