People – East

CNA Financial Corporation announced the appointment of Dino E. Robusto as its chairman and chief executive officer, effective on or about Dec. 1, 2016. Robusto will succeed Thomas F. Motamed who has decided to retire at the end of 2016. Motamed will continue as chairman and CEO until Robusto joins CNA.

Robusto will join CNA after almost 30 years at Chubb Corporation. Robusto was most recently executive vice president of Chubb and president of commercial and specialty lines. He retired from Chubb on Nov. 30 after accepting the position of CNA chairman and CEO, in compliance with his compensation agreements with Chubb which prohibits him from joining a competitor within a year of leaving the company.

The succession plan sees one former Chubb executive replacing another at the helm at CNA. Motamed joined CNA in 2009 as chairman and CEO after 31 years with Chubb. He was vice chairman and chief operating officer when he left Chubb.

Robusto joined Chubb in 1986 as a commercial lines underwriter, and has held increasingly responsible positions in the field and the home office. He was elected to his current position in January 2014 after serving as president of personal lines and claims from 2011 through 2013.

Robusto was in line to be executive vice president of the parent company and co-president of the North American insurance division of the new Chubb that will be formed after ACE Limited closes on its acquisition of Chubb, a closing that is expected to happen in the first quarter of 2016. He was to have executive operating responsibility for the retail commercial property/casualty insurance businesses serving the middle market and small commercial customer segments in the U.S. and Canada.

Chubb said that Robusto’s duties at Chubb will be assumed by Paul J. Krump, executive vice president and president of personal lines and claims, until completion of the proposed merger with ACE. In addition, the company’s high net worth personal lines business in North America will report to Krump. Krump’s scope of responsibility will include all P/C products, underwriting, claims, actuarial and support functions related to these businesses, as well as responsibility for the field organization personnel responsible for the sales and servicing of the middle market, small commercial and high net worth personal lines markets.

In addition, ACE and Chubb announced a change in title for John Lupica, who will now serve as president, North America Major Accounts & Specialty Insurance of the new Chubb Group. Currently, Lupica is vice chairman of ACE Group and chairman of the company’s North American insurance businesses.

Willis North America has named Despina Buganski as chief operating officer of Willis Personal Lines.

In this role, Buganski will be responsible for the day-to-day operations and workflow processes of the Personal Lines Practice. She will report to Tyler Banks, National practice leader and CEO, Willis Personal Lines.

Based in Hartford, Connecticut, Buganski joined Willis in 2010 and most recently served as vice president and East region practice leader for Willis Personal Lines. Prior to Willis, she held roles at Travelers Insurance and Webster Insurance. The Willis Personal Lines Practice includes approximately 250 insurance professionals located throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Liberty International Underwriters (LIU), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance, has appointed Michael Finnegan to the newly-created position of chief underwriting officer for U.S. operations.

Prior to joining LIU, Finnegan was chief operating officer of Liberty Mutual Reinsurance (LMR), an independent business unit within Liberty Specialty Markets. LMR is the dedicated U.S. assumed reinsurance operation of Liberty Mutual Group. Based in New York, Finnegan will report to Jim Hinchley, president of LIU Americas.

Reporting directly to Finnegan will be: Carl Pursianos, senior vice president of Specialty Casualty; Tim Kania, senior vice president of Energy & Construction; Don Harrell, senior vice president of Marine; and Michael Carr, senior vice president of Excess & Surplus Property.

Finnegan will also have responsibility for a new underwriting leadership role – head of U.S. Casualty – to oversee a number of casualty products. The leaders of Primary Casualty, Excess Casualty, Environmental, and Crisis Management will report to this new position.

Union Mutual of Vermont Companies has promoted Alexis Markolf to director of marketing. She is based in the company’s Montpelier, Vermont, office.

Markolf joined Union Mutual of Vermont Companies in 2012 as marketing coordinator and worked within Union Mutual’s marketing team over the past three years, developing relationships with the company’s network of independent insurance agents.

Union Mutual of Vermont Companies, founded in 1874, is a property/casualty insurance group consisting of Union Mutual Fire Insurance and New England Guaranty Insurance, both based in Montpelier; Eastern Mutual Insurance, based in Greenville, New York; and Community Mutual Insurance, based in Troy, New York.