People & Places

Lockton appointed Michelle Faylo as its U.S. Cyber & Technology leader.

A 20-year veteran of the insurance industry, Faylo joins Lockton from AIG, where she most recently was North America Head of Cyber & Professional Liability. Before joining AIG in 2006, she worked as a client advocate at Willis.

The Big “I” promoted Christopher Boggs to vice president of agent development, research and education.

Boggs succeeds Madelyn Flannagan, who will retire after 26 years of excellent service to the independent agency channel.

Boggs joined the Big “I” team in November 2016. In his new role, Boggs will manage and lead the Big “I” agent development department, including the Virtual University, Agents Council for Technology (ACT), Invest, the Diversity Council, Young Agents, Best Practices and errors & omissions risk management.

He previously served as the vice president of education for Insurance Journal’s Academy of Insurance.

Falcon Risk Holdings appointed David Lynders as head of Management Liability, John Merchant as head of Cyber & Technology E&O, and Martin Schnabel as head of Claims.

Falcon Risk, an MGA, started underwriting risk in January 2022 and provides a full suite of financial, professional and cyber insurance products and services.

Lynders joins from AIG, where he held a number of senior roles, including head of Financial Institutions, Financial Lines North America. Merchant joins Falcon from Optio Insurance Services where he was managing director – Cyber & Technology Practice, North America. Schnabel was at Nationwide E/S Specialty for the last 12 years, where he most recently served as chief claims officer.

Marsh McLennan appointed Mikhail “Misha” Vanyo as general counsel of Marsh. Based in New York, Vanyo will lead all legal and compliance strategy for Marsh globally.

He succeeds Katherine Brennan, who was named senior vice president and general counsel of Marsh McLennan. Vanyo will report to Brennan and to Martin South, president and CEO of Marsh.

Vanyo joined Marsh McLennan as the firm’s chief competition counsel in 2017, later taking on the role of Marsh’s chief counsel for Global Placement and Specialty. Prior to joining Marsh McLennan, he served as federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, focusing on antitrust, fraud, and other white collar crime, and as an associate at the global law firms Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and O’Melveny & Myers.

Karl Hersch has been named the leader of advisory firm Deloitte’s U.S. insurance sector within the organization’s financial services industry practice.

Hersch will oversee more than 3,200 practitioners providing services to organizations across the insurance industry. Hersch, a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP, will be responsible for leading the overall insurance sector strategy, bringing practice areas together to serve Deloitte’s portfolio of insurance clients.

Hersch has 30 years of experience and has held numerous leadership roles, serving as the U.S. insurance consulting practice leader since 2019. .

Hersch succeeds Gary Shaw, who will continue to focus on the organization’s largest accounts. During his tenure, Shaw oversaw the exponential growth of the U.S. insurance practice, while also serving as the lead client service partner for a major global insurance company.

Deloitte’s insurance group brings together specialists from actuarial, risk, strategy, operations, technology, tax and audit.

Vermont’s Union Mutual Insurance Co. hired George MacKinnon as vice president of underwriting.

MacKinnon has 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, working most recently at Patrons Oxford as vice president of underwriting. He has experience in commercial lines, workers’ compensation and personal lines as well as information technology, accounting and sales.

MacKinnon will be based in the company’s Montpelier office.

Massachusetts’ Gilbert Insurance Agency has hired Keith Monti.

In his 13 years in the industry as an insurance producer, Monti has focused on risk management and insurance for contractors, subcontractors, restaurants, auto repair shops, property investors, and others. He is a certified Construction Risk and Insurance Specialist.

Monti will work out of Gilbert’s new Georgetown office, which opened in February. This location is the third for the family-owned Gilbert agency, which also has offices in Reading and Medford.

Western Reserve Group promoted Greg A. Brunn to president and CEO effective Jan. 1, 2023, upon the retirement of current President and CEO Kevin W. Day. In addition, Brunn has been elected to the board of directors.

Brunn began his career with WRG in 1997 as the marketing manager. In January 2021, he was appointed executive vice president/COO, a position in which he will remain through the end of the year.

Western Reserve, founded in 1906 and based in Wooster, Ohio, partners with more than 400 independent agencies to distribute quality property and casualty insurance products throughout Ohio and Indiana.

The Hilb Group named Ryan Hartzler Midwest Platform leader. He will be responsible for the growth and development of Hilb Group agencies in Indiana, Michigan and additional Midwest states as the company expands its presence and brand throughout the region.

Hartzler joined the Hilb Group in 2016 as part of the company’s acquisition of Patriot Insurance.

The Hilb Group is a property/casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and advisory firm headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.

POWERS Insurance & Risk Management promoted Kate Murphy to licensing coordinator and Shari Smith to account manager for sister company Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA).

Murphy is responsible for licensing and compliance needs across the country. She will handle carrier appointments, license renewals, and arranging continuing education for the company’s associates. Murphy previously was an administrative assistant at POWERS.

Smith was promoted to a newly created position at VIAA where she will manage both commercial and personal lines accounts. She also will assist with quoting and issuing new business policies, as well as work with commercial book roll transfers. Smith previously served as a commercial account manager at POWERS. She has more than 20 years of customer service experience and is a certified insurance service representative.

St. Louis, Missouri-based POWERS provides personal and business insurance, surety, and risk management.

TigerRisk Partners LLC, a risk, capital and strategic advisor to the global insurance and reinsurance industries, appointed Bill Tuttle as partner, senior reinsurance broker.

Based in Minnesota, Tuttle will be responsible for guiding key clients through complex property placements in this difficult time in the market cycle. He has over 35 years’ experience in the property/casualty industry, and joins most recently from Aon, where he was managing director with a focus on property catastrophe clients.

TigerRisk is a risk, capital and strategic advisor to the insurance and reinsurance industries founded in 2008.

Jimcor Agency Inc., a national wholesale broker and managing general agent, hired Michael Becotte as a commercial lines underwriter for the Southeast, based in Cumming, Georgia.

Becotte has more than 35 years experience, including eight in the insurance business. He is certified in government sales and was most recently with Southern Insurance Underwriters.

Owens Insurance Agency in Greer, South Carolina, named Chad Hannon market president.

Hannon joined Owens as executive vice president of the commercial division seven years ago.

Owens, licensed in South Carolina and Georgia, specializes in insurance for most types of construction companies.

Nashville’s Tucker Agency, an independent insurance agency, hired Halsey Fischer as controller and to assist with client management.

Fischer, a Nashville native, has been an accountant for more than 14 years, most recently with HCA.

Tucker Agency, founded in 2018, is licensed in more than 30 states. It is led by founder and principal Will Tucker.

Island Insurance Cos. announced that The Law Offices of Cary T. Tanaka joined the company as its newly created staff counsel.

In addition to Cary T. Tanaka, the staff counsel team includes Greg Takase, Jared Say, and legal staff.

Tanaka, now Island Insurance vice president and managing staff counsel, has served for nearly three decades as outside panel counsel representing the company’s customers.

Takase has nearly 25 years of legal experience, many of which were spent in service to Island Insurance’s customers.

Say has worked for nearly 15 years in the Island Insurance claims department.

Island Insurance’s offerings include personal auto, homeowners, condo, renters and umbrella insurance, and commercial insurance.

Insurance broker McGriff added Donna Matthews, a senior vice president and Denver, Colorado-based marketing account executive, to its real estate and hospitality practice.

Matthews has nearly 20 years of experience.

A subsidiary of Truist Insurance Holdings, McGriff provides risk management and insurance solutions to clients across the United States.

Crest Insurance added Chris Haller to its Wyoming team.

He previously worked in career in sports management at the University of Wyoming, IMG/Learfield, where he oversaw strategic corporate sponsorships.

Crest Insurance has offices throughout the Southwest and holds licenses in all 50 states.

Alliant Insurance Services promoted Peter Arkley to president of its retail property/casualty operations.

He joined Alliant in 2011.

Alliant also named Brittany Thune Lindberg vice president, mergers and acquisitions.

Thune Lindberg previously was with Elgethun Capital Management Inc.

Alliant is a distributor of diversified insurance products and services.