People and Places

Redwood City, Calif.-based ABD Insurance and Financial Services recently announced several new appointments.

Sam Jones will become president, property/casualty. Jones assumes responsibility for the company’s entire P/C practice throughout the Western U.S., including branch operations, corporate marketing, association services and personal lines. He previously held the position of president of corporate development. Jones most recently led ABD’s initiatives related to building and strengthening relationships with parent company Greater Bay Bancorp, including cross-selling, corporate governance and business integration. Responsibilities also included oversight of IT, compliance and training and development. He is a member of ABD’s presidents council and serves on the board of directors. He joined ABD in 1993.

Debora Karstetter has been appointed executive vice president of corporate development. Karstetter will serve as ABD’s chief liaison to parent company Greater Bay Bancorp, with executive responsibility for inter-company strategy, communication, cross-selling and marketing initiatives. She also will be responsible for developing and implementing cross-selling initiatives among and between all ABD divisions and locations. Karstetter is a member of ABD’s board of directors, and previously served as executive vice president of employee benefits in ABD’s Redwood City corporate headquarters. She has been with the company since 1997.

James McCabe has been appointed to executive vice president of employee benefits. He will lead the division in Redwood City, which has nearly 100 employees serving more than 2,000 clients in Silicon Valley, the Greater Bay Area and across the Western United States. Most recently, McCabe was managing director for Marsh Inc.’s Northern California’s employee benefits division, running their San Francisco, Sacramento and San Jose offices.

Tim Demetres has joined Alliance Member Services as CFO. AMS is a nonprofit management organization that supports the Nonprofits’ Insurance Alliance of California and the Alliance of Nonprofits for Insurance, Risk Retention Group. Most recently, Demetres was the U.S. operations manager for HCC Global Financial Products. He previously served as general practice manager for Coopers & Lybrand, as executive vice president, CFO and treasurer of First Capital Group and as vice president of internal audit for Citicorp.

Philadelphia-based ESIS Inc., the risk management services arm of ACE USA, announced the appointment of Edward Burkhardt as assistant vice president, client services. Based in Los Angeles, Burkhardt will be responsible for account management and client services for Southern California. With more than 13 years of experience in the insurance industry, Burkhardt most recently served as director of national accounts for American International Group’s (AIG) Claim Services Inc. He previously served as claims manager within AIG Claims Services Inc. Prior to his experience at AIG, Burkhardt held various management positions in workers’ compensation, claims and risk management at CNA Insurance Company in Brea, Calif. and at Progressive Insurance Company in Pasadena, Calif.

Kansas City, Missouri-based Lockton Insurance Brokers has appointed Adam McDonough to the post of executive vice president of the commercial insurance division. In his new position, McDonough will assume a leadership role in the P/C practice based in Lockton’s San Francisco office. He has worked in the insurance industry for more than 15 years, including 10 years in the Bay Area. He spent five years as a senior vice president with a national insurance brokerage firm and was responsible for the development and execution of risk management programs. McDonough also spent six years as a vice president with another national insurance brokerage firm in the financial products group.

Donald M. Huffer will lead a new practice area at San Francisco-based Liability Management Systems LLC, a member of the FSC Group. The company announced the expansion of its risk and loss management practice with the addition of casualty claims consultation to serve the insurance industry and its legal counsel. Huffer is a senior consultant and expert witness specializing in casualty claims management and strategy. He will specialize in insurance claims arising from asbestos, environmental and other mass torts, and will be responsible for the strategy and management of product recalls. Huffer spent 15 years managing Kemper Insurance Companies’ environmental claims and has more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry.

Pasadena, Calif.-based PAULA Financial announced the promotion of Roberts F. Underwood to the position of president of the company’s agency operations, Pan American Underwriters Inc. Underwood joined the company in July 2002 and has insurance experience in the agribusiness community in California and Arizona.

Alexandria, Va.-based InVEST recently added four members to its board of directors: Pam Comedy, training director of sales & distribution for Safeco Insurance, Severn, Md.; Thomas C. Lowe, vice president of Tidewater Insurance Association Inc., Baltimore, Md.; Charlie McShane, vice president of distribution management for The St. Paul Companies, Baltimore, Md.; and Patrick Moore of Antalek & Moore Insurance Agency LLC, Beacon, N.Y. The new board members will assist the current board in the following ways: developing a trained workforce and bringing new talent to carriers, agents and brokers; providing access to and the ability to reach a diverse, new group of employees, such as urban and minority students; presenting insurance professionals with an opportunity to get involved on a local level as classroom liaisons; involving industry professionals in the classroom and community; positioning the industry as a respected liaison between the academic and business worlds; and producing knowledgeable insurance consumers.