People – East

Willis North America has appointed Eric Joost as chief operating officer. Joost has been serving as chief executive of Willis North America’s Specialty Practices since 2009. He is based in New York.

In this newly created role, Joost will lead Willis North America’s growth and operational strategies. He will work with business unit leaders across North America and collaborate with Willis Group leadership to ensure Willis has the proper specialization, structure and operating models in place to support growth. He will also continue to lead the North American Specialty Practices.

Joost joined Willis in 2006 and has 25 years of experience in the insurance industry as a specialist broker and underwriter. Prior to joining Willis he held leadership positions at Allianz and Aon.

Aon plc announced several senior management changes at its operating units. The brokerage giant appointed Eric Andersen as CEO of Aon Benfield, the firm’s reinsurance business, and also named Mike O’Connor as CEO of ARS (Aon Risk Solutions), the firm’s risk management business.

Andersen is taking a role that was previously split between Dominic Christian and Mike Bungert. Bungert will now serve as chairman of Aon Benfield, with a focus on the Americas, while Christian will become executive chairman of Aon Benfield International.

Andersen, who joined Aon in 1994, most recently served as CEO of Aon Risk Solutions Americas. In this role, he led Aon’s largest geographic business with teams in the United States, Canada and Latin America. O’Connor, who joined Aon in 2008, previously held the role of chief operating officer for Aon’s risk business, which comprises both Aon Benfield and ARS.

Additionally, Bryon Ehrhart, formerly the chairman of analytics and investment banking for Aon Benfield, will become CEO of Aon Benfield Americas.

Ehrhart has spent two decades at Aon and in the reinsurance business. Since joining Aon in 1994, Ehrhart led the development of the analytics and technical services division of Aon Re Global.

Consumer United, a Boston-based online insurance agency and insurance exchange facility, hired Joshua Levine as president of operations. From 1999 to 2006, Levine was the chief technology and operations officer of E*TRADE.

Glen Allen, Va.-based Markel Corporation announced that its Markel Global Reinsurance division has appointed Greg Richardson as acting head of its retro property reinsurance unit. Richardson was previously a member of the leadership of Alterra Capital prior to its acquisition by Markel earlier this year. Additionally, Markel Global Reinsurance named Frank Bigley as underwriting director for agriculture and crop reinsurance. Bigley was most recently senior vice president and reinsurance department manager at Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa.

ACE Commercial Risk Services, the small business division of the ACE Group, appointed Tom McGrath as senior vice president, head of Programs. He will be based in Philadelphia. McGrath joins ACE from Munich Re America, where he served most recently as head of Primary Insurance Programs since 2008.

Also based in Philadelphia and reporting to McGrath is Bill Franchi, who has been appointed senior vice president, Programs. Franchi joins ACE from Munich Re America, where he served as senior vice president, Primary Insurance Program manager since 2005.

Additionally, Bill Sharp has been appointed chief operating officer, Programs, for U.S. and Canada. Sharp has been with ACE and its predecessor companies for more than 30 years.

Topics Aon