People – East
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. announced Liam E. McGee will step down from his roles as president and chief executive officer at the end of June. He will stay on as executive chairman of the board until the next annual shareholders’ meeting in May 2015.
McGee joined The Hartford as chairman and chief executive officer in October 2009 and was named to the additional role of president in January 2010.
McGee said he looks forward to continuing as chairman to ensure a smooth transition, while also devoting additional time to continued recovery from a recent procedure related to his previously disclosed health issue. In January 2013, the company said McGee was undergoing low-dose chemotherapy and radiation treatments following the removal of a brain tumor in late 2012.
Succeeding McGee as the new CEO will be Christopher J. Swift, who is currently the company’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. He joined The Hartford in 2010.
Previously Swift held various senior leadership and finance roles at American International Group. Swift began his career in public accounting at KPMG LLP focused on financial services and was eventually appointed head of the Global Insurance Industry Practice.
The Hartford said Douglas G. Elliot will take on the position of president. Elliot joined The Hartford in 2011 as president of Commercial Markets. Before that he served as president of Hartford Steam Boiler, a subsidiary of Munich Re, and was a senior advisor with Aspen Insurance Holdings.
The company also appointed Beth A. Bombara to succeed Swift in the CFO role. Bombara has been president of the Talcott Resolution unit since 2012 and prior to that served as senior vice president and controller for the company. She joined The Hartford in 2004. Prior to that, she was a senior manager in Deloitte & Touche LLP’s audit practice and was a partner at Arthur Andersen LLP. All new appointments are effective July 1, 2014.
Liberty Mutual Insurance’s Specialty Excess Casualty operation has appointed Keith Poopor as senior underwriting manager for excess casualty in the Northeast.
In his new role, Poopor will lead the expansion of the Specialty Excess Casualty operation’s northeast underwriting facility, utilizing his broker relationships to continue to grow Liberty Mutual’s presence in lead umbrella and excess casualty. He is based in New York City.
Poopor most recently served as senior vice president, retail excess casualty, for Navigators Management Company. He has also held senior positions at Lexington Insurance and American International Group.
CNA Financial Corp. has appointed Lori Feller as middle market underwriting director for the company’s Philadelphia branch.
Feller joined CNA in 2006. Most recently she served as middle market underwriting manager for the Kansas City branch. Previously she held underwriting positions within the healthcare and management liability departments.
The Associated Industries of Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Companies, a workers’ compensation insurer based in Burlington, Mass., has promoted Laurie Parsons to director of claims.
Parsons joined A.I.M. Mutual in 1997 as a claim supervisor. She assumed responsibility for training and technical assignments in a management capacity in 2003.
Keystone Insurers Group has named Matthew Sinosky as its director of business development. He is based in Keystone’s Northumberland, Penn., headquarters.
Sinosky comes to Keystone from Eastern Alliance Insurance Company, where he served as risk management consultant, senior marketing representative and, most recently, abstract markets program executive. During his tenure at Eastern Alliance, Sinosky managed the property/casualty and employee benefits insurance programs.
Union Mutual of Vermont Companies has hired Geoffrey J. Smith as the director of commercial lines underwriting. He is based in Montpelier, Vt.
He was most recently employed by Ironshore Insurance Company in Boston, as an executive vice president. Prior to that he was with IronStarr Excess Agency Ltd. in Bermuda, as the chief executive officer and chief underwriting officer and with AIG Cat Excess Liability, in New York, as president.
USI Insurance Services appointed Arthur W. Hall as senior vice president, employee benefits practice leader. Hall was previously the chief executive officer of Emerson Reid, USI’s benefits wholesale operation in New York City.
Many of Hall’s responsibilities at Emerson Reid will be assumed by George A. Rosiak who has been named Emerson Reid’s president, and Isadore R. Baseman, who has been named its executive vice president. Hall will continue to have an active role in Emerson Reid’s finance and strategy areas.
USI also appointed Michael D. Lezynski as president of USI’s West Orange, N.J., office. As president, Lezynski is responsible for all operations within the West Orange office. Prior to joining USI, Lezynski was with Aon as senior vice president for three and a half years.