People & Places

National

Frank Romeo joined Axis Capital Holdings Limited to lead the company’s entry into the U.S. marine cargo insurance market.

Based in New York, Romeo is responsible for building the program and identifying growth opportunities, with a targeted product launch in the second half of 2023. He has more than 15 years of underwriting experience across U.S. and multinational programs at major global carriers.

Romeo joins Axis from AIG.

Jersey City, New Jersey-based Verisk named Samantha Vaughan chief privacy officer.

Vaughn joins Verisk from Dell Technologies, where she was the managing director and global head of privacy legal. Previously, she worked for Prudential Financial, AIG and Selective.

Jared Pelissier joined Alliant Insurance Services as senior vice president, managing director, Alliant Specialty.

He will apply his expertise to expand Alliant’s reach within the technology sector on the West Coast and nationwide.

The addition of Pelissier also broadens the reach and influence of Alliant’s D&O liability practice. His professional experience within the D&O, cyber and property/casualty markets has focused on many Alliant client verticals.

WTW appointed Juan Mascaro as hospitality segment leader, a part of the Real Estate, Hospitality, and Leisure Division within Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB), North America.

Mascaro has more than two decades of insurance industry experience in underwriting, marketing, and client service roles.

Mascaro joins WTW from Sompo International.

K2 Financial, a business unit of K2 International and part of K2 Insurance Services LLC (K2), appointed Kevin Leach as senior vice president and founder of K2 Financial’s U.S. operation.

Leach formerly was vice president, financial institutions leader at The Hanover Insurance Group, and deputy regional head, financial institutions North America, at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty.

Liberty Mutual Insurance, based in Boston, Mass., appointed Ben Johnson president of field operations and marketing, Global Risk Solutions (GRS) North America.

Johnson will lead a national team of field executives and the marketing and distribution strategy teams. He recently held roles at Ironshore, Liberty Mutual’s wholesale-focused specialty and excess surplus brand.

Fusion Specialty, the global boutique M&A and specialty insurance services group, promoted Michael Federer to the role of CEO, Fusion Specialty North America.

Federer was previously managing partner, sales and distribution, M&A. He has more than 18 years of combined experience as a corporate attorney focused on M&A deals, and as an M&A insurance underwriter.

Everest Re Group appointed FBI cyber veteran Don Good as chief information security officer.

Good will lead all aspects of Everest’s information security, overseeing the programs, policies, and operations to safeguard the company’s data, systems, and digital assets.

Good has more than three decades of cybersecurity, fraud prevention and risk management experience across complex global technology environments.

John B. Berding has been elected president of American Financial Group Inc.

He will continue to serve as president of American Money Management Corp. (AMMC), AFG’s subsidiary providing investment management services to AFG, its insurance subsidiaries and certain third-party investment entities.

The position of president was previously held by Carl H. Lindner III and S. Craig Lindner, who will continue to serve as AFG’s co-chief executive officers.

East

Lockton hired Chuck Jainchill as its U.S. cyber and technology product leader.

Jainchill joins Lockton after 16 years at AIG, where he most recently served as the global cyber product development leader. Before that role, he was the division counsel of the professional liability division for AIG financial lines.

Jainchill is based in New York.

The MEMIC Group, headquartered in Portland, Maine, hired underwriters Julie M. Smith in the Southeast and Jeremy Card in New England.

Senior Production Underwriter Smith joined MEMIC in May. Her background and experience in insurance includes multi-line commercial underwriting for national and regional carriers, as well as agency sales and marketing management.

Production Underwriter Card joined MEMIC in April, bringing more than a decade of experience with him from the agency side.

Midwest

HOMELINK, headquartered in Waterloo, Iowa, appointed John Unsen as senior vice president of systems.

Most recently, Unsen served as vice president of systems for VGM Insurance and previously as director of operations at VGM Forbin.

MJ Insurance, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, named Leigh Crick as senior vice president of people and culture. Crick has nearly 20 years of experience leading HR functions, including roles as chief human resources officer at Vista Verde Dental Partners and at Hopebridge.

Andy Harter joined Iroquois Mid-Atlantic, headquartered in Midlothian, Virginia, as regional manager, servicing agents in Ohio. Harter most recently served as a marketing rep for Grange Insurance from his home in Gahanna, Ohio.

Andrew (AJ) Donaldson has been named an account administrator within Chicago, Illinois-based RT Specialty‘s Environmental and Construction Professional Practice (RT ECP).

Prior to joining RT ECP, Donaldson held positions at CROPP Cooperative/Organic Valley in Cashton, Wisconsin, and Happy Valley Farm in Black Earth, Wisconsin. He is based in Janesville, Wisconsin.

Powers Insurance & Risk Management, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, hired Giovanni “Johnny” Favazza as commercial lines risk management advisor.

Prior to joining Powers, he worked as a senior account executive at Goosehead Insurance Agency. He previously served as an associate for a California-based investment advisory firm, Westshore Wealth.

Ryan Specialty, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, appointed Dawn D’Onofrio as chief executive officer and Brian Alvin as chief actuary and chief underwriting officer of Ryan Specialty National Programs (NSP).

D’Onofrio will continue her duties as CEO of Ryan Specialty managing general underwriters WKFC, CorRisk and AgRisk, roles she has served since 2017.

Alvin will retain his role as chief actuary of WKFC, CorRisk and AgRisk. Before joining WKFC, CorRisk and AgRisk, Alvin served as actuarial director for Ryan Specialty.

South Central

Stephens Insurance LLC, an affiliate of Stephens Inc., hired Rich Krutsch as a senior vice president within the employee benefits division.

Krutsch brings more than 25 years of experience working within human resources and employee benefits functions at a large corporation with a national footprint.

He is based in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Incline P&C Group, headquartered in Austin, Texas, appointed George Gorney as chief operating officer. He joins Incline from U.S. Risk Insurance Group, where he previously held the role of chief information officer and executive vice president of corporate shared services.

Southeast

Retail insurance broker McGriff hired Rodney Ledford as the strategic growth officer for its Small Business and Personal Lines division.

He joins McGriff with 18 years of industry experience, most recently as vice president, National Partners, for a global insurance carrier.

The Independent Insurance Agents of Georgia installed Woodstock agent Wendi Washowich as president.

Washowich is a client executive at Hamby and Aloisio Risk Management and Insurance in Atlanta and has been active in the IIAG for years.

Others elected to the IIAG board include President-Elect Jimbo Floyd; Vice President Jarrett Bridges; Secretary-Treasurer Robbie Moore; and National Director Andy Siegel.

Stephens Insurance named Mark Green senior vice president, focused on cyber risk.

Green brings more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, most recently with McGriff, Seibels & Williams. Prior to McGriff, Green was an executive at Willis HRH.

He is based in Birmingham, Alabama.

West

LP Insurance Services LLC, headquartered in Reno, Nevada, added Cole Thompson to its Las Vegas commercial lines team.

Thompson will work with commercial clients seeking insurance solutions and risk management services.

Before joining LP Insurance, Thompson was an agent at Farmers Insurance in southern Nevada.

Kyle Gerdts joined Pinnacle Claims Management Inc., headquartered in Irvine, California, as vice president, sales and account management.

Gerdts joins from HealthComp, where he was director of sales with responsibilities for consultative sales and strategy.

BindDesk Insurance Services, headquartered in San Diego, California, named Robert Young president.

Young has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry. He led the startups of two wholesale operations, Magellan Insurance Services and Valiant Insurance Services. His most recent roles include vice president of business development, Midwestern Insurance Alliance, wholesale products division and vice president at Valiant Insurance Services LLC.

Sean Cooper has been named executive vice president and chief actuary at the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California, headquartered in Oakland, California.

Cooper has more than 30 years of experience and joined WCIRB in 2022 as executive vice president and deputy chief actuary. He succeeds Dave Bellusci, who has retired.

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