People – South Central
Property/casualty insurance media company, Wells Media Group, announced four C-suite and managerial staff promotions.
Julie Tinney now serves as chief marketing officer, Josh Carlson has been promoted to chief technology officer/chief innovation officer, Andrew Simpson became chief content officer and Lauren Knapp is now the company’s sales manager.
Tinney, most recently vice president for sales and marketing, is now responsible for leading the company’s promotional and branding strategies, sales management, corporate communications and public relations.
Her media career began with a position at Petersen Publishing Co. in Los Angeles. She was the Western regional sales manager for Selling Power Magazine, and also owned an independent media rep firm.
Carlson, previously vice president of technology, heads the team responsible for all aspects of web publishing including server and database administration, email delivery, online ad trafficking and creation and development of online products. With a background in marketing, Carlson brings a unique business understanding to web development, technology and innovation.
Simpson, formerly vice president of content, will continue to oversee team coverage for Wells Media’s multiple print and digital platforms, and will also be responsible for multi-channel publication and syndication of Wells Media’s content across brands online, in print and mobile, and via audio and video platforms.
Simpson is a veteran of insurance publishing and journalism. He founded his own insurance trade publishing firm in 1983 along with a business partner. They published InsuranceTimes and Financial Services Times. The company subsequently sold Financial Services Times to ABC Capital Cities and InsuranceTimes to Wells Media Group.
Knapp has served as the 12-state Midwest sales manager for the company for the past seven years. In her new role, she will be providing day-to-day leadership of the Insurance Journal, ClaimsJournal.com, MyNewMarkets.com and Carrier Management sales team members.
Knapp’s career has included marketing and sales positions with Maclean Hunter Publishing, Thomson Financial Publishing and Ball Publishing. Knapp was instrumental in the launch of Wells Media’s Folio award-winning Carrier Management magazine. She is a member of the Insurance Marketing and Communications Association and is an active member of the Midwest Insurance Industry Council for City of Hope.
San Diego, Calif.-based Wells Media Group serves the property/casualty insurance industry with brands that include: Carrier Management; Insurance Journal magazines; InsuranceJournal.com; ClaimsJournal.com; MyNewMarkets.com; InsuranceJournal.TV; and the Academy of Insurance.
Louisiana’s LCTA Workers’ Comp hired Paul Boudreaux as loss control representative. In this position, Boudreaux will perform onsite safety inspections to identify workers’ compensation exposures and will advise members on how to control these hazards.
Most recently, Boudreaux served as a field safety professional at Amerisafe. For the past eight years, Boudreaux has been providing loss control services to clients throughout Louisiana. Prior to that, he spent nearly 12 years providing safety and training services to companies in various industries such as oil and gas, petrochemical, healthcare, education and transportation.
Boudreaux has earned his Certified Safety Supervisor designation from North American Transportation Management Institute and his Certified Workers’ Compensation Professional designation from the Louisiana Association of Self Insured Employers.
Atlanta-based specialty insurance broker Beecher Carlson Insurance Services appointed Jim Zoda as senior vice president of risk control. He is based in Texas.
Zoda’s main focus will be to provide risk assessment and control, strategic planning, management of long-term projects and client advocacy.
Zoda has worked in risk control for 25 years and joins Beecher Carlson from Travelers Insurance, where he last served as managing account consultant for South Central and national accounts.
He has worked with a variety of clients in the construction, industrial, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing and real estate sectors.
Beecher Carlson Insurance Services LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brown & Brown Inc.
CNA Financial Corp. appointed Jeff Zehr as vice president, segment underwriting. In this position, he will expand his responsibilities to include leadership and governance for the commercial lines products for both the financial institutions and the professional services customer segments.
Zehr joined CNA in November 2012 as assistant vice president and underwriting segment leader for commercial insurance.
He has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, including over 12 years of financial institution underwriting experience with Chubb Corp.