People & Places

National

John Kuhn is now senior vice president, management liability and head of large public at Ascot.

Based in the New York office, Kuhn will lead the development and execution of Ascot’s large public directors and officers (D&O) strategy, with a focus on underwriting and portfolio management through dual distribution channels.

He will also be responsible for recruiting and onboarding talent, implementing new processes and systems to enhance underwriting excellence and collaborating with business units across Ascot to facilitate effective partnerships and manage exposures.

Prior to joining Ascot, Kuhn was head of public D&O at AIG, where he spent nearly a decade in various financial-lines roles.

Sompo International named Risa Ryan as chief underwriting officer (CUO) and member of the executive team. Ryan is based in Florham Park, New Jersey.

In this newly created position, Ryan will create a collaborative global framework exhibiting best-in-class underwriting and pricing tools to ensure a consistent underwriting approach, delivering products and services that address the multinational needs of our clients.

Before Sompo, Ryan was global head of standard insurance products at Swiss Re. Prior to that, she was senior vice president, head of analytics North America at QBE.

Cowbell, a provider of cyber insurance to small- and medium-sized businesses, hired Matt Byrne as vice president of tech E&O underwriting.

Byrne has over eight years of underwriting experience in cyber and professional lines at traditional carriers and MGAs, supporting SMEs with up to multi-billion revenue risks.

In addition to working on professional lines, Byrne has experience working on traditional property/casualty lines supporting larger programs.

He is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and is focused on retail and wholesale relationships across the U.S.

Conning named Matt Daly, head of the corporate and municipal bond teams, as the new head of Conning North America, effective September 30. The current head, Mike Haylon, will retire at the end of 2023.

Daly has over 25 years of industry experience, with more than 20 of those years at Conning.

Conning also named Cindy Beaulieu, chair of Conning’s investment policy committee, as chief investment officer of Conning North America, as of September 30. Beaulieu has over 29 years of industry experience and joined Conning in 2011.

Steve Searl, with 35 years of corporate bond research experience, and Mike Griffin, with 18 years of industry experience in portfolio management and trading, will serve as the new co-heads of the corporate and municipal teams.

East

Lockton appointed Joe Caruso as its financial institutions practice leader in the Northeast.

Caruso is based in New York, New York.

Caruso brings 30 years of experience to his new role, joining Lockton from Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, where he served as regional head financial lines/financial institutions. He also worked as financial institution industry practice leader at AIG and served at Marsh.

Lockton is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

Frank Verdi joined Alliant Insurance Services as vice president within its employee benefits group. Based in Boston, Verdi will focus on strategic employee benefits for clients throughout the Northeast.

Verdi has 35 years of experience on both the carrier and brokerage sides of the business. Before joining Alliant, Verdi was area vice president for Gallagher.

Alliant is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

Marsh McLennan Agency named Kate Moher president of national employee health and benefits.

Moher joined the White Plains, New York-based agency in 2018 as national employee health and benefits practice leader. She has 28 years of industry experience and previously served as chief executive officer at C2 Solutions and as national vice president broker strategy and development at UnitedHealth Group.

Harford Mutual Insurance Group, headquartered in Bel Air, Maryland, named

as assistant vice president of information technology.

Bischoff has 25 years of IT experience. Most recently, he held the position of technology solution manager in the policy platform department at American Family Insurance Group.

Previously, Bischoff held technical positions at Selective Insurance Group, Housing Authority Insurance Group, and Travelers Insurance before joining New London County Mutual Insurance in 2015 as assistant vice president of IT.

Insurance broker NFP has Josh Jeter as a senior vice president and aviation specialty practice leader in the company’s aviation industry group.

Jeter comes to NFP from Gallagher, where he served as area vice president in its aerospace practice. Before Gallagher, he served as an aviation underwriter specialist at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty and as assistant manager of aviation and reinsurance at Ironshore Insurance Services.

NFP is headquartered in New York, New York.

The Hartford promoted Hayes Henderson to head of sales and relationship management for group benefits; appointed Karen Raftery head of a newly created business vertical in group benefits focused on small and mid-sized employers; named Lynn Kennedy head of sales and distribution for small commercial; and appointed Paul Hiscox chief sales and underwriting officer for personal lines.

Henderson will be responsible for developing strategies to enhance The Hartford’s market position and drive profitable growth for group benefits. His appointment is effective July 1.

Most recently he served as regional vice president in the east region for group benefits sales and has more than two decades of group sales experience, including 15 years at The Hartford.

Raftery will lead the new group benefits vertical focused on providing employers with 2-499 employees competitive employee benefit and leave management solutions. Her appointment is effective July 1.

Raftery, who has 17 years of group sales experience at The Hartford, most recently served as regional vice president for the central region.

Kennedy is taking on an expanded role, which consolidates all small commercial sales under one leader. She will be responsible for leading all small commercial distribution channels, which include agency, alternative and direct, as well as the field and sales performance teams. Her appointment is effective June 1.

Kennedy joined The Hartford in 2006 and was most recently head of alternative distribution for small commercial.

Hiscox is also taking on an expanded role leading all personal lines distribution channels, including direct, agency, partnerships and The Hartford’s write-your-own flood program. In addition, he continues to lead personal lines underwriting. His appointment is effective June 1.

Hiscox joined The Hartford in 2001 and was most recently head of underwriting and direct sales for personal lines.

Midwest

Lockton, in Kansas City, Missouri, hired Jason Sandler and Craig Taylor in its intangible asset and contingent liability practice, a division within its broader transaction liability practice.

Sandler and Taylor bring significant expertise in IP matters and associated credit and monetization strategies, including collateral protection insurance. They will advise clients on the placement of coverages that support the residual value of IP, in addition to working with Michael Perich, head of litigation insurance, on policies that provide support for IP-related disputes and litigations.

Sandler most recently served as a senior vice president at Marsh. Before that, he was an IP attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Taylor most recently served as a senior vice president at Marsh. He has spent over a decade in the insurance industry.

Valley Insurance Agency Alliance promoted Amy Russell to lead Pod marketer and hired Michael Welch as commercial marketer.

Russell, who previously served as marketing specialist and account manager, has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance and marketing industries. She pioneered VIAA’s Pod marketing program, a carrier rating platform that assists agents with obtaining the best quotes for commercial clients.

Welch has more than 35 years of insurance experience. Before joining VIAA, he worked in commercial marketing at various insurance agencies in the Northeast.

VIAA is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

South Central

Stephens Insurance LLC, an affiliate of Stephens Inc., hired Chris Bettina as a senior vice president within the property and casualty practice.

Bettina brings nearly 15 years of experience in the insurance industry that spans global insurance and captive markets. He most recently served as a senior vice president at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Bettina is based in the Houston, Texas, office of Stephens Insurance.

Stephens Inc. is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Southeast

Nashville-based Davies Group, a rapidly growing professional services and technology firm serving the insurance industry, named Jen Morrissey group chief operations officer. She will head up Davies’ global technology, mergers, procurement and real estate functions.

Morrissey was previously chief information officer with Unison Risk Advisors and was with Willis Towers Watson before that.

West

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani hired Rachel T. Velilla as a partner in the firm’s Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego, California, offices.

She joins the firm’s insurance, trucking and transportation and commercial litigation practice groups.

Velilla represents individuals, corporations and self-insured entities in general liability matters, including premises, vehicle accident, trucking, transportation and common carrier liability.

The company is based in San Diego.

Venbrook Group LLC named Juan Aguilar chief financial officer.

Aguilar has 20 years of industry experience, most recently serving 15 years at Aon PLC, where he held leadership roles across finance, operations and business strategy and development.

Before Aon, he held senior finance roles at Abbott Laboratories.

Venbrook is headquartered in Woodland Hills, California.

Aihara & Associates Insurance Services named Mike Kinoshita executive vice president.

Kinoshita is a third-generation insurance agent and current senior client advisor at The J. Morey Company, an Ori-gen Family Company.

Aihara & Associates is based in Los Angeles.

Topics California New York Missouri