People & Places

Making changes to its executive management structure, Safety National Casualty Corp. moved Duane Hercules from president to CEO. Mark Wilhelm, formerly chairman and CEO, became executive chairman.

Hercules will provide leadership to develop, execute and achieve strategic business objectives and goals. He shares responsibility for company business operations and financial results with Wilhelm and will be responsible for advancing the company’s mission while preserving and enhancing its reputation and culture.

Moving into the role of president is John Csik, formerly the chief operating officer (COO) and chief financial officer (CFO). He will be responsible for directing all insurance and reinsurance operations.

Cyndee Morton, formerly executive vice president (EVP) of operations and chief innovation officer, was named COO and CIO. Gus Aivaliotis, formerly EVP and chief underwriting officer (CUO), will continue as chief underwriting officer and add executive management oversight of the Credit Risk Department. Tom Grove, formerly EVP and chief business development officer, was named chief client officer. Steve Divine, formerly SVP Finance and chief accounting officer, became CFO. Seth Smith, formerly EVP Underwriting, became EVP and CUO – Insurance Underwriting. Nick Kriegel, formerly SVP and general counsel, was named SVP of operations and general counsel.

Lockton named M. Machua Millett as chief innovation officer and alternative investment practice leader within its Lockton Financial Services (LFS) unit. He is based in Boston.

He joins Lockton from Marsh, where he spent 12 years, most recently as chief innovation officer in the company’s FINPRO Practice. At Marsh, Millett helped to create a number of innovative insurance coverages, including products focused on wage and hour liability, regulatory investigation costs, intellectual property infringement liability, reputational risk, SPAC and de-SPAC transactions and others.

Applied Financial Lines, an affiliate of Applied Underwriters Inc., formed a cyber risk insurance unit to be co-led by Vice President Lauren Markowski and Vice President Vincent Regina. The new unit will offer cyber and technology errors & omissions (E&O) excess liability in the U.S., EU and Israel.

Markowski and Regina join Applied Financial Lines from CelerityPro, where they helped launch and manage cyber and professional liability lines business.

Markowski has 20 years of professional liability experience at the reinsurance and primary levels. Prior to her role at CelerityPro, she helped manage the cyber liability treaty portfolio at Transatlantic Reinsurance Co.

David W. Sponic has been named senior vice president of personal lines by Donegal Insurance Group.

Sponic succeeds Jeff Jacobsen, who the company said will transition into an advisory role leading up to his retirement in early 2023 after more than 40 years in the insurance industry – including three decades with Donegal.

Sponic previously led Donegal’s personal lines marketing and home office underwriting operations. He began his career with Donegal in 1990 as a personal lines underwriter. He will be based in Donegal’s Marietta, Pennsylvania, home office.

Specialty insurance broker Risk Strategies added Amanda Mullan as chief human resources officer.

Mullan has more than 20 years of experience leading human capital initiatives. Most recently she was senior vice president and chief human resources officer at New Jersey Resources (NJR). Prior to NJR, Mullan served as director and senior vice president of human resources in North America for insurance broker Willis Group Holdings. She has also held senior human resource leadership roles at Dun & Bradstreet, Realogy Title Group and Prudential.

Zurich North America named Gerald Chiddick as regional executive for the Midwest region. He will report to Carl Sutter, head of distribution and regional management.

As a regional executive, Chiddick will be responsible for executing Zurich’s business strategy for the Midwest region, including delivering plans for strategic growth, profitability and operational excellence, and building strong relationships with Zurich’s customers and distributors.

Chiddick rejoined Zurich in 2021 as U.S. middle market head of real estate, retail and hospitality. He previously served as the vice president of marketing for Amerisure, where he also held roles in product and business development.

Deerfield, Illinois-based Alera Group named Steve Kreuger as senior vice president, carrier partnerships.

Kreuger will be responsible for creating and maintaining all employee benefits carrier partnerships at Alera Group. He has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining Alera Group, Kreuger was general manager and market growth leader at Cigna.

The Gray Insurance Company named Borne “Paul” Boudreaux III president of the company, effective July 1.

In his new position, he will take a more active role in the company’s long-term strategic objectives and oversight of budgeting, capital allocation, and financial activities. He will also continue to oversee daily operations.

As president, Boudreaux succeeds Michael T. Gray, who will remain with the company as chairman of the board of The Gray Insurance Company and president of Gray & Company Inc.

Beacon Hill Associates, a division of Specialty Program Group LLC and its underwriting division, PartnerOne Environmental, added two new team members — Justin Radcliffe as vice president and South Central regional manager and Brittany Skiles as senior underwriter.

Radcliffe brings over a decade of experience in the commercial insurance brokerage space, most recently focusing on energy industry related risks. Skiles has 16 years of experience in environmental insurance and will be underwriting, quoting, and binding new & renewal business for agents and brokers across the country.

McGriff Insurance Services, a retail insurance broker based in Huntsville, Alabama, named Bud Curtis vice president and alternative risk business development manager.

Curtis has 45 years’ experience with alternative risk and captive insurance. He will work to promote captive programs and other risk-transfer plans. He is a member of the Tennessee Captive Insurance Association and serves as a board member for several risk retention groups.

Irvine, California-based Alliant Insurance Services hired employee benefits consultant Andrew Fox, in Orlando, Florida, as vice president. Fox has extensive experience working with insured and self-insured organizations in the public and private sectors.

National insurance broker Risk Strategies named Jason Ellison employee benefits leader for its national health care practice. Ellison, who previously was a senior vice president at Gallagher for health and welfare consulting, will work to coordinate two of Risk Strategies’ national practices – employee benefits and health care – and expanding the model to other areas. He is based in Nashville.

Monterey, California-based Capital Insurance Group named Victor Foggie director of field operations.

Foggie will oversee CIG’s regional field executives in addition to the home office commercial lines unit.

He will oversee production in CIG’s four regions: Northwest, Southwest, Northern California and Southern California.

Foggie’s previous role as Southwest regional field executive is being filled by Chuck Scheiner.

Scheiner has 30 years of property/casualty insurance experience.

CIG is underwritten by its affiliate companies: California Capital Insurance Company, Eagle West Insurance Company, Nevada Capital Insurance Company and Monterey Insurance Company.