People

Risk management services firm, Hanover Stone Partners, has tapped Ellen Shew Holland to lead its newly established national higher education practice. She is based in Dallas.

Shew Holland will lead a practice that will focus on providing a range of risk support services to private and public colleges and universities.

Previously, Shew Holland was associate vice president and chief risk officer for Southern Methodist University (SMU), a position she held since 2014. She also has served as chief risk officer for the Oregon University System (OUS).

Prior to OUS, she was director for Risk Management at University of Denver. She began her risk career as the Loss Control/Database & Business Continuity manager at Georgetown University.

The Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) honored Mike Gerik, executive vice president at the Texas Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co., with the 2018 Raymond Mauk Leadership Award.

ICT presented the Mauk Leadership Award to Gerik during its 26th Annual ICT/AFACT Property and Casualty Insurance Symposium.

The Mauk Leadership Award is intended to bestow recognition on someone who has made a significant difference to the business of insurance in Texas. It is named in honor of former Texas Fire Commissioner Raymond Mauk.

Gerik began his career at Texas Farm Bureau Mutual as a trainee in policy service, and subsequently moved on to positions in underwriting, research and development, vice president of administration, and vice president of policy services. In 2006, Gerik became executive vice president and head of Farm Bureau’s Texas insurance operations.

Gerik has served on numerous industry boards, including the Texas Property and Casualty Insurance Guaranty Association (TPCIGA), an Association of Fire and Casualty Companies in Texas (AFACT), the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA), the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCIAA) and ICT. He also serves on the board of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA).

Texas-based independent insurance brokerage firm, RHSB, added Mike Baker as assistant vice president. He will be a part of the growing Commercial Property & Casualty sales practice.

Baker has over a decade of experience assisting commercial clients with their risk management needs.

He has earned Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation from The National Alliance.

Baker also donates time working with Big Pig Cancer Foundation and serves on the board for the non-profit Robin’s Egg in Plano, Texas.

RHSB is an independent insurance broker providing insurance products to companies, families, and individuals for over 70 years. A member of Assurex Global, the world’s largest privately held risk management and insurance brokerage group, RHSB has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas.

Rob Eppers, chief operating officer for Risk Services of Louisiana, was recently sworn in as an elected board member of the Independent Insurance Agency & Brokers of Louisiana (IIABL). As a board member, Eppers will be involved with insurance legislation, regulation, and industry affairs.

IIABL is part of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”), a national alliance of business owners and their employees who offer all types of insurance and financial services products.

Risk Services of Louisiana is part of Leavitt Group and provides clients with greater insurance market access and a wide range of value-added services and resources.

Richard Ingram has opened Brightway, The Ingram Agency in Baton Rouge, La.

Michael Snow joins Ingram as an agent in the new agency.

A U.S. Army veteran who lost his left arm after being struck by a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2005, Ingram successfully challenged medical retirement and enrolled into the Army ROTC Program at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, Ga.

The first amputee to earn an Army ROTC commission, after his 2008 graduation, Ingram served as an engineer officer, deploying three more times between Iraq and Afghanistan. He earned two Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart and numerous other medals.

Ingram later graduated with a Master of Business Administration from Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., and retired at the rank of captain.

He brings 10 years of leadership and management experience to Brightway, recently serving in management and executive positions in the energy and insurance industries.

Brightway Insurance is a national property/casualty insurance retailer selling through a network of franchised independent stores throughout the country.

Topics Texas Agencies Louisiana Education Property Property Casualty Universities Risk Management Casualty