People & Places

National

Nationwide named Tony Beal as the new leader of the Nationwide National Partners team, responsible for managing key property/casualty distribution partner relationships.

Before joining Nationwide, Beal was a senior vice president and P/C market relationship leader at Wells Fargo.

Acrisure appointed eight new members to its insurance leadership team. The updated Acrisure Insurance Leadership team includes:

Matthew Kirk, president, North America, retail. Kirk joined Acrisure in 2022 from The Hartford and has an expanded role focused on organic growth, a total client offering, sales acceleration and talent development infrastructure.

Andy Schutt, head of global insurance operations. A former partner, Schutt is focused on leading the operational infrastructure, management and financial reporting associated with Acrisure’s Insurance division.

Bob Arowood, president, North America, P/C wholesale.Arowood joined Acrisure earlier in the year via its acquisition of Appalachian Underwriters, where he served as CEO. He leads Acrisure’s wholesale effort in North America.

Steve Brown, head of private risk advisors. Brown joined Acrisure via its acquisition of Hoffman Brown in late 2021. In this role, he leads Acrisure’s strategy and planning in the high net worth segment.

Jason Howard, president, international. Howard is responsible for Acrisure’s growing international business in the U.K., Canada, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Brazil and Bermuda. He joined Acrisure via its acquisition of Beach & Associates, now Acrisure Re.

Seth Denson, head of employee benefits. Denson joined Acrisure in 2019 via its acquisition of GDP Advisors.

Mike Natalizio, head of Partner Engagement and Transformation. Natalizio joined Acrisure as CEO of HNI Risk Services, acquired by Acrisure in 2019.

EMC Insurance Companies named Eduard Pulkstenis senior vice president – chief underwriting officer. He joins EMC with over three decades of experience at carriers, including Selective, The Hartford and AIG, and several insurance startups he helped found or launch.

Most recently, Pulkstenis served as co-founder and chief underwriting officer for Joyn Insurance Services Inc. He serves on the National Alliance for Education and Research board of directors. He is also a licensed insurance producer for property, casualty and surplus lines in 48 states.

Cover Whale Insurance Solutions Inc. added Carly Levin as chief strategy officer and Niv Ben-Dor as vice president of product.

Levin joins New York, New York-based Cover Whale from J.P. Morgan. She brings over 15 years of experience as a data-driven leader across the spectrum of banking transactions and initiatives.

Ben-Dor brings over 16 years of experience to his new role. He previously served as vice president of product and monetization at Content IQ.

East

Plymouth Rock Home Assurance Corp. appointed Peter Bishop vice president and chief marketing officer.

Bishop joins Boston, Massachusetts-based Plymouth Rock from EverQuote. He will be responsible for the direct-to-consumer, agent, and partner marketing teams that sell Plymouth Rock’s homeowners insurance.

Newport Beach, California-based Alliant Insurance Services hired Jeffrey Gada as executive vice president in its Red Bank, New Jersey, office.

Before joining Alliant, Gada was vice president at New Jersey-based Wharton, Lyon & Lyon, an insurance brokerage and consulting firm. Over his 35-plus-year career, he has worked with a range of clients.

Midwest

Powers Insurance & Risk Management, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, hired Rachel Poteet as commercial account manager.

Her responsibilities include acquiring new business, as well as managing current sales and comprehensive service for existing clientele. Prior to joining Powers, Poteet provided account management services for a local insurance agency. Poteet has a property/casualty license.

Powers also hired Scott Reed as a producer. His responsibilities include generating leads, developing new accounts, and handling existing property and casualty marketplace accounts.

Before joining Powers, Reed was the owner of insurance agencies in Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado.

South Central

United Fire Group Inc. (UFG), based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, named Diane Hirtz the new branch manager for its Houston, Texas, office.

Hirtz brings more than 25 years of diverse insurance experience to UFG, including an extensive leadership background in underwriting and marketing with Chubb Insurance in Houston.

UFG’s Houston office in Houston serves approximately 240 agency partners throughout Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Full-service retail insurance broker, McGriff, promoted Arkansas sales leader Taylor Mitcham to area managing executive for the state.

Mitcham joined McGriff in 2004 as a commercial property and casualty producer before leaving in 2013 to join the Aon transportation team. He returned to McGriff in 2020.

Jim Bishop has been promoted to division leader at Standard Lines Services, a division of Graham-Rogers Insurance, headquartered in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Bishop has extensive experience in commercial and personal lines with national carriers and surplus lines operations.

Southeast

Neptune Flood Insurance, based in St. Petersburg, Florida, named Matthew Duffy chief risk officer. He previously was the firm’s director of risk management and internal audit.

Duffy, a certified internal auditor, financial risk manager and anti-money laundering specialist, has helped Neptune develop its artificial intelligence engine, known as Triton, and helped build the company’s risk apparatus.

Ascendant Insurance Solutions, based in Coral Gables, Florida, named three new marketing representatives.

Jackie Cook, with more than 30 years of experience in commercial and personal lines insurance, will cover Florida’s west coast, central and northern territories.

Cook previously was territory manager for the Florida Association of Insurance Agents.

Carlos Penate has been in the insurance industry for three decades, with national and regional carriers.

Maybel Breijo, with 25 years of insurance industry experience, started at an independent agency then moved to a regional carrier.

Property Insurance Corp. CEO Barry Gilway is ready to retire after almost 11 years at the helm.

Gilway has said he will step down some time before the 2023 regular session of the Legislature begins in March.

Citizens’ board named Tim Cerio, the corporation’s general counsel, as interim CEO, to take the reins when Gilway departs.

West

Brigitte Hamilton has been named SAIF‘s vice president of claims. Hamilton was previously director of business and software solutions on SAIF’s IT team.

SAIF is Oregon’s not-for-profit workers’ comp insurance company with offices throughout the state.

Hamilton has worked at SAIF for over 20 years, starting as an administrative assistant in claims.

Powers Insurance & Risk Management, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, hired Keith Goode as a Colorado-based, remote commercial risk manager.

Goode is responsible for generating leads, developing new business, and handling existing accounts in Colorado’s property and casualty marketplace.

Goode, who is based in Aspen, has more than 15 years of management and sales background.