People & Places
The Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New Jersey (IIABNJ)swore in new officers for the 2004/2005 year at its 111th annual conference in Newport, Rhode Island. Dave L. Wyrsch, Sr., of The Van Dyk Group in Beach Haven Terrace, was sworn in as the new IIABNJ chairman for 2004/2005.
Bruce Hill of the R. Bruce Hill Agency, Ltd. in Millburn will serve as the chairman-elect. Brian F. Durkin, of the Durkin Agency in Northvale will be IIABNJ’s vice chairman, and Charles S. Stults III of Allen and Stults in Jamesburg will serve as state national director.
L. Scott Stanford, of Britton Selg Stanford Agency in Roselle Park has ended his term as chairman but will continue his role with the association as past chairman of the IIABNJ board of directors.
Also newly installed are the officers of the Young Agents Council (YAC) for IIABNJ. Michael McGrath of the Van Dyk Group in Manahawkin will serve as chairman. Susan M. Gregory of Steel Wagner & Associates in Hamilton will serve as chairman-elect and David Strout, Jr. of Cettei & Connell, Inc. in Woodbury will serve as vice chairman/secretary of YAC.
Ann Havran of The Havran Family Insurance Agency in Dunellen will serve on the YAC board as past chairperson.
ACE USA, the U.S.-based retail operating division of The ACE Group of Companies, announced the appointment of Frank Mike-Mayer, senior vice president, to lead the ACE USA Construction Group. Based in New York City, Mike-Mayer will have overall responsibility for The ACE USA Construction underwriting practice, which is staffed by a team of construction professionals to address the unique insurance needs of builders and contractors. Mike-Mayer will report to William Curcio, president of ACE Risk Management. Mike-Mayer joins ACE USA from Zurich NA.
The PMA Insurance Group announced that Tony Steinauer has been promoted to branch vice president in the firm’s Hunt Valley, Maryland office. Steinauer is responsible for overseeing PMA’s Maryland, Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia operations, managing the agency network and growing PMA’s market presence in this region of the country. The PMA Insurance Group specializes in workers’ compensation and group disability for mid- and large size employers. Steinauer joined PMA in 1998. Previously, he was an assistant vice president of PMA’s commercial markets underwriting.
Jeffrey A. Myers, a 15-year industry communications veteran with extensive experience at the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America (the Big “I”) and in the industry, has been named the new executive director of Trusted Choice. Myers will manage the day-to-day operations of Trusted Choice, including strategic planning and implementation; agent and consumer marketing; agent and broker as well as carrier recruitment; advertising programs; Trusted Choice Web resources; and public relations. At the Big “I”, Myers most recently was vice president of communications with management responsibility for the association’s member, consumer and media communications programs. Prior to that, he managed its public affairs communications.
InVEST, the education program that educates high school and community college students on insurance, financial services and risk management, recently announced the addition of three members to its board of directors: Nancy Baily, president and chief executive officer of First Floridian, a St. Paul Travelers Company, Tampa, Fla.; Loree Toedman, assistant vice president for sales and agency operations, Allstate Insurance Company, Northbrook, Ill.; and Kevin Mangan, independent agent, Hugh Cotton Insurance, Orlando, Fla.
Officers of Professional Insurance Agents of New York State Inc. have been elected for the 2004-2005 administrative year. N. Stephen Ruchman of Hewlett was elected president. He is president of Ruchman Associates Inc. in Rockville Centre and is also chairperson of the Long Island Advisory Council and a member of the Executive/Budget & Finance and PIANY Political Action Committees. In 2001, Ruchman received the PIANY Louis A. Morelli Memorial Award. He is also past division chair for the Insurance Division of the United Jewish Appeal.
J. Carlos “Shawn” Viana, of Latham, was elected president-elect. He is vice president of Marshall & Sterling Inc. in Glenville. Peter Demetriou, president of the New Windsor Insurance Agency Inc. in Hempstead, was elected first vice president. D. Scott Liebert, CIC, of Nanuet, was elected vice president. He is chairman of CLG Financial Corp. in Nanuet. Leslie Rogoff of New York City, president of Insurance Marketing Solutions, was elected vice president. Michael Paluba, of Middle Island, was re-elected secretary. He is owner of Hermitage Insurance Brokerage. Martin Koles of Forest Hills was re-elected treasurer. He is principal of Martin Koles Insurance in Forest Hills. T.J. Derella, CPIA, of Kingston will serve as immediate past president. He is owner of Kingstar Companies in Kingston.
E.G. Bowman Company, Inc., a Manhattan insurance brokerage and risk-management firm, has promoted Marjorie Young from account executive to vice president. Young specializes in property-and-casualty insurance for large national and international accounts. She joined the firm in 2002 with 30 years of experience at various national insurance brokers and companies. Known as the nation’s largest woman- and minority-owned insurance broker, E.G. Bowman serves many Fortune 500 companies and major nonprofits.
The Central Massachusetts Chapter of the CPCU Society installed new officers for 2004-2005. The officers are: President, Shawn O’Neill from Commerce Insurance; Vice President, Suzanne Gryb from Commerce Insurance; Treasurer, Frank Doyle, from AAA of Southern New England; and Secretary, Pat Cronin, of The Protector Group.