People – East

Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has hired Edith Quintrell as its U.S.-based underwriting development director for its Global Financial Risks division.

Quintrell previously was director of operations of the World Bank’s political risk insurance arm, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). She will be based in Washington, D.C., complementing LSM’s underwriting teams in London, Paris and Singapore.

LSM offers specialty and commercial insurance and reinsurance products across key UK, European, Middle East, U.S. and other international locations.

Utica Mutual Insurance Company in New Hartford, New York, said Richard P. Creedon officially began his tenure as chief executive officer of the company with the retirement of J. Douglas Robinson as CEO.

Utica Mutual first announced its CEO succession plan in November 2014. Robinson and Creedon have been working together on the leadership transition since the announcement.

Robinson, who served as Utica Mutual’s CEO since 2000, will remain as chairman of the Board.

Creedon has been Utica Mutual’s president and chief operating officer since 2013. He will retain his president title along with his new CEO post, while the COO role will be assumed by Kristen H. Martin.

Prior to becoming COO, Martin was Utica Mutual’s executive vice president, director of Underwriting Operations and corporate secretary.

QBE North America announced that Dennis Kearns, senior vice president, underwriting leader, will assume leadership of its Financial Institutions practice in addition to his existing role leading the Transactional Liability practice. He is based in QBE North America’s New York City office.

Kearns’ expanded responsibilities as the Financial Institutions practice leader include leadership of an underwriting team providing customized offerings from “The Solution” suite for QBE’s financial institutions clients.

Kearns has 20 years of insurance industry experience across product development, underwriting and claims management, with a focus on the professional liability segment.

Crystal & Company has hired Ann L. Wozencraft as executive director. She is based in the brokerage firm’s New York City headquarters.

Wozencraft comes from Aon where she served as managing director since 2007, with a focus on financial institutions, hedge funds, private equity firms and their portfolio companies.

Before pursuing a career in insurance, Wozencraft was a journalist and wrote for a number of publications, including The New York Times, Business Week, Town & Country and the Contra Costa Times.

Philadelphia Insurance Companies, a Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania-based commercial property/casualty and professional liability insurer, has promoted two vice presidents to senior vice presidents.

Sam Garro has been named senior vice president of Compliance and Patrick Walton assumed the position of senior vice president of Underwriting.

Garro joined Philadelphia Insurance in 2012 as vice president of the Compliance Department. He has been responsible for managing the work of the various units in the department including product development, agent licensing, and underwriting audits.

Walton joined Philadelphia Insurance in 2013 as vice president of Corporate Underwriting. He is responsible for the placement of reinsurance treaties and managing the facultative reinsurance process.

The MEMIC Group, a workers’ compensation insurer based in Portland, Maine, has promoted Robyn Jackson to director of claim operations from unit manager of operation support.

In this new role, Jackson will oversee all key areas of the Claim Department’s workflow, system and data needs.

Jackson represents MEMIC on the State of Maine Workers’ Compensation Board Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Committee and is a participant in the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC).

U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc., a specialty lines underwriting manager and wholesale broker based in Dallas, has hired John L. Guadagno as executive vice president of Binding Operations for its affiliate company, U.S. Risk Underwriters.

At U.S. Risk, Guadagno’s focus will primarily be Contract Binding Operations. He will be based in U.S. Risk’s Melville, New York, office and will work with all of U.S. Risk’s underwriting offices to help expand and enhance carrier partnerships within each program.

Guadagno most recently was vice president of Marketing for Endurance. His prior roles include excess and surplus underwriter for I. Arthur Yanoff & Co. Ltd./RPS-Risk Placement Services and retail producer for Genatt Associates & Ralph Silvers Agency.

Topics USA New York