People and Places

Willis Group Holdings Limited has amended the employment agreement with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph J. Plumeri to extend its term for an additional year. The employment agreement, which was scheduled to expire Oct. 15, 2008, will now expire Oct. 15, 2009.

In announcing the decision Willis board of directors issued the following statement: “For more than six years, Joe Plumeri and his team have instilled passion, discipline and a common sense of purpose throughout Willis. This has clearly been reflected in the outstanding earnings and share price performance of the group over the same timeframe.”

William Gallagher Associates in Boston promoted Michael Moran to senior vice president and Lisa Silva to vice president, both within the Employee Benefits Group.

Moran has 28 years experience in the insurance industry, the last six with WGA, and 17 years prior with a national insurance carrier.

Silva works with clients on their individual and corporate insurance planning needs. Prior to her arrival at WGA in 1999, she spent four years with Northwestern Mutual.

New York-based Kinloch Holdings Inc., an insurance brokerage holding company formed in 2006, has named John P. Iacono as its general counsel. Iacono brings 32 years’ insurance and legal experience to Kinloch. Prior to joining Kinloch, Iacono was part of the management team at Alliant, another U.S.-based insurance broker. He was the firm’s chief legal counsel from its launch through its acquisition of 12 insurance brokerage firms.

Privately-held insurance broker Lockton Companies LLC has expanded its New York team with the addition of Ray Beegle as senior vice president and Property Practice leader. Beegle is responsible for New York’s property operations, and will provide consultation on global market strategy, insurance carrier capabilities and insurance alternatives.

Beegle has 16 years in the property brokerage business. Before joining Lockton, he spent two years with Willis Inc. as an executive vice president and Northeast regional marketing officer. He also served seven years with Aon.

Integro Insurance Brokers reported that James E. Dunn has joined the company’s New York office as a principal in the Property Practice. Dunn has nearly three decades of property claims experience. He joins Integro from Marsh, where he served as a senior property claim consultant for 14 years.

The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (Big “I”) has hired Jason Spence as its new assistant vice president for federal government affairs. Spence comes from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, where he served as senior advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions and coordinated policy areas including insurance regulatory reform, terrorism insurance, banking, capital markets and Sarbanes-Oxley Act issues.

Prior to his tenure at Treasury, Spence worked in the U.S. House of Representatives as a legislative counsel handling financial services issues. He also practiced law at Chaffe McCall in New Orleans.

Spence replaces Brendan Reilly, assistant vice president of federal government affairs at the Big “I” since 2005, who recently accepted a position as the senior vice president of government relations for the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association.

In addition, Elizabeth Furey, who has been with the Big “I” since 2005, is assuming the new title of director of federal government affairs and grassroots. Furey will continue her grassroots work while expanding her role to formally join the federal lobbying team. Prior to joining the Big “I”, Furey worked in the Capitol Hill office of Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-N.J. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America has expanded its federal advocacy capabilities by hiring Kate Prible as director, federal government affairs. Prible comes to PCI after six years as director, federal legislative affairs with the Credit Union National Association. Previously, she worked in the House of Representatives for almost three years, serving Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., and then-Rep. John LaFalce, D-N.Y.

ACE Limited has elected the company’s chief executive officer, Evan G. Greenberg, to the position of chairman of the board of directors. He will succeed ACE founder Brian Duperreault, who will remain on the ACE board, at the expiration of his term.

Willis Group Holdings named Valerie Di Maria as its new senior vice president and group marketing and communications director. She will lead worldwide marketing, brand and reputation management, executive communications, media relations, employee communications, government affairs, community relations, corporate philanthropy, and events.

Di Maria has 20 years of public relations and marketing experience. Most recently, she was with Motorola. Prior to Motorola, she was at GE Capital.

The Atlantic Companies announced the promotions of Janine B. Turner to senior vice president, comptroller and treasurer, and Claudia L. Wetteland to senior vice president, marketing/field administration.

Turner’s new title reflects her role as the top financial executive at the company for the accounting, treasury, tax, general finance, budget and reporting functions, which she assumed in 2006. Turner joined The Atlantic Companies in 1991 and rose within the finance department to become vice president, comptroller and treasurer in 2002.

Wetteland, in her new role, assumes responsibility for field administration in addition to the marketing, product development, and producer management functions. After joining the company in 1990, Wetteland served in a variety of managerial roles in the finance department and personal lines division and was most recently vice president, marketing.

Brett Lininger, formerly director of government relations for the Maryland Insurance Administration, has left that agency to form his own government relations firm called Lininger & Associates in Annapolis. Lininger joined the Maryland Insurance Administration in 2004 after more than five years at life insurer AEGON USA Inc.