People

COUNTRY Financial, headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois, has named Jim Jacobs as its next chief executive officer (CEO), effective early next year.

He succeeds Kurt Bock, who is retiring Jan. 31, 2019, after serving as CEO for seven years.

Jacobs has served as general counsel, secretary and chief legal officer for COUNTRY Financial, Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) and other affiliated companies since 2008. Before that, he served as an attorney and assistant corporate secretary in IFB’s Office of General Counsel.

Prior to joining IFB, Jacobs was a litigation attorney in Louisiana and a partner in the New Orleans law firm of Murphy, Rogers, Sloss and Gambel.

Jacobs will serve as chief executive officer for each of the operating companies comprising COUNTRY Financial under general direction of the president and board of directors of the companies.

ONI Risk Partners (ONI) hired Charlie Renie as a commercial insurance risk advisor in the company’s headquarters in Indianapolis.

Renie concentrates on the identification, assessment, and management of the overall impact and cost of risk to his mid-to-large commercial insurance clients to help improve their bottom line.

Most recently, Renie was vice president of account management for KBIC LLC in Indianapolis where he served as an internal insurance manager for several of the area’s largest real estate, development, and construction firms.

ONI a full-service insurance agency delivering commercial, employee benefits, and personal insurance solutions to families and businesses.

Alera Group, a national employee benefits, property/casualty, risk management and wealth management firm headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, appointed Matt Kistler as director of Business Development.

Kistler will play a critical part in Alera Group’s continued national expansion and growth. He brings more than 12 years of experience to the Alera Group team.

Previously, Kistler was the vice president of Business Development at United Benefit Advisors (UBA), where he worked with the leadership of insurance agencies across the country as a strategic industry consultant.

In 2016, Kistler joined LHD Benefit Advisors in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he helped CFOs, CEOs and human capital executives navigate the complexities of their employee benefits program.

Insurance and risk management services firm, Gallagher, promoted Steve Kluting to national director of product recall in its Food & Agribusiness Practice Group

As a “food lawyer” with 18 years of experience, Kluting helps Gallagher’s food, beverage and restaurant clients prepare for food safety incidents, including product recalls and government enforcement actions.

Kluting also manages the negotiation, structuring and placement of product recall insurance coverage and he is a certified Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point manager.

Before joining Gallagher in 2014, Kluting spent more than 13 years with a large corporate law firm, including several years as co-chair of its Food Industry Practice. He also worked as chief strategy officer for a family-owned food wholesaler and retailer. In this role he led growth initiatives, acted as general counsel and led the food safety team.

Gallagher is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

Patrice Scott has joined Method Insurance Services as a business development manager. She will focus on expanding Method’s agency distribution in the Midwest and beyond, and assist in rolling out the new Method Specialty Comp Program for challenging risks in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Scott has been managing territories across the Midwest for over five years. She got her start at Markel as an account executive in Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas.

After departing Markel, Scott was a territory sales manager for over 140 agencies in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri for Amerisafe Insurance.

Scott was the business development manager in Iowa and Nebraska for RAS prior to coming to Method.

Scott has earned her Associate in General Insurance (AINS) designation from The Institutes.

The new Method Specialty Comp Program will focus on exclusive agency partners, extensive appetite, and responsive risk management services.

Method Insurance Services is based in Omaha, Nebraska.