People & Places

National

Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. appointed Bobby Bianconi global head of Cyber.

Bianconi has been with Aspen since 2016 and brings over 10 years of dedicated underwriting experience, most recently as head of U.S. Cyber. Prior to joining Aspen, Bianconi led the cyber portfolio for the Western United States at Allied World.

He is based in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.

WTW appointed Karen Beldy Torborg to serve in a dual role as head of Strategic Growth & Portfolio Management and head of Large Accounts segment within Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB), North America (NA).

Beldy Torborg brings tremendous depth of relevant experience to WTW, with a career spanning over 30 years, particularly in M&A and private equity, while also focusing on strategic business development and client-centricity. Most recently, Beldy Torborg served as the global engagement partner at Marsh. She is based in New York.

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) promoted Angela Meyer to head of Product Liability in North America. She was previously head of Life Sciences in North America.

Meyer joined BHSI in 2014 as senior underwriter, casualty, and has held a succession of increasingly senior positions in BHSI’s casualty organization in North America. She has more than 20 years of insurance industry experience.

W. R. Berkley Corp. appointed John J. Forte president of Berkley Public Entity, a Berkley Company.

Forte joined Berkley Public Entity as senior vice president, chief underwriting officer and chief operating officer in 2018. He has over 20 years of experience in the property/casualty insurance industry.

Broker Hub International added Eric Showalter as senior vice president and head of service and client experience for Hub Private Client.

Showalter previously was head of service delivery and customer experience for CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield.

CRC Group, a North American wholesale specialty insurance distributor, announced three new executive appointments.

Jessica Marshall was appointed chief marketing officer. Marshall has served as CRC Group’s senior vice president and director of marketing since 2018. She will now oversee all aspects of communication, advertising, public relations, as well as sales and producer development programs.

Mike Baeurle was appointed chief client officer. Baeurle previously served as the company’s executive vice president of agency distribution after joining CRC Group with the acquisition of Swett & Crawford in 2016. Baeurle will lead CRC Group’s retail agency distribution and business development strategy and manage client relationships across CRC Group’s three operating divisions.

Curtis Moore has been appointed chief administrative officer. Moore joined CRC Group in 2018 and has held a variety of key roles across the company. In his new position, Moore will be responsible for all administrative and operational functions in addition to the development and execution of corporate strategic performance initiatives, including business process improvements, technology advancements, and other key priorities.

BMS Group appointed Andras Bohm head of its U.S. capital advisory business and the CEO of BMS Capital Advisory Inc. (BMS Groups’ U.S. broker-dealer). Bohm will lead the broker’s investment banking and legacy solutions team in New York.

Bohm joins BMS from Swiss Re Capital Markets, where he led the team’s structuring activities in the Americas.

Ascot Group named Pat Stoik executive vice president, head of marine, Ascot U.S. He is based in New York.

Stoik brings more than 35 years of senior management, underwriting, and broker experience to Ascot. Most recently, he served as chief risk officer for Overhaul Group Inc.

He began his insurance career at Chubb.

East

NIP Group, headquartered in Woodbridge, N.J., appointed Erik Lindemann as senior vice president and general counsel.

Lindemann has over 20 years of experience as outside counsel and, for the last 10 years, as in-house counsel to two insurers.

Maryland Insurance Commissioner Kathleen A. Birrane appointed Sean J. McEvoy associate commissioner of operations and promoted Jamie Sexton to serve as director of legislative and regulatory policy for the Maryland Insurance Administration.

William Fawcett was appointed associate commissioner for property/casualty.

McEvoy comes to the MIA with over 30 years of experience. Most recently, he served as assistant commissioner of policy and consumer services for the Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation.

Sexton joined the MIA in September 2022 as director of health insurance regulatory affairs and national partnerships. Previously, she was director of state policy at the Immune Deficiency Foundation, legislative director for Maryland Senator Mary Washington and an associate in the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.

Fawcett will oversee the insurance administration’s property/casualty division. He most recently served as general counsel, secretary and head of legal at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty.

Plymouth Rock Assurance Corp., headquartered in Boston, appointed Max Malaret as vice president of claims in its independent agency auto group.

Malaret comes to Plymouth Rock with more than 16 years of insurance industry experience, most recently as vice president of claims process for auto physical damage, subrogation and salvage with Liberty Mutual in Boston.

Midwest

Allyson Padilla of Blank’s Insurance Agency in Olney, Illinois, has been installed as the president of the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois (IIA of IL).

Padilla will serve a one-year term. She is responsible for the general leadership functions of the IIA of IL and will act as an official delegate of the association at state and national functions.

Padilla was born into Blank’s Insurance Agency but began her insurance career full-time in 2008. The agency, founded in 1936, provides all types of insurance and bonds, including personal lines and commercial insurance. She is the second in her family to serve as association president; her mother Julie Hearring held the post in 1998.

Prime Insurance Co., headquartered in Chicago, named Bart Schlueter as senior vice president and head of healthcare professional liability.

Schlueter has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, most recently serving as vice president at RT Specialty.

Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, named Carrie Hansen as vice president within its employee benefits group in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Hansen has over 15 years of employee benefits experience, previously serving as an associate at SkyWater Search Partners and as a senior consultant, employee benefits at The Christensen Group.

South Central

WTW, headquartered in London, England, added two new leaders in Dallas.

The company appointed Frank Scardino as North America strategic sales leader and leader of the Dallas market. Scardino joins WTW from Lockton, where he most recently served as a senior partner and president of Lockton’s Dallas office.

Kenneth Gould has been named a strategic client engagement leader within corporate risk and broking, North America. Gould is a 40-year insurance industry veteran, joining WTW from Lockton.

Alliant Insurance Services hired Chad Patzke as a vice president within its Alliant Americas division. Patzke is based in Oklahoma City and will serve clients throughout the Southwest region.

Before joining Alliant, Patzke was an insurance producer and partner with Universal Insurance Agency Inc., an Oklahoma-based insurance and risk management firm.

Newfront, a tech-driven insurance brokerage firm based in San Francisco, has expanded its footprint with additions in Austin, Texas. Todd Burns joins as senior vice president and Austin market leader, and Lee Sheppard joins as associate vice president.

Burns, who will oversee a number of Newfront associates in Austin, boasts a 20-year career in insurance and risk management. His prior roles include leadership at BKCW Insurance, business development leader at Willis, and compliance officer at Allstate.

Sheppard brings 10 years’ experience in commercial risk and insurance that includes time as an underwriter, an account executive at Willis, and an independent agent.

Southeast

Alliant Insurance Services named attorney Bobby Coleman of Mississippi as a vice president in the Alliant Americas division and Mike Griggs of Tennessee as a senior vice president in the division.

Coleman, who lives in Jackson, Mississippi, has 27 years as an insurance defense lawyer, including workers’ compensation defense and real estate matters.

Griggs, based in Nashville, joins Alliant after almost 20 years in the insurance business, including most recently as senior vice president at a global insurance brokerage.

West

Insurance Office of America (IOA) named Paul Sullivan western division president. Sullivan joined IOA in 2009. He was previously IOA’s regional president of the Northwest region.

IOA is headquartered in Longwood, Florida.

Alliant Insurance Services named Greg Barnes executive vice president, managing director, Alliant Specialty.

Barnes is based in Los Angeles. He most recently served as president at Lockton Cos.

Mark Racunas has joined Alliant as senior vice president, Alliant Specialty. Based in Los Angeles, Racunas has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance brokerage industry.

Scott Canales has joined Alliant as executive vice president, Alliant Specialty. Based in Los Angeles, Canales spent 38 years in the construction industry, with 31 years as a construction broker. He most recently held leadership roles at Lockton Partners LLC.

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