People and Places

Jim Donelon became Louisiana’s Commissioner of Insurance on Feb. 16 following the retirement of J. Robert Wooley. Donelon previously served as the insurance department’s Executive Counsel and Chief Deputy Commissioner.

The 61-year-old Donelon is a native of New Orleans and a graduate of the University of New Orleans and the Loyola School of Law. He retired as the State Judge Advocate of the Louisiana National Guard with the rank of Colonel following 33 years of military service.

Donelon is a former chairman of the Jefferson Parish Council and served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1982 until 2001, when he resigned his post to become Wooley’s Chief Deputy Commissioner of Insurance. While in the Legislature, Donelon was chairman of the House Committee on Insurance and co-chairman of the Republican Legislative Delegation.

Allstate named Richard C. Crist, Jr., previously field vice president and president of Allstate New Jersey, as field vice president of Allstate’s Texas Region, headquartered in Irving. As FVP of the Texas Region, Crist will be responsible for the strategy and success of Allstate in Texas.

Crist has almost 30 years of Allstate experience. He began his Allstate career in 1977 in Operations in the Valley Forge Region. He then moved to Human Resources where he held positions of increasing responsibility over the years. With the creation of Allstate New Jersey in 1998 Crist was appointed to the position of president.

The Republic Group, headquartered in Dallas, appointed David Buchanan as director of Market Development for personal lines operations. Buchanan will be responsible for expanding Republic’s business opportunities within its regional footprint through product and market development. He will report to Steve Nyberg, vice president of Personal Lines.

Buchanan most recently served in key marketing and underwriting roles at Texas Select Lloyds Insurance Company. Prior to that position, he had served as vice president at Southeast Surplus General Agency in Beaumont, Texas, and assistant vice president of Marketing for National Lloyds Insurance Company in Waco.

Through its subsidiaries and affiliates Republic provides personal and commercial property and casualty insurance products to individuals and small to medium-size businesses located primarily in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico. These products are distributed through a network of independent agents and professionally managed specialty programs.

Beacon Insurance Group named Jim Woods as the company’s new field marketing representative for the State of Arkansas. Woods brings over 23 years of operations and marketing experience to Beacon.

Prior to joining Beacon, Woods served as the field marketing manager for Southern Guaranty/General Casualty Insurance in Arkansas.

Former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner J. Robert Wooley has joined the law firm of Adams and Reese LLP.

A long time resident of Baton Rouge, Wooley graduated magna cum laude in 1974 from Northeast Louisiana University with a degree in Business Administration and received his law degree in 1977 from Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center in Baton Rouge.

After graduation, Wooley entered private law practice in Ferriday, La., and later served as executive counsel and first assistant in the Secretary of State’s office. He was a solo law practitioner and a political and governmental relations consultant before returning to state government in 1999 as chief deputy of the Department of Insurance. He assumed the role of Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Louisiana in 2002 and was elected to that office in 2003.

Adams and Reese, which has offices in Baton Rouge and New Orleans; Birmingham and Mobile, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.; Houston, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; and Washington, D.C., is a multidisciplinary law firm with over 300 attorneys.

Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP announced that Midwest regional managing partner, Don M. Svendson, has been named Mid-America regional managing partner. Svendson, based in Dallas, succeeds Edward Lynch, partner, who recently transitioned to Deloitte FAS’ risk management group.

In his new role, Svendson, oversees the integrated service lines of Forensic & Dispute Services, Reorganization Services, Valuation Services and Deloitte & Touche Corporate Finance LLC. He also serves as Mid-America Forensic & Dispute Services practice unit leader, and is responsible for managing a broad range of financial investigations for private and public companies, and various levels of government and private individuals, often in response to investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002.

Prior to joining Deloitte & Touche LLP in 1997, Svendson had a 26-year career with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police culminating as the officer in charge, Economic Crime Branch.

Christopher Heidrick and Lori Dickerson Fouche have joined Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company as heads of marketing for the company’s Personal and Specialty Insurance divisions.

Heidrick, vice president, is responsible for the development of new products and services, and the overall marketing strategy for Fireman’s Fund Personal Insurance. He joins Fireman’s Fund from Marsh & McLennan, where he most recently served as senior vice president and national product manager for Marsh’s consumer and small commercial practice.

Dickerson Fouche, senior vice president, is responsible for the development of new products and services, and overall marketing strategy for Fireman’s Fund Specialty Insurance. Dickerson Fouche previously served in a variety of senior management and marketing positions at Chubb & Son, most recently as senior vice president for Chubb Specialty Insurance.

To submit information for the People column, e-mail ijtexas@insurancejournal.com.