Michael Tipsord, State Farm president and chief operating officer who first joined the insurer in 1988, will succeed outgoing CEO Edward B. Rust Jr. in September as chief executive officer.
Rust, in speaking during a company-wide telecast earlier this month, said the State Farm Mutual board of directors had unanimously agreed with his recommendation to elevate Tipsord. Rust, who has served as CEO the past 30 years and who will turn 65 this summer, will continue as chairman of the board.
Rust said Tipsord has been a key leader in the insurer’s continued growth and success who has helped him “chart State Farm’s future.”
State Farm is a leading insurer of vehicles and homes. State Farm is also involved in personal banking, mutual funds and retirement planning services. This year, the company became the largest provider of individual life insurance policies in the U.S.
Rust was named CEO in 1985 and is the company’s longest-serving CEO. During this 30-year span of leadership, State Farm has grown from 45 million policies to serving more than 82 million policies and financial services accounts.
Tipsord joined State Farm in 1988. Following service in various positions, he was named vice president and assistant treasurer in 1998, vice president and treasurer in 2001, and senior vice president in 2002. He was named chief financial officer in 2004, chief operating officer in 2011 and was elected to the office of president in 2015.
Reinsurance specialist Guy Carpenter & Co. appointed Britt Newhouse, chairman, to the additional role of interim CEO of U.S. Operations. At the same time, the firm announced the departure of Andrew Marcell, former CEO of U.S. Operations.
From 2001 until his appointment as chairman in 2008, Newhouse served as the president and CEO of the firm’s Americas operations. Newhouse also held the position of Eastern Region manager and served as the New York branch manager.
No reason was given for Marcell’s departure. Marcell was named CEO of U.S. operations three years ago, one of several appointments made after Chris McLeown, who was CEO of North America, left to join Juniperus Capital. Marcell relocated to the firm’s New York headquarters from London, where he had been serving as Guy Carpenter’s CEO of global practices and head of placement strategy since 2010.
W.R. Berkley Corp. announced the appointments of Eugene Ballard, Ira Lederman and James Shiel to the offices of executive vice president.
Ballard has been with the Greenwich, Connecticut-based company since 1999, serving as senior vice president and chief financial officer. He has 40 years of experience in the accounting and finance profession. In his new role, he will have oversight responsibility for the finance, accounting and actuarial departments.
Lederman joined the company in 1983, and has served as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary since 2001. He has 35 years of legal experience, more than 30 of which has been with the company. His new responsibilities will include oversight of the company’s legal, compliance, claims and other administrative functions.
Shiel has been with the company since 1987, serving most recently as senior vice president – investments. He has 30 years of experience in investing and will continue to oversee the investment activities of the company.
Lockton Cos. hired Marie-France Gelot as senior vice president and insurance claims counsel with the Lockton Financial Services Group. Gelot is based in Lockton’s New York office.
Gelot brings more than 15 years of experience in the insurance industry to Lockton. She previously served as senior vice president and claims advocate at Marsh & McLennan’s FINPRO Practice.
Willis North America hired Joseph Russo as East Region broking leader for the National Construction team based in New York.
Russo has 26 years of construction insurance expertise with some of the largest construction projects in New York City. He is a former member of Willis’ New York construction team and most recently, he joined Willis from Aon’s Construction Services Group.
Henderson Brothers Inc., an independent insurance agency based in Pittsburgh, announced the following three new hires.
Michael Freas joined Henderson Brothers as financial analyst in the Benefits Department. Freas will analyze claim activity, provide regular reporting, and project healthcare costs for Henderson Brothers’ clients.
Mary Beth Pronko joined the firm as account analyst in the Benefits Department. Pronko brings two decades of experience in insurance.
Amanda Benner joined the firm’s Retirement Plan Services as client associate. Benner will assist retirement plan participants directly, ensure Henderson Brothers Retirement Plan Services maintains compliance with FINRA, and offer support to the firm’s wealth managers.
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