People

September 21, 2009

Insurance broker Marsh announced the appointment of Gary Grose as U.S. marketing director. Grose joins Marsh with 20 years of insurance industry marketing and sales experience. He reports to Jack Butcher, U.S. sales and marketing leader, and will be based in the firm’s Chicago office. Previously, Grose was vice president for marketing at Zurich North America Commercial Insurance. During his career, he has held a variety of insurance marketing and sales leadership positions in New York, Connecticut, Boston, Indonesia, the Philippines and, most recently, Chicago.

The Travelers Cos. Inc. named Anne MacDonald as executive vice president, chief marketing officer. MacDonald will have responsibility for the company’s marketing, brand management and advertising strategy, and she will serve on the company’s management committee. As it relates to corporate marketing and advertising, MacDonald will work with Corporate Communications & Branding and will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jay Fishman. At the business unit level, MacDonald will provide marketing and advertising oversight for all three of the company’s business segments, with a particular focus on Personal Insurance’s branding and customer experience. In her role in Personal Insurance, MacDonald will report to Executive Vice President Doreen Spadorcia, who leads Personal Insurance. Most recently, MacDonald was a partner with The Rockefeller Consulting Group. Prior to that, she served as the president and chief marketing officer of Macy’s Inc. after serving as the chief marketing officer for Citigroup’s consumer division. MacDonald’s prior professional experience includes serving as vice president of brand management for PepsiCo’s Pizza Hut Division and leadership roles at N.W. Ayer advertising.

The Young Agents Committee of the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC) recently named its Agent of the Year, Broker of the Year and Company of the Year for 2009. Eric Stevens, of Moore and Johnson Agency in Raleigh, was named as IIANC’s 2009 Young Agent of the Year. A member of the IIANC Young Agents Committee since 2002, Stevens currently serves as the group’s vice chairman. He also serves as chairman of the association’s Trusted Choice Big “I” Junior Classic committee. Broker of the Year honors went to Johnson & Johnson of Charleston, South Carolina. This is the fourth consecutive year Johnson & Johnson has received this award. Montgomery Insurance received the 2009 Company of the Year award. Montgomery Insurance also won this award in 2008. The IIANC represents nearly 1000 independent insurance agencies and branches across the state.

Rick Whitten has been promoted to vice president of the Client Services Division with Brentwood Services Administrators in Brentwood, Tennessee. Whitten has been assistant vice president of Loss Control Services, based in Charlotte, N.C., and will continue to oversee that division as well. Coming to Brentwood Services Administrators in 2002 as loss control supervisor, Whitten was promoted to director of Loss Control Services in 2005, and then to assistant vice president of Loss Control Services in 2007. Whitten began his career with Aetna Casualty & Surety as a loss control consultant in 1980. Brentwood Services specializes in alternative market solutions for workers’ compensation.