People & Places

Mark Friedlander and Kris Maccini have been appointed to senior communications positions at the Insurance Information Institute (III) to broaden the organization’s traditional and social media operations.

As III’s Florida communications consultant since July 2019, Friedlander is now its director of corporate communications. Based in northeast Florida, he will continue to lead the organization’s communications efforts in the Sunshine State while also handling national media relations issues and providing editorial support for the website and its social media channels.

Friedlander was the head of corporate communications at The Main Street America Group in Jacksonville, Fla., for 13 years. Before coming to III, he was a communications consultant at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). He has also held management roles at HSBC Holdings and Prudential Financial.

Maccini, who is based at III’s New York City office, joined the organization as its director of social media. She will be responsible for leading the institute’s social media and digital marketing strategies and enhancing its online presence. Most recently, she served as global director of social strategy at MetLife, where she led MetLife’s social media initiatives and implemented its digital transformation strategies. Earlier in her career, Maccini was vice president of digital marketing and communications at Jefferies, a financial services firm.

Both Friedlander and Maccini will report to Michael Barry, III’s head of media and public affairs.

J.A. Montgomery Consulting, a New Jersey-based affiliate of Conner Strong & Buckelew that focuses on risk control, safety and claims services, has hired Colleen Vallen to its team.

Vallen, a forensic services expert with more than two decades of industry experience, will guide the launch of a new forensic practice and serve as senior vice president and Forensic Services Practice leader.

Previously, Vallen worked as a partner at Citrin Cooperman, where she was the practice leader for the firm’s Litigation Support Services Group. Vallen has more than 20 years of industry experience, specializing in economic damage analysis and forensic and fraud investigations. In addition, she has worked with Conner Strong & Buckelew’s claims team for the past decade.

Complementing Conner Strong & Buckelew’s claims department, J.A. Montgomery Consulting’s Forensic Services Practice will focus on two key areas: claims preparation and forensic services. Under Vallen’s leadership, the team will provide services including preparing proof of loss and coordinating communication with carriers, along with assisting clients with economic evaluations and claim calculations.

SterlingRisk Insurance, a Woodbury, N.Y.-based independently owned insurance brokerage, has hired Kaitlin Friedman as alternative market leader.

As a licensed property and casualty insurance broker, Friedman also provides wholesale support to the SterlingRisk Programs Department. Much of Friedman’s experience centers on property and casualty insurance for commercial real estate, non-profits, construction and manufacturers.

She comes to SterlingRisk from HUB International, where she most recently served as an account executive handling more than 50 small- to middle-market accounts. She began her career at HUB in 2014 as assistant account executive.

BMS Group, an independent specialist reinsurance broker, has appointed Alejandro Ceron as BMS Latin America & Caribbean chief operating officer, effective immediately.

Ceron will be based in Miami and report to Jose Astorqui, CEO of BMS Latin America & Caribbean. Ceron joins BMS with more than 28 years of experience in international corporate management. He was founder and CEO of his own consulting firm that was formed in 2016 with a focus on corporate governance and organizational growth strategy. Ceron also worked at Marsh & McLennan in the U.S. and Latin America, where he led the HR and sales operation for Latin America between 2002 and 2016.

Prior to that, he held various senior HR roles at Philips Lighting in the Netherlands and PepsiCo in Mexico.

Acentria Insurance, an insurance agency operating in the Southeastern United States, has made executive leadership promotions in preparation for its plans to grow and expand within the marketplace.

Effective immediately, Kendall McEachern, co-founder of Acentria Insurance, will serve as chairman of the board of directors. McEachern is a 35-year industry veteran who co-founded Acentria Insurance in 2010. Launching the agency with only 25 team members, he has helped grow Acentria to more than 600 team members and approximately $90 million in annualized revenue. As chairman, McEachern will continue to be involved with Acentria’s further growth and expansion by overseeing mergers and acquisitions.

Kevin Mason, co-founder of Acentria Insurance, will take the reins as chief executive officer and oversee the agency as he leads in the company’s organic growth strategy and execution. Mason previously served as the president of Acentria Insurance and brings with him almost 30 years of industry experience.

Mary Lawless has been promoted to president, while continuing to serve as chief operations officer. She has held a variety of senior management positions in personal lines, select business and employee benefits along with agency operations. In her new role, Lawless will develop insurance products and oversee day to day agency operations. Lawless has more than 30 years of insurance experience.

Employee benefits and risk management firm, BOK Financial Insurance (BOKFI), a division of Tulsa, Okla.-based BOK Financial Corp., has tapped Jessica McCool, regional operations consultant, to lead its expansion effort in Oklahoma and Texas. She will be based in Oklahoma City.

After beginning her career in a pharmacy benefit account management role, McCool most recently worked as a benefit consultant focusing primarily on large, self-funded accounts.

BOK Financial Insurance offers employee benefits and risk management consulting services for businesses and nonprofit organizations across the Rocky Mountain and Midwest regions.

National insurance program manager, Distinguished Programs, has hired Erick Schmitt as regional sales executive for Oklahoma and Texas. He is based in Dallas.

Schmitt brings nearly 16 years of industry experience to his new executive role at Distinguished Programs. Prior to joining Distinguished Programs, Schmitt spent more than two years at Markel Specialty as senior sales manager.

He also worked as business development manager at AIG for more than two years and with Nationwide for nearly 11 years.

J.M. Wilson has added Kim Pov as an assistant property/casualty underwriter in its Madison, Wisc., office.

Pov comes to J.M. Wilson with more than 10 years of experience in the banking industry, as well as eight years of insurance experience working as both an insurance agent and in the claims department for an insurance company.

J.M. Wilson also promoted Kyle Bryson to senior transportation underwriter in its Portage, Mich., office. Bryson is responsible for quoting new and renewal Non-Fleet Trucking (1-10 units) and serving independent insurance agents in Michigan.

Bryson first joined JM Wilson in 2016 as a transportation intern. Upon graduating from Olivet College with a degree in Insurance and Risk Management, he was hired as transportation underwriter.

Chicago-based Ryan Specialty Group (RSG) has appointed Mark S. Katz as executive vice president and general counsel.

In his new position, Katz will lead RSG’s legal, compliance and regulatory functions. Katz joined Ryan Specialty Group in February 2019 as senior vice president and counsel of Insurance Services and has been responsible for leading a team focused on supporting the insurance operations of RSG and its subsidiaries.

Prior to joining RSG, Katz was a partner with law firm Mound Cotton Wallan & Greengrass LLP for 25 years, where he analyzed and litigated complex insurance coverage disputes on behalf of insurers, with a special emphasis on commercial first-party property litigation.

Alliant Insurance Services Inc. has named Steven Bubes as vice president for its West Coast employee benefits team. Bubes is based in Orange County, Calif.

Bubes was previously senior vice president with SullivanCurtisMonroe Insurance Services LLC. He also has experience in the payroll industry.

Newport Beach, Calif.-based Alliant provides property/casualty, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, underwriting, surety, and financial products and services.

Worldwide Facilities has named Juliet Carrillo as assistant vice president and broker in the Los Angeles, Calif., property department.

Carrillo has worked as both an underwriter and surplus lines broker in her 30-year insurance career, which includes 20 years working for surplus lines brokerages in the Western region.

Specialist insurer Beazley has appointed Justin Sanches as an underwriter within the U.S. healthcare liability team.

Sanches joins Beazley’s Los Angeles, Calif., office to underwrite a range of global miscellaneous medical and life sciences risks for middle market and large U.S.-domiciled healthcare providers. He will maintain national broker relationships with a particular focus on building Beazley’s West coast healthcare book.

He previously held underwriting positions at Tokio Marine HCC, where he was most recently a senior underwriter covering specialty lines including healthcare.

Beazley plc is the parent company of specialist insurance businesses with operations in Europe, the US, Canada, Latin America, Asia and Australia.

Worldwide Facilities has named Brad Foote as senior vice president, leading its new Denver, Colo., office.

He has more than 14 years of experience in the wholesale insurance industry and brings expertise in professional, cyber and management liability.