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Insurance broker Willis Towers Watson has appointed Bill Creedon as Construction Industry leader for North America within its Corporate Risk and Broking segment. Creedon, a 30-year insurance and construction risk industry veteran, is returning to Willis Towers Watson where he previously spent 20 years in national and global leadership roles. Creedon has spent the past two years at Construction Risk Partners and Fairly Group. Creedon will be broadly responsible for client relationships, business development and services for construction clients in North America including contractors, project owners, developers, project financiers, architects and engineers. He will also work to strengthen relationships with insurance carriers.
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has appointed Daniel Vetter as head of Excess & Surplus North America, a newly-created role. Vetter will be responsible for growth of the company’s E&S Property and Casualty business, as well as for establishing a Financial & Professional lines team within the unit. Based in New York, Vetter will oversee dedicated sales and underwriting teams across the region. He brings 20 years of insurance experience to this role. He joined Swiss Re in 2000.
AXA XL Insurance has appointed new Excess & Surplus (E&S) Casualty product leads in the U.S. Ankur Chokshi has been promoted to head of E&S Primary Casualty and Brokerage and Binding Authority while Kimberly Smid joins to lead the Excess Casualty E&S business. Both report to Matt O’Malley, head of AXA XL’s E&S Casualty business. Based in Chicago, Chokshi previously served as E&S’s Central regional vice president. Chokshi joined AXA XL in 2013 as an E&S underwriter after positions at CoverX and Chubb. Chokshi also assumes leadership of AXA XL’s Binding Authority and Brokerage insurance operation from Karl Fischbach, who continues in his role a leader of Wholesale Broker, Programs and Binding Relationships. Smid joins AXA XL’s New York office from QBE where she served as an E&S underwriting manager on the National Excess Casualty team. She brings 13 years of experience including positions at Can, Swiss Re and AIG.
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty reported that Wanda Phillips has taken on responsibility as the North America regional head of Entertainment. Phillips replaces Sue McGuirl who has left Allianz to pursue other opportunities, according to the company. Based in New York, Phillips is responsible for leading North American underwriting teams in support of Entertainment’s product strategies. She joined AGCS in 2016 as a senior underwriting team leader and has more than 25 years of experience including tenure with Entertainment Brokers International, Aon, Chubb and OneBeacon Entertainment.
Energi, the Peabody, Mass.-headquartered parent company for Energi Insurance Services Inc., has named Michael Windstein as chief underwriting officer. Windstein will support Energi’s underwriting operations with the recent launch of its eCaptiv programs for the energy and transportation industries. Windstein previously worked as assistant vice president for the Mid-Atlantic, where he managed the underwriting portfolio for the region. Prior to Energi, he was at Victor O. Schinnerer.
SterlingRisk Insurance, a Woodbury, N.Y.-based, independent insurance brokerage, has hired Geraldine DelPrete as director of programs and senior vice president. DelPrete brings 25 years of experience to SterlingRisk, having held positions with Aon Re, Guy Carpenter, American Re and Willis Re. Prior to joining TigerRisk Partners in 2008, DelPrete was senior executive vice president for Gallagher Re, where she assisted with the sale of Gallagher Re to Aon.
The Insurance Library Association of Boston has named Paul Tetrault as its executive director. Tetrault, an attorney and former editor of the insurance publication The Standard, has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. He joins the Library from the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, where was an in-house counsel for government affairs for more than 13 years. He also has experience in litigation defense and insurance coverage matters. Founded in 1887, The Insurance Library is offers literature, information services and professional education.
Ellsworth Insurance Agency in Edwardsville, Illinois, has hired Aaron Head as an insurance advisor and producer. Head will generate leads, develop new accounts, and handle existing accounts. Prior to joining the company, Head worked as an insurance producer for a local Illinois agency. He previously worked as an account executive at various print and broadcast organizations. Founded in 2016, the agency is owned by Kurt Ellsworth and is a member of Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA).
Brightway Insurance has added a new agency location in Illinois — Brightway, The Nadelhoffer Family Agency in Warrenville opened by Matt and Rebecca Nadelhoffer. The Nadelhoffers come to Brightway with experience in business, teaching and coaching. Rebecca started a home-based health and wellness business that she has operated for the past five years. She has taught exercise science and education courses as an adjunct professor at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill., and at Eastern University in St. David’s, Pa. Matt coached men’s college basketball for nearly 20 years and most recently served as the head coach at Millikin University.
Sebastian Sanchez joined RHSB (Roach Howard Smith & Barton) as assistant vice president in the Dallas agency’s Employee Benefits division. Sanchez is a consultant with an emphasis on small to mid-market employers. Prior to joining RHSB, Sanchez led a team of benefit coordinators for a national broker in the Dallas area. RHSB has offices in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner-Elect Glen Mulready tapped Oklahoma native and longtime conservative adviser, Tyler Laughlin, as chief of staff and first deputy insurance commissioner at the insurance department. Laughlin, currently a deputy commissioner for the OID, will lead Mulready’s transition into the post. Mulready will be sworn in as insurance commissioner on Jan. 14, 2019.
Specialist insurer Beazley appointed Reese Lever as a U.S. marine underwriter for the Southwest region. Reese joins Beazley’s office in Houston, Texas, from QBE where he was a vice president for Marine, based in the same city. He is responsible for the portfolio in the Southwest states for a range of marine classes including primary and excess marine liabilities, hull and P&I. He
previously held senior underwriting roles at Zurich and Great American. This followed a career with Military Sealift Command.
Turbeville Insurance Agency (TIA) of South Carolina has hired Graham Gardner as vice president of Large Construction Insurance in the company’s Columbia location. Gardner has more than 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, most recently as vice president at Hub International. mBill Turbeville, TIA owner and president, said Gardner’s addition marks the beginning of the company’s new sector for large construction.
Employee benefits consultant Eric Rioux has joined Lockton Southeast as a business adviser. Lockton’s Southeast operation has offices in Atlanta, Charlotte, Naples, Miramar, Miami, Tampa and Greenville, South Carolina. Rioux previously spent a decade as an account manager and business development executive with Northwestern Benefit Corp. where he helped clients navigate the health insurance marketplace, stay compliant with regulations, and boost employee communication efforts. He was also a benefits consultant for Arthur J. Gallagher. Rioux is based out of Lockton’s Atlanta office.
National wholesale broker Worldwide Facilities has named Norman Ives to the management and brokerage team in its NutraRisk division, which specializes in cannabis, nutraceuticals and dietary supplements insurance coverage. Ives, based out of Washington, was previously the cannabis program manager at Mosaic Insurance Alliance. He was a commercial sales specialist at Farmers before that.
Gorst & Compass Insurance, a wholesale broker headquartered in Chatsworth, Calif., has expanded its Northern California operations with the opening of an office in Napa, Calif. and has named Katie Sholders, senior broker/underwriter in commercial lines, to open the office. She has 14 years of wholesale commercial lines wholesale experience with a focus on contractors. She was previously senior underwriter/broker with R.E. Chaix.
Alliant Insurance Services Inc. has named Megan Davidson vice president within the company’s real estate group. Davidson will be based in Alliant’s Seattle, Wash. office, and will provide insurance and risk management solutions to real estate clients with a focus on affordable housing and nonprofit organizations. Davidson was previously a sales executive at Propel Insurance. She was a vice president at Wells Fargo Insurance Services before that.