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Laurie Infantino has been named education director of Insurance Journal‘s Academy of Insurance. The insurance education professional will focus on the quality of the instructors and the education content offered by Insurance Journal‘s Academy of Insurance.
Infantino is currently president of Insight Insurance Consulting and the Insurance Community Center in La Quinta, Calif. She began her career in the insurance industry in 1971 following her graduation from UCLA and launched her career as an insurance educator in 1977 when she cofounded the Insurance Skills Center, which was eventually purchased by IBA West (now IIABA Cal).
Three years ago Infantino helped to form the Insurance Community University, an online education site similar to the Insurance Journal Academy. Insurance Community and University focuses on core technical topics and provides continuing education credits.
In her long, Infantino has served as an insurance consultant, expert witness and developer of specialty wholesale programs. She also performs internal audits for agencies and has developed insurance training and assessment tools.
Privately-held global insurance broker Lockton has added long-time Nashville financial services executive Kristin Dixon to its team. Dixon has been named assistant vice president-account executive. She will be responsible for financial services insurance program development, negotiation, placement, and service for corporate clients. Dixon comes to Lockton from insurance broker Marsh where she spent 18 years, the last eight years as senior vice president spearheading the Financial & Professional Insurance Products operation in Tennessee and was the Healthcare Industry resource for the Southeast.
Retail agency EPIC (Edgewood Partners Insurance Center) has added Don Atkinson to its risk management consulting practice in its Southeast region, The McCart Group, in Duluth, Georgia.
Atkinson brings 29 years of experience in risk management and insurance sales and client relationship management to The McCart Group. In his new role with The McCart Group, Atkinson will provide client service strategy, coverage negotiations, and management of internal and external resources. Atkinson will also have a business development role with The McCart Group. Before joining The McCart Group, Atkinson was at Liberty Mutual for 29 years. He has experience with large accounts.
Michael H. Lee, Tower Group International Ltd. chairman, president and chief executive officer, has resigned from the company and the company’s board of directors to pursue personal and other career opportunities.
William W. Fox, Jr., who had served as a member of the board and of the board’s audit, corporate governance and nominating committees until his resignation from the board on Dec. 31, 2013, is expected to succeed Lee as president and CEO of Tower upon the finalization of his employment terms, the company said.
Also, Jan R. Van Gorder, lead independent director of the board and a member of the board’s audit, compensation and corporate governance and nominating committees, will succeed Lee as chairman of the board.
Van Gorder, age 66, had previously served on the board of directors of Tower Group Inc. from February 2009 until March 2013, when TGI merged with a subsidiary of Canopius Group Holdings Ltd. and became a subsidiary of the Tower. Van Gorder’s experience in the property/casualty industry includes employment at Erie Insurance Group.
Fox, age 72, who has 40 years of experience in the insurance and reinsurance industry, became a director of TGI in April 2006. His positions in the industry included stints with Balis & Co. Inc. and its successor, Guy Carpenter.
MarketScout said that Alice Guevara has joined MarketScout to lead the firm’s new national fine arts and collectibles underwriting facility in Itasca, Illinois. Guevara brings 20 years of experience in underwriting commercial and personal fine art exposures. Prior to joining MarketScout, she served as assistant vice president and fine arts and collectibles program manager at QBE North America. In her new role at MarketScout, Guevara will oversee a team of underwriters that will focus on insuring all types of fine arts and collectibles, and provide property coverage for museums, exhibitions and galleries.
Markel Corp. promoted Wendy Houser to president, Mid South region, of Markel’s Wholesale division. The region includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Houser joined Markel in 2008 and helped to establish Markel’s Mid South office. In 2010, she moved to Richmond to manage the wholesale marketing team. Houser was promoted again in August 2012 to managing director, underwriting and production and moved back to Plano, Texas, to lead the Mid South’s underwriting and marketing teams.
Houser has 16 years of experience in marketing and insurance. She worked as a broker for 11 years at Commercial Insurance Underwriters Inc. and Alexander Morford & Woo Inc.
North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has named Debbie Walker as director of captive insurance for the state. As head of the insurance department’s new captive insurance section, Walker will be responsible for analyzing captive insurance license applications and overseeing the regulation of licensed captive insurers in the state.
Walker, a certified public accountant, has worked in financial regulation at the insurance department for more than 20 years and was named chief financial analyst in 2006. Prior to working for the department, she held various accounting roles in the private insurance industry.
The North Carolina Department of Insurance licensed its first four captive insurance companies in December 2013.