Willis North America Appoints Personal Lines Leadership Team

Willis North America, a unit of Willis Group Holdings, announced a series of appointments to its Personal Lines Practice as part of its succession plan.

Willis’ Personal Lines Practice includes 250 private client and personal insurance professionals in the United States and Canada.

Willis said the following appointments are in line with the retirement of Sandra Bravo, national practice leader and CEO, Willis Personal Lines:

• Tyler Banks has been appointed national practice leader and CEO, Willis Personal Lines. He will focus on driving growth and aligning resources for the firm’s personal insurance clients. Banks joined Willis in 2012 as Western region leader and prior to that he served as sales leader for Marsh Private Client Services in California. He is based in Irvine, California.
• Kim Connell has been appointed chief operating officer, Willis Personal Lines. In this newly created role, she will be responsible for the day-to-day operations and workflow processes of the Personal Lines Practice. Connell joined Willis in 2012, as vice president, Willis Personal Lines and has over 30 years of experience. Prior to joining Willis, she served as senior director of Personal Insurance Marketing, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. She is based in Dallas.
• Rounding out the Willis Personal Lines leadership team are Max Gilman, West region leader, based in San Francisco, and Mike Smerkanich, East region leader, based in Morristown, N.J. Each brings 25 years of experience to the role. They will report to Banks.

Topics Leadership