People and Places

Doug Eden has joined Main Street America Group as senior vice president, field operations. Eden will be a member of the company’s senior management team based at its corporate headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., and will report to chairman, president and chief executive officer, Tom Van Berkel.

Eden joins Main Street America from The Hanover Insurance Group Inc., Itasca, Ill., where he was regional president, Midwest. In this position, Eden was responsible for profit and loss results of Hanover’s largest region, representing $1.1 billion of premium in personal lines, commercial lines, inland marine and bonds.

Harvey Insurance Group, an independent insurance broker headquartered in West Chester, Pa., has named George Scherbak as executive sales advisor. He will be responsible for new business development and client relations for commercial and personal accounts.

Scherbak comes to HIG with more than 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, most recently with Saucon Mutual Insurance Co. in Bethlehem, Pa., where he was president and CEO since 2001. Prior to that position, he owned and operated Manage Comp Consulting Inc., an insurance consulting firm in West Chester, Pa., and was employed by The PMA Group in Blue Bell, Pa., for 21 years.

Harvey is licensed to conduct business in all states, and does so primarily in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and New York.

IWIF Workers’ Compensation Insurance has appointed Thomas Phelan, CPA, to the position of president and chief executive officer. Phelan previously served as IWIF’s executive vice president and chief financial officer.

IWIF is the largest provider of workers’ compensation insurance in Maryland. Phelan has been employed at IWIF since 1990 and has held various titles, including vice president of finance, and executive vice president and chief financial officer. Prior to IWIF, he worked for the state in the Office of Legislative Audits.

Phelan serves as chair of the finance committee of the American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds and on the boards of the Maryland Workers Compensation Educational Association and the Maryland Self-Insureds’ and Employers’ Compensation Association.

Calif.-based Countrywide Insurance Group, a member of the Countrywide Financial Corp. companies, named Myron Hendry as managing director and chief operating officer of Countrywide Insurance Group. Hendry being tasked with ensuring that Countrywide can support the aggressive growth plans of its insurance subsidiary which has grown from $449 million in net premiums earned in 1995 to $948 million in 2006.

Prior to this appointment, Hendry was responsible for overseeing Countrywide Insurance Group’s central operations, claims and information technology. He has more than three decades of experience in the insurance industry experience.

The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. reports that Judith A. Patterson has been named president of First State Management Group (FSMG), a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Hartford which primarily underwrites surplus lines insurance for high risk accounts and distributes this coverage through licensed wholesalers.

Patterson, who is currently the executive vice president of FSMG, will assume overall responsibility for the Boston-based operations effective May 1. In her new role, Patterson will replace Ralph J. Palmieri, who is retiring after a 31-year career with FSMG and The Hartford.

Patterson started her career with The Hartford in 1975, gaining experience in various underwriting roles before serving as property manager for the company’s Boston regional office. In 2001 she became an executive underwriting manager and was promoted to senior vice president of FSMG in 2003. Patterson assumed her present position in 2004, where she is responsible for directing underwriting operations, business systems, office services, communications, ceded reinsurance, and regulatory and compliance matters.

Robert Franzese has been named the 2007 PIA National Professional Agent of the Year by the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents. Franzese is chief executive officer of Capital Bauer Insurance Agency Inc. of Albany, New York. What Franzese began as a start-up agency in 1991 has grown to one of the largest property/casualty agencies in New York.

A member of PIA since 1991, Franzese has served in virtually every volunteer PIA position. In 1999, he served as president of PIA of New York. From 2000 through the present he has been active as a past president for PIANY, and is a spokesperson on the association’s behalf on legislative and regulatory issues.

Zurich Financial Services Group announced that Arun Sinha has joined the company as group chief marketing and communications officer. He will oversee all marketing and communications functions worldwide across the Group.

Zurich brings 20 years of marketing experience to Zurich, having served as chief marketing officer for Pitney Bowes since 2001 as well as in senior marketing and business development roles with Philip Morris and Young & Rubicam.

Marsh Inc. has appointed chief operating officers for three of its core business sectors. The executives are: Patricia Hagemann, who has been named chief operating officer of the Americas; David Lessing, chief operating officer of U.S. Middle Market, and Philip Petronis, chief operating officer of Global Products and Services Management.

Hagemann’s responsibilities include driving process enhancements and operating efficiencies throughout operations in the Americas. Previously, she was CFO of North America operations.

Lessing joins Marsh from Merrill Lynch, where he was managing director and chief operating officer of the Direct Division.

Global Products and Services Management encompasses Marsh’s risk practices, global industry teams, and managing general agent businesses. Petronis will be responsible for assisting in executing a growth strategy for Global Products and Services in coordination. Petronis has been with Marsh & McLennan for more than 32 years.