People – East
Specialty insurance provider Assurant Inc. in New York has named Alan Colberg as president, effective immediately, and as chief executive officer and director of the company’s board, effective Jan. 1, 2015.
Colberg succeeds Robert Pollock who announced his plan to retire earlier this year after 33 years with the company. Since joining Assurant in 2011, Colberg has served as executive vice president, marketing and business development. Colberg joined Assurant following a 22-year career with Bain & Co. Inc.
Global wholesale and reinsurance broker Cooper, Gay, Swett & Crawford said Thomas P. Ruggieri will join the company as CEO and president of the North American operations effective Oct. 10. Ruggieri, CEO at Advisen Ltd., replaces Shaun Hooper in the role of CEO.
Ruggieri brings 30 years of wholesale and managing general agency experience to CGSC, which is an Advisen client. Based in New York, he will report to Toby Esser, CEO of the CGSC Group.
Hamilton Insurance Group announced that Barbara C. Bufkin is joining its U.S. operations, Hamilton USA, as executive vice president, Business Development.
She will be responsible for distribution, marketing and sales strategies, and new products for various programs including reinsurance strategies. She is based in Princeton, New Jersey.
A 30-year plus veteran of the industry, Bufkin joins Hamilton USA from Guy Carpenter & Co. where she held the position of chief operating officer, Global Strategic Advisory.
Warren Heck, the long-time leader of GNY Insurance Companies in New York City, plans to retire at the end of 2014. He’ll remain at the insurer as non-executive chairman. His daughter, Elizabeth Heck, currently president and chief operating officer, will replace him as CEO. A formal announcement is expected in early November at GNY’s 100th-anniversary celebration.
Heck told Carrier Management, a sister publication of Insurance Journal, in September that a succession plan has been in the works for a few years now. He has been chairman and CEO for 14 years and also had a long tenure as president and COO.
Insurance brokerage and risk management firm Integro Insurance Brokers announced the bolstering of its middle market presence with the addition of two experienced brokers: Anne Webb, a managing principal, and Keren von Schmidt, a principal. Both are based in New York.
Webb joins Integro from Wells Fargo Insurance Services where she had been a senior sales executive in business development. Von Schmidt also joins Integro from Wells Fargo where she served as senior account executive.
Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. has hired Carey S. Roberts as deputy general counsel and corporate secretary. For the past 17 years, Roberts has worked at international law firm Covington & Burling.
Marsh & McLennan also announced that Tom Ryan has been named market research leader at Marsh’s Workers’ Compensation Center of Excellence. Most recently, he was the Northeast leader of Marsh Risk Consulting’s casualty claims consulting practice. He is based in New York.
ACE Group announced executive appointments in its high net worth personal lines insurance business, ACE Private Risk Services, naming Clyde Douglas as senior vice president, Claims, and Eileen Castolene as vice president of Operations. They are based in Salem, Virginia.
Douglas joins ACE from Allstate’s Encompass division, where he served as the chief claims officer. Castolene joins ACE from The Hartford, where she spent the last nine years in a number of senior operational leadership roles.
Privately-held insurance broker Lockton Companies has hired Chris Bartnik as senior vice president.
Based in Lockton’s Washington, D.C., office, Bartnik joins Lockton’s Employee Benefits team that provides health, welfare, and voluntary benefit plan services.
Bartnik comes from Wells Fargo, where he served as Mid-Atlantic region employee benefit practice leader.
Berkley FinSecure, a W. R. Berkley company based in Towson, Maryland, has promoted Jon Martin to vice president and director of sales.
Martin joined Berkley FinSecure over four years ago as an underwriter for credit union bond, management liability and property/casualty products. Since 2013, he had been assistant vice president focused on credit union underwriting and business development.
Global Excess Partners, a managing general agent and a member of Kaufman Financial Group, has hired Liz Carmody as senior vice president in New York City.
Carmody brings more than 30 years of industry experience to her new role.