People & Places
The board of directors of Foster City, Calif.-based National Automobile Club has announced the appointment of William P. Sousa Jr. to the office of president and CEO. In his new position, Sousa will be responsible for the development, growth and financial health of the entire enterprise–directing the internal and external functions of Club operations to meet client objectives and member services. Prior to joining NAC, Sousa served as branch manager for a Michigan-based national specialty insurance wholesaler in Sacramento, California. For nearly 14 years he headed General Accident Insurance Company’s Northern California operations as branch manager and vice president. He served for more than 10 years and has been in the insurance industry since 1976.
Bellevue, Wash.-based Unigard Insurance Group announced that John Blodnick has been hired as vice president of personal lines. Blodnick started his insurance career at United Pacific as a personal lines underwriter, and then worked for Orion/Guaranty National in personal lines, as its branch manager in Portland, Ore., and also as a product manager. Most recently, he was a vice president, auto product management at Safeco.
Irvine, Calif.-based R.E.Chaix & Associates announced that Gloria McShane, vice president has been promoted to the new manager of the company’s professional liability department. McShane began her career in the insurance industry over 15 years ago. She started in the commercial lines department at a retail agency and after eight years moved into the wholesale side. She specializes in marketing and brokering for general liability, property and professional liability. McShane has been with the Chaix organization for more than eight years.
Endurance Specialty Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based provider of property/casualty insurance and reinsurance, appointed Brendan O’Neill to its board of directors. O’Neill served as CEO of ICI PLC, a specialty chemicals company, from 1998 to 2003. Prior to that, O’Neill was managing director of Guinness Brewing Worldwide from 1993 to 1998, where he helped reestablish its brand image on a global basis. O’Neill held numerous finance roles early in his career at Ford Motor Company, BICC Ltd. and Midland Bank PLC. He currently serves on the boards of Tyco International Ltd. and Rank Group PLC.
John B. Collins and Associates Inc. named John Daum vice president of its New York office. In his new role, Daum will be responsible for establishing new reinsurance brokerage client relationships and serving the needs of existing clients. He brings 25 years of insurance and reinsurance experience to the company. He began his career in London before joining General Reinsurance Corp. and later joined E.W. Blanch. Daum most recently served with US Re.
Arrowhead General Insurance Agency Inc. announced that Chuck Brady has joined the company as president of its professional liability division, located in Torrance, Calif. Brady joins Arrowhead from CalSurance/Brown & Brown Inc. where he was a member of the executive management team and had been vice president of underwriting and marketing for professional liability classes. Prior to CalSurance, Brady was on the technical team that launched ePolicy.com where as vice president of underwriting professional liability, he managed the design and launch of 28 online products, including interactive applications, pricing and policy issuance.
Redwood City, Calif.-based ABD Insurance and Financial Services announced the promotion of Jim Czesak to COO for the company’s employee benefits division. He will oversee the company-wide operation of employee benefits, including compliance, the ABD broker-dealer and the service re-engineering task force. Czesak previously held the position of executive vice president with responsibility for ABD’s Torrance, Sacramento and Petaluma Benefits Consulting groups.
ABD Insurance & Financial Services has hired Sem Gee as vice president, senior benefits consultant to its employee benefits unit. She has 20 years of experience in health care and group benefit consulting and over 22 years in the employee benefit industry. Gee will work out of ABD’s Walnut Creek, Calif. office. She specializes in plan design development and implementation, plan funding and risk analysis, renewal negotiations and financial analysis and merger and acquisition due diligence. Gee most recently served as vice president, senior benefits consultant with Marsh USA. She has also served as senior consultant and client executive with William M. Mercer, Aon Consulting and Watson Wyatt Worldwide.
Los Angeles-based Mullin Consulting Inc. announced the promotion of two executives to the position of senior vice president. The new senior vice presidents of the firm are: Kevin Bachler, who is based in Mullin’s Chicago office; and Heidi O’Brien, who is based in Mullin’s Los Angeles office.
Bachler joined Mullin in 1988, after working at two other large employee benefit and insurance brokerage firms. He has written and lectured extensively on executive compensation and nonqualified benefit plans.
O’Brien joined Mullin in 1994, after serving in a management position at a national life insurance marketing firm. She has held numerous roles within Mullin.
Lockton Companies has appointed Douglas E. Holm as vice president, commercial insurance division. He will be based in Lockton’s San Francisco office. Holm has worked in the insurance industry for more than 20 years in the Bay Area. Most recently, he was vice president at a national insurance brokerage firm where he was responsible for the development and execution of marine and engineered products programs. Prior to his experience in the insurance industry, he was in sales and marketing for several engineering firms.
San Francisco-based Woodruff-Sawyer & Co. announced the appointment of Susan Stone as vice president/account executive with the firm’s real estate practice. Stone’s role will be to develop new business opportunities and to provide strategic consulting and brokerage services to Woodruff-Sawyer’s real estate clients. Stone has been in the insurance industry for 30 years, 27 of which were spent in the brokerage area. She spent the past 15 years providing insurance services and risk management consultation to real estate development firms. Prior to joining Woodruff-Sawyer, Stone was with Willis in their Marine insurance unit.
Rochelle D. Cordova has joined Compass Insurance Group of Agencies Inc. in its San Diego office as senior commercial lines underwriter/broker. She will be responsible for marketing, quoting and binding commercial property/casualty business and managing the branch’s day-to-day operations. Cordova began her insurance career in 1978 at the Hartford Ins. Company. At Capital Insurance Group, Cordova was a product development analyst for six years. She later accepted a position with Golden Eagle Ins. Co. as senior underwriter of managed programs. She also spent five years at London American General Insurance Agency.
California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced the appointment of David E. Wilson as CEO of the state’s Conservation and Liquidation Office. Wilson brings more than three decades of accounting, health care, and insurance industry experience to the CLO. Wilson most recently was president of D.E. Wilson & Associates Inc., a national insurance consulting firm, which he will close prior to taking his new position. Wilson has also held numerous other positions, including his appointment as supervisor by the Colorado Division of Insurance, and as financial evaluator of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Utica-Watertown in New York. From 1989 to 1991, Wilson was the senior vice president and CFO of Rocky Mountain Health Care Corporation, a $3 billion claim processing management company for numerous companies and HMOs, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Colorado, Blue Shield of New Mexico, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nevada, and Rocky Mountain Life Insurance Company. From 1973 to 1989, he served in several managerial positions with Ernst & Young, rising from a staff accountant to become partner in 1986.
The members of the Surplus Line Association of California unanimously elected Rupert Hall as their chairman during their recent SLA Annual meeting. Hall is the president and CEO of M.J. Hall & Company Inc., a surplus line brokerage headquartered in Stockton, California. Elected vice chairman was James Pettipas of ECM Insurance Services Inc., in San Francisco. Elected secretary-treasurer was Ceil Norton of Burns & Wilcox in Fresno.
Selective Ins. Group Inc. appointed Kerry Guthrie, of Sparta, N.J. to executive vice president and chief investment officer of Selective Ins. Group Inc. and Selective Ins. He was previously senior vice president and chief investment officer. Guthrie was named assistant vice president in 1992 after joining the firm as an investment analyst in 1987. He was promoted to vice president in 1996, and to senior vice president and chief investment officer in August 2002.