People and Places

James M. McGlennon was appointed vice president and chief information officer for Liberty Mutual Agency Markets, a strategic business unit of Liberty Mutual Group. McGlennon is responsible for the information technology and architecture of Agency Markets. He will oversee strategy, planning, application development, maintenance and support of the Agency Markets technology.

Previously, McGlennon oversaw architecture and development as vice president of BellSouth Corp. McGlennon also held senior technology positions with Fleet Financial Corp., Computer Science Corp. and Digital Equipment Corp.

The California State Compensation Insurance Fund promoted Larry Cucovatz to attorney-in-charge for the California State Compensation Insurance Fund’s Special Litigation Unit. SLU is devoted to the recovery of damages involved in fraud-related activities.

Cucovatz began as a staff counsel for the organization’s Cerritos Legal Office in 1991. He climbed up the legal ranks to become a staff counsel III (specialist) and lead attorney for Cerritos Legal WCAB in 1996. Two years later he transferred his skills to corporate legal office’s Internal Litigation Unit. His most assignment was as staff counsel, specialist for the Internal Litigation Unit in Santa Ana, Calif.

Also, SCIF promoted Beatriz Sanchez to program manager for Los Angeles Claims Services. Sanchez brings two decades of workers’ compensation experience to her new post. Most recently she was a claims operations manager for Los Angeles Claims in Glendale, Calif.

Richard Quintanilla was promoted to broker relations manager for SCIF’s Marketing Department. Previously, he was supervisor of Marketing’s Preferred/Select Broker Unit.

Karen Sims was promoted to claims manager for Fresno Claims Processing Center. Most recently, she was assistant claims manager for the center.

Mastos & Associates, based in Reno, Nev., named Jeff Hall marketing manager. He will work from the Las Vegas office. Hall has been in the insurance industry for 29 years, holding positions ranging from adjuster to marketing duties. He has worked for Cincinnati Insurance Co., American Reliable/Bankers Insurance Group, American Summit Insurance Co. and Rinkus Consulting Group.

Sue Langley, previously chief operating officer at Hiscox, is leaving the Bermuda-based/UK insurer to become director of market operations and to head North America for Lloyd’s of London. She also will assume responsibility for managing Lloyd’s offices in the United States and Canada. Langley joined Hiscox in 1998 as chief information officer and was appointed group operations director in 2001. In 2004, she became chief operating officer.

Lloyd’s also appointed Jose Ribeiro director of international markets and business development. Ribeiro will take over the management of Lloyd’s international operations in Europe, Asia, Australasia, Africa and South America. He will work alongside Langley.

Ribeiro’s and Langley succeed Julian James, Lloyd’s former international director, who left earlier this year to join insurance broker Lockton in its United Kingdom operations. Ribeiro most recently was Willis’ managing director for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters Society Los Angeles Chapter installed new officers and directors. The officers include President George Wallace of Wallace & Schwartz; President-Elect Theresa Ulbricht of Marsh Risk & Insurance Services; Vice President Robert Wilson of AON Risk Services; Secretary Reiner Braun of Marsh Risk & Insurance Services; Treasurer Sharon Haenig of Hartford Steam Boiler; and Immediate Past President Eunice Downing-Jackson of Mitsui Sumitomo Marine Management.

New directors include Gene Calahan of CIBA Insurance Services; John Chesebrough of Chesebrough Associates; Eunice Downing-Jackson of Mitsui Sumitomo Marine Management; Wes Kwon of ISU-UNI Insurance Services; Tessa Lucero of Marsh Risk & Insurance Services; Robert Rosenfeld of Variance Management; Rod Simonds, a certified public accountant; Paul Wagner of Gen Re; Joe Wetter of Wetter Insurance & Risk Management Consulting; and Steve Yuen of CSS Insurance Services.

Peggy Stromme was named a partner in Alexander Morford & Woo Inc., an independently owned national wholesale insurance brokerage. Stromme joined AMW in 2002 as director of finance and administration, and was promoted to chief financial officer in 2006. Her insurance career includes roles in finance, operations, automation and commercial lines account management.

Richard L. McCathron was appointed CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based Superior Access, an online insurance distributor. Previously, McCathron was vice president of Mercury General Corp. and senior vice president of American Mercury Insurance Group.

Devonshire Group named Rex Hahn vice president of business development. He will work out of the company’s Santa Ana, Calif., office and be responsible for business development in the firm’s practice areas of runoff management, audits and consulting.

Hahn was previously vice president claims services with reinsurance intermediary Holborn. He is a past president of the Excess/Surplus Lines Claims Association and chairman of the Insurance Executives Committee of the International Association of Defense Counsel.

Woody Girion will be the new deputy commissioner of rate regulation at the California Department of Insurance. He replaces former Rate Regulation Deputy David Diehl, who returned to the Maryland Department of Insurance.

Girion previously was deputy commissioner of consumer services and market conduct. He has more than 30 years of experience with the Department of Insurance. Among his many accomplishments are establishing the first Consumer Services Bureau, which eventually grew into today’s Consumer Services & Market Conduct Branch. Girion has also served as chief of the Department’s Financial Analysis Division.