People – Southeast

MarketScout, the national electronic insurance exchange and specialty MGA headquartered in Dallas, has expanded its Private Client Solutions (PCS) division with several new hires in its Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office and one in Tennessee.

According to Daniela Finch, MarketScout’s National managing director, PCS, the additions continue MarketScout’s national footprint expansion in the private client space.

In the Fort Lauderdale office, Jason Grodensky will serve as vice president and production underwriter, PCS. Prior to joining MarketScout, Grodensky was vice president of sales and marketing for DTRT Insurance Group. Grodensky has served in the United States Marine Corps and has earned the Certified Professional Insurance Agent (CPIA) and Professional in Insurance Account Management (PIAM) professional designations.

Jordan Ballou will serve as an underwriting assistant for the E&S division of PCS. Prior to joining MarketScout, Ballou was a retention specialist for DTRT Insurance Group. Ballou has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Florida Atlantic University.

Anthony Cotton has also joined MarketScout as an underwriting assistant for the E&S division of PCS. Prior to joining MarketScout, Cotton served in the United States Coast Guard.

Elyde Auguste will serve as an underwriting assistant in the PCS division. Auguste was previously a producer for DTRT Insurance Group and has nearly a decade of personal lines insurance experience.

Erin Beebe joins the PCS division as an underwriting assistant based in the firm’s Brentwood, Tenn., location. Prior to joining MarketScout, Beebe worked as a member services associate at Pure Insurance. Beebe has a bachelor’s degree in management from Clemson University.

The Main Street America Group announced Janet Root has been appointed vice president of internal audit at the super-regional property/casualty insurance company. She replaces former internal audit vice president Dave Medvidofsky, who was recently appointed as the organization’s vice president of human resources.

As Main Street America’s head of internal audit, Root will be responsible for providing the company’s senior management, audit committee and board of directors with independent and objective input on strategic, operational, financial and compliance objectives and controls. She will have a direct reporting relationship to the audit committee of Main Street America’s board of directors, but will report to Ed Kuhl, the company’s executive vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer, for administrative purposes and be based at the Jacksonville, Fla., headquarters.

Since 2010, Root has been one of Main Street America’s field marketing representatives supporting its independent agents throughout Michigan. She joined the company in 2008 following its acquisition of Great Lakes Casualty Insurance Co. Root served as Great Lakes Casualty’s controller from 2006 until 2010.

Prior to joining Great Lakes Casualty, Root was a controller/accounting manager for two Harleysville Group property/casualty subsidiaries for 17 years. She began her career as a staff auditor at Deloitte and Touche.

President and Chief Executive Officer of nationwide broker Celedinas Insurance Group, Ray Celedinas, has been appointed to the Assurex Global Board of Directors. Assurex Global is a global privately held commercial insurance, risk management and employee benefits brokerage group.

A partner firm of Assurex Global since 2012, Celedinas Insurance Group is based in Florida and currently serves over 20,000 clients in all 50 states. Celedinas has seven offices throughout South Florida with a staff of over 135 employees.

According to Assurex Global President & CEO Jim Hackbarth, Celedinas and his firm provided critical support in the startup of Assurex Global’s Private Client Practice Group.

In addition to his leadership roles with Assurex Global and Celedinas Insurance Group, Celedinas is a principal or founder in several other national wholesale and retail insurance organizations that cater to the needs of affluent clientele. These firms include Private Client Insurance Group, Orchid Underwriters, Vero Insurance and Smart Choice Agents of Florida.

EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants, a retail property, casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consultant, has added employee benefits consulting professional Davin Millholland to its growing Employer Services Platform (ESP).

Millholland joins EPIC in its Southeast Region based in Duluth, Ga., as ESP’s chief actuary, responsible for assisting clients and EPIC service teams with health and welfare plan design, actuarial analysis, cost analysis and budget setting, and other complex employee benefit financial decisions.

Prior to joining EPIC, Millholland spent more than 10 years with Mercer Health & Benefits in the Greater Atlanta Area, where he was a senior associate and healthcare actuarial analyst.