Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Afable Names 3 to Leadership Team

Wisconsin’s new insurance commissioner, Mark Afable, has made three additional appointments to the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance’s (OCI) leadership team

Nathan Houdek has been tapped to serve as deputy commissioner. In that role, Deputy Commissioner Houdek will be responsible for managing the day-to-day operations and supervising the regulatory, public information, legal, legislative relations, and administrative responsibilities of OCI, subject to the overall direction of the commissioner.

Afable also named Olivia Hwang to serve as director of public affairs. She will be responsible for overseeing all communications and legislative relations activities for OCI.

Hwang joins OCI with more than 10 years of strategic leadership in public relations, media management, crisis communications, and marketing. In Wisconsin, she served as the communications director in the Assembly Minority Leader’s Office and on a statewide campaign during the 2018 election cycle.

Before moving to Wisconsin, she served in several statewide and national communications roles, including vice president of communications for Choices Coordinated Care Solutions and director of media and communications for the Louisiana Department of Health. Hwang served as the lead communications director for the State of Louisiana following the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. She also held leadership roles at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the Louisiana Department of Revenue. She joins OCI after stepping down from a leadership role at the strategic communications firm she started with her husband in the summer of 2018.

Richard Wicka has been appointed chief legal counsel. He served as OCI’s deputy chief legal counsel and acting chief legal counsel for the last seven years. Wicka will be responsible for supervision of OCI’s Legal Unit, providing general legal advice to the commissioner and his staff, and serving as the lead attorney for major enforcement actions and financial matters.

Wicka has over 16 years of experience as a practicing attorney, primarily in the area of insurance law. He has extensive knowledge of Wisconsin insurance statutes and regulations, as well as the legislative and administrative rulemaking process. He also served on several National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) working groups and has experience drafting changes to NAIC model laws and regulations.

Source: Wisconsin OCI

Topics Legislation Louisiana Leadership Wisconsin