People

H.W. Kaufman Financial Group/Burns & Wilcox recently promoted five executives to the position of vice president to support its strategy of growing the company’s national reach. The announcement was made by Chairman, President and CEO Alan Jay Kaufman.

Christopher Zoidis has been promoted to associate vice president. Zoidis continues in his position of director of corporate development and Special Risk Division – International.

Additionally, the following executives have been promoted to Burns & Wilcox vice presidents:

Jeffrey Diefenbach has been appointed vice president in Indiana. He continues in his role as manager of the company’s Indianapolis and Chicago offices. Diefenbach also has assumed responsibility as manager of the company’s Milwaukee office.

James Epting has been appointed vice president in Georgia. Epting also retains his role as manager of Burns & Wilcox’s Atlanta office.

Karen Toler has been appointed vice president in North Carolina. She retains responsibility for managing the Morehead City, N.C., office.

Reid Wilson has been appointed vice president in Utah. He continues in his role as manager for Burns & Wilcox’s Salt Lake City office as well as the company’s Reno and Las Vegas, Nev., offices.

Indiana-based Old National Insurance added John Robinson as chief marketing officer. In his new position, Robinson will oversee marketing and related sales support and planning activities for the insurance operation. He will also focus on other revenue growth initiatives.

Robinson began his career with Ernst & Young specializing in the insurance sector. He then joined ING’s Canadian property and casualty insurance operation in 1985 and later transferred to their U.S. holding company in New England. From 1988 to 2005, Robinson worked for Liberty Mutual Agency Markets operation in various senior field operation roles with Peerless Insurance, Indiana Insurance, America First Insurance, GoAmerica Auto Insurance and Montgomery Insurance.

Most recently, Robinson was regional president of Hanover Insurance based in Indianapolis.

In other capacities Robinson serves on the Indiana State University Insurance Advisory Board of Directors. He is a past member of the Ball State University Insurance Advisory Committee and former president of the Indiana Insurance Managers Association.

He has served on the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America’s National Future One Committee and has worked closely with the Independent Insurance Agents of Indiana.

Jafir Young has joined Kansas City, Mo.-based Westrope as the western region executive and professional liability broker, responsible for servicing the directors and officers, employment practices liability, fiduciary, crime, miscellaneous errors and omissions, and healthcare professional needs of retailers located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Washington.

Young brings seven years of underwriting experience to Westrope. Westrope is a Kansas City-based commercial wholesale insurance brokerage firm.

Markel Insurance Co. named Barrett Hubbard vice president of Markel Risk Solutions.

Hubbard has held several senior management positions at Markel, most recently as vice president of Markel Re. He was managing director and established the Toronto, Canada, branch of Markel International. He also served as vice president of Marketing at Markel Insurance Co.

Also MRS has promoted Steve Glancey to vice president and underwriting manager.

Glancey joined Markel Insurance Co. in 2005 as associate vice president, divisional underwriting officer. Before joining Markel, Glancey was chief casualty underwriter for Zurich Middle Markets, Zurich North America, and has worked for several national insurance carriers over his 20-year career.

Markel subsidiary, Markel Global Marine & Energy Inc. (MGME), named Karl Hauenstein to lead its new Onshore Energy Casualty Department. The new department will be open January 2008.

MGME also recently opened a department to handle ocean marine. R. Matt Sternenberg was appointed director of Marine Underwriting and will head MGME’s new Ocean Marine department.

Integro Insurance Brokers appointed three national specialty practice leaders, effective immediately:

In Private Equity, Nick Conca is a managing principal and leader of Integro’s New York Management Risk team. He has more than 17 years of experience in the insurance industry.

In Real Estate, Anne Anderson is a managing principal in the San Francisco office. She has over 25 years of risk management experience, with a focus on the Property and International marketplace.

In Financial Institutions, William Goett is a managing principal in the New York office with more than 20 years of risk management experience and a focus on financial institutions. He began his career as Risk Manager with Long Island Savings Bank.

San Diego-based Barney & Barney LLC has named Jim O’Connell as the newest principal to join the company. In addition to his role as principal, O’Connell will serve as director of development for Programs – Specialty Insurance Solutions, a division of Barney & Barney. In this role, he is responsible for both regional and nationwide expansion of new and existing programs by developing collaborative solutions that provide discernable value to carriers, broker, and the insurance buyers.

With two decades of experience in the insurance industry, O’Connell started as an owner of his own small insurance agency before moving to the Driver Co. (now Alliant), where he developed industry and group specific insurance programs, program underwriting operations, and brokerage distribution throughout the Western United States.