People – West

Charlie Rosson, CEO of San Francisco, Calif.-based Woodruff-Sawyer & Co., has been named as chairman of Assurex Global.

Assurex Global is a partnership of independent agents and brokers with more than 600 partner offices.

Rosson leads Woodruff-Sawyer’s business strategy and growth activities.

Woodruff-Sawyer is a large independent insurance brokerage and an active partner of Assurex Global.

Validus Holdings Ltd. named Gary Tiepelman senior vice president of Western World Insurance Co.

Tiepelman will open and manage Western World’s Scottsdale, Ariz., office, writing on behalf of Western World. He will be responsible for assembling an underwriting team for the office.

Tiepelman has more than 30 years of underwriting experience. Prior to Western World he was senior vice president of underwriting and marketing at Scottsdale Insurance Co. Before that he held various management positions with Great Southwest Fire Insurance and Acceptance Insurance.

Western World is a specialty U.S. commercial insurer. Validus Holdings is a holding company and Western World is one of its holdings.

Stockton, Calif.-based M.J. Hall & Company Inc. named Stacey Shurson vice president.

Shurson has 39 years of insurance underwriting and brokerage placement experience. She owned IIW Insurance Services of California in Dublin from 1986 to 2013.

M.J. Hall is a surplus lines broker and managing general agent.

Newport Beach, Calif.-based Alliant Insurance Services has named Steve Sampiere chief information officer.

Sampiere will direct initiatives focusing on innovation, security and facilities. He takes the reins of CIO from Ilene Anders, who became chief financial officer in September.

Sampiere has 35 years of technology experience. He was previously Alliant’s chief technology officer. Prior to Alliant Sampiere worked for firms including IBM, Callaway Golf, Intuit and Peregrine Semiconductor.

Alliant provides property/casualty, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, surety and financial products and services.

Burns & Wilcox Brokerage has named Susie Parks vice president and senior broker in the firm’s Scottsdale, Ariz., office.

She will focus on real estate, hospitality, products and product recall coverage.

Parks has 29 years of experience, most recently as area assistant vice president and senior broker at RPS Insurance Services in Scottsdale. Parks was at AmWINS Insurance Brokerage of California prior to that.

Detroit, Mich.-based Burns & Wilcox Brokerage is an independent wholesale insurance brokerage owned by the H.W. Kaufman Financial Group.

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty has named Mandy Mackowiak as a team leader for the mountain states territory.

Mackowiak will be based in the Denver, Colo., field office. She will be responsible for leading an underwriting team.

Mackowiak has 10 years of insurance experience. Prior to Allianz she was with Liberty Mutual Insurance. She spent nine years at Fireman’s Fund as a senior middle market underwriter before that.

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty offers a range of corporate and specialty insurance services delivered worldwide through a network in more than 160 countries.

CAL Insurance & Associates Inc. named Fred H. Danfoura to its commercial brokerage team.

Danfoura joins CAL to increase the firm’s presence in the educational, nonprofit and investment real estate sectors.

CAL is a full service insurance brokerage and consultancy headquartered in San Francisco.

Thomas S. Gayner, president and chief investment officer, and Richard R. Whitt, III, president and co-chief operating officer, will serve as co-chief executive officers of Markel Corp. starting Jan. 1, 2016.

F. Michael Crowley, president and co-chief operating officer, will serve as the sole president of the company, also beginning in Jan. 1.

Crowley, Gayner and Whitt will continue to report to Alan I. Kirshner, who will serve as the company’s executive chairman.

Additionally, Gayner will oversee Markel Ventures, while Whitt will oversee the international insurance and reinsurance operations and other functions.

Crowley will continue to oversee the company’s global insurance, specialty and wholesale operations and other functions.

Richmond, Va.-based Markel underwrites specialty insurance products.