People & Places
Marsh McLennan named Pat Tomlinson CEO of U.S. and Canada.
He, along with Flavio Piccolomini, who was appointed International CEO, will report to Mercer President and CEO Martine Ferland and Marsh President and CEO Martin South as they lead operations across Marsh McLennan’s Marsh, Mercer, Guy Carpenter and Oliver Wyman business.
Tomlinson has more than 25 years of experience in professional services. He joined Mercer in 2014. Most recently he served as Mercer’s president of U.S. and Canada. Prior to Mercer, Tomlinson was with Aon for 17 years.
Piccolomini was most recently president of Marsh’s International Division and brings 30-plus years of experience in insurance brokerage and risk advisory.
HDI Global, headquartered in Hanover, Germany, appointed Jason Tyng to the newly created role of lead of U.S. captive solutions. He is based in Chicago.
Tyng brings more than 15 years of sales and leadership experience across the commercial insurance industry. He joins HDI Global from Amazon, where he served as head of construction risk, handling placements of both international and domestic programs.
Marshall & Sterling Enterprises Inc. appointed Eric Diamond as chief executive officer.
Prior to joining Marshall & Sterling in 2009, Diamond was president of JS Diamond Group Inc. He most recently served as president of Marshall & Sterling’s employee benefits for 12 years. Diamond also serves on Marshall & Sterling Enterprises board of directors.
Jim Dahoney, currently the company’s senior vice president and chief information officer, has been promoted to the role of chief operating officer. Dahoney has been with Marshall & Sterling for 32 years.
Marshall & Sterling is headquartered in Poughkeepsie, New York, with offices in New York, California, Michigan, Florida, Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Specialty managing general agent Nexus Underwriting appointed Justin Darlea as assistant vice president, product recall, in its specialty casualty business. The company is headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey.
Darlea joins Nexus Underwriting U.S. from Starr Insurance Companies. Prior to this, Darlea was a product recall broker at Marsh & McLennan Companies and an underwriting assistant at Morstan General Agency. He began his insurance career at Munich Re America.
Insurtech Send Technology Solutions Ltd. appointed New York-based Charlie Riley as vice president of marketing, North America. This is the company’s first dedicated North American hire, part of a planned North American expansion to support property/casualty underwriters.
Riley has 20 years of experience, including four years leading the marketing and sales operations for independent broker Lawley Insurance and as vice president of growth for cybersecurity insurance business Havoc Shield.
Send is headquartered in London, England.
Global insurance broker NFP hired Kelly Smith as senior vice president, employee benefits. Smith will work across the Hudson Valley and upstate New York, focusing on business expansion and client retention.
Smith comes to New York, NY-based NFP from MVP Healthcare, where she served most recently as senior vice president, chief of sales.
The Hartford appointed Hank Dominioni head of sales and underwriting for its middle and large commercial businesses’ northeast division.
Dominioni will lead sales and underwriting operations for the company’s independent agents, brokers and customers across seven northeastern states from Maine to New York.
He has been with The Hartford, based in Hartford, Connecticut, for over 20 years, most recently serving as head of northern and southern New England.
Plymouth Rock Home Assurance Corp. in Woodbridge, New Jersey, appointed Rachel Switchenko as vice president of customer solutions.
Switchenko previously directed customer care for Plymouth Rock’s independent agent auto business. Prior to joining Plymouth Rock, Switchenko spent 11 years at Liberty Mutual Insurance.
Holmes Murphy appointed key leaders to several major roles throughout the Holmes Murphy enterprise.
Jay Freiermuth, Stephani Manning, and Lauren Roth have been appointed to Holmes Murphy’s board of managers.
Freiermuth has been with Holmes Murphy since 1997, most recently serving as a senior vice president in the surety space. Manning and Roth both have over a decade of experience at Holmes Murphy.
Columbia Insurance Group, headquartered in Columbia, Missouri, named Lisa Wharton vice president and chief information officer.
She is an accomplished technology leader with over 20 years of experience. Before joining Columbia, Wharton was vice president of application development at Grange Insurance and served as vice president of systems transformation at Motorists Insurance Group.
Global Marine Insurance, a division of Specialty Program Group LLC, hired Jason Cochran as a commercial marine specialist. Cochran will provide strategic risk guidance to marine businesses in the Midwest.
Cochran comes to Global Marine Insurance from the Brunswick Corporation in Mettawa, Illinois, where he served for 15 years in several positions with increasing responsibility.
Merrill, Wisconsin-based Church Mutual Insurance Co., S.I. 1, promoted Alan S. Ogilvie to president of the company. Rich Poirier, current president and CEO, will remain as CEO.
Ogilvie also will join Church Mutual’s board of directors. He will assume the additional role of CEO on Jan. 1, 2024, when Poirier transitions to senior advisor.
Ogilvie held positions at Wausau Insurance Companies, Caliber One Indemnity, Godfrey & Kahn S.C. and Capitol Insurance Companies before joining Church Mutual in 2015.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based United Fire Group Inc. (UFG) appointed Julie Stephenson executive vice president and chief operating officer. She succeeds the company’s longtime COO, Michael Wilkins, who has retired.
Stephenson has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry, most recently serving as global head of casualty reinsurance at Swiss Re.
NFP, a New York, New York-based property/broker, benefits consultant, wealth manager, and retirement advisor, hired Aaron Hawley as a senior vice president in its Surety practice. Hawley is based in Houston.
He joins NFP from Catto and Catto, where he was surety director. Prior to this, he spent more than 15 years as an underwriter for various companies, including The Hartford, Zurich International and Liberty Mutual.
Mike Myers joined Alliant Insurance Services as vice president within its employee benefits group. He is based in Dallas.
Myers joins Alliant with nearly 30 years of healthcare and benefits industry experience. Before joining Alliant, Myers was vice president/senior benefit consultant at a risk management and benefits consulting firm working with clients across various industries and disciplines.
Goosehead Insurance Inc., an independent personal lines insurance franchise operation, promoted Mark Jones Jr. to the executive team as chief financial officer.
Jones joined Goosehead, in 2016 as controller and was promoted in 2020 to vice president of finance. Prior to joining Goosehead, Jones worked in Ernst & Young’s Audit practice.
Goosehead is headquartered in Westlake, Texas.
Steve Kinion has been appointed as captive director at the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Kinion previously served 13 years as the captive director for the Delaware Insurance Department.
He joined the Oklahoma Insurance Department in 1995 as counsel to the Oklahoma State Board for Property and Casualty Rates and as an assistant general counsel.
Mark Fowler has been appointed commissioner at the Alabama Department of Insurance. Fowler joined the department in 2013 and was named acting commissioner in July 2022, after longtime Commissioner Jim Ridling retired.
Before joining the department, Fowler had a 28-year career in government, public affairs and association management, the department said. He also served as a legislative assistant to the late U.S. Sen. Howell Heflin.
At the DOI, Fowler has worked as government relations manager, chief of staff and deputy commissioner.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara appointed Carolyn Wysinger as the newest member to the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan Advisory Committee, and April Savoy, Patrick Wong and Peter Guastamachio as members on the California Insurance Guarantee Association board of governors.
The CAARP Advisory Committee provides policy advice to the insurance commissioner on matters affecting the operation of its programs.
LP Insurance Services LLC in Reno, Nevada, added Doug Richesin and DLR Insurance Solutions. He provides services and guidance to employee benefits clientele.
Richesin joins LP Insurance as a member/owner and will continue serving clients throughout the Fresno, California, area and beyond.
Buckner in Salt Lake City, Utah, appointed Arsen Mkrtchyan as chief growth officer of employee benefits and Mike Gulick as vice president of business development.
Mkrtchyan has held various leadership positions with Grant Private Wealth Management, NOMI Health, Health Equity and Cambia Health.
Gulick, who joined Buckner from EMC Insurance
Companies in Boise, Idaho, has served the insurance industry in various capacities, including business development, underwriting, and marketing.