People – Midwest

Portage, Mich.-based property/casualty MGA and surplus lines broker, J.M. Wilson, has promoted Crystal Russell to accounting operations supervisor.

Russell is responsible for payment and account reconciliation of company accounts and assisting the treasurer with the preparation of monthly financial statements. She is responsible for processing accounts payable and receivable, finance contracts and month-end bank reconciliations.

Prior to joining J.M. Wilson, Russell worked for a premium finance company based in Maryland, where she was the accountant’s assistant.

Chicago-based property/casualty insurer, CNA, has named Steve Earley as Illinois branch vice president.

Earley has been with CNA for 27 years, most recently serving as vice president of the company’s manufacturing customer segment.

Earley began his career at CNA in 1987 in the accounting rotational business associate (ARBA) program. He has held a variety of senior positions in finance, underwriting and field operations, including serving as chief of staff for North American field operations.

Louisville, Ky.-based Assured Neace Lukens hired Cary Seager as Health & Productivity manager. In her new role, Seager will support Assured Neace Lukens clients in the Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind., markets with customized and results-oriented health and wellness strategies.

Seager will work with clients to create a structured short and long-term wellness plan. The strategic wellness plans improve employee satisfaction; initiate employee health behavior changes; and ultimately drive down medical and prescription expenses and workers’ compensation claims for the client.

Seager brings 12 years of experience to Assured Neace Lukens. Previously, she worked at Huntington Insurance as an employee benefits wellness strategist and producer. Seager also has experience in the banking industry, working as a commercial loan officer and private banking manager for Huntington Bank.

Roseville, Minn.-based Maguire Agency, an independent insurance agency offering property/casualty, employee benefits and personal insurance lines, added Aaron Tretter as a producer for its property/casualty commercial lines business.

Tretter will serve businesses and nonprofit organizations operating in the aging services and residential care facilities sector.

Tretter joins Maguire Agency after two years with Associated Financial Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Associated Bancorp. Previously, he worked for Front Row Calypso, a communications technology company based in Petaluma, Calif.

Independent Minneapolis-based broker StoneHill Reinsurance Partners LLC announced that Charles R. (Chip) Ott, Jr. joined the firm as executive vice president.

Ott will work with current and prospective clients on strategic issues such as mergers and acquisitions, geographic and operational expansions and special circumstances.

Prior to joining StoneHill, Ott served as president and chief executive officer of Texas Medical Liability Trust, the largest provider of medical liability insurance in Texas. Ott also has served as executive vice president in the Minneapolis, Minn., office of Guy Carpenter and Co. LLC, a global reinsurance broker, and as co-head of the sales and service functions for John B. Collins Associates, where he was a member of the executive management team, the board of directors and the Collins UK board of directors.

He holds the Associate of Reinsurance (ARe) designation.

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies promoted Jim Lewis to director of regional sales for the central region of the country.

Lewis will oversee sales operations in Arkansas, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas and Wisconsin. Prior to his current position, Lewis served three years as a senior sales representative.

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Vice President of Sales Dave Simmons said the company is experiencing “significant growth and expansion into new states” and has added new field representatives.

Berkshire Hathaway GUARD has been a specialist in writing workers’ compensation coverage for small- to mid-sized accounts for over a quarter century. In recent years, the company has also begun writing complementary business owners policy (BOP), commercial umbrella/excess, and commercial auto.

Chicago, Ill.-based Berkley Fire and Marine Underwriters hired Jaymee Parker as a territory underwriting manager. She is based in Detroit, Mich.

Parker will be responsible for agency relationships and underwriting growth for Michigan. She most recently served as a territorial executive for a large national carrier, where she specialized in inland marine and property insurance.

Berkley Fire and Marine Underwriters is a W. R. Berkley Company specializing in inland marine and related property insurance.