People & Places

Westchester, Chubb’s Excess and Surplus Lines Division, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, named Matt Booker, head of brokerage property and inland marine, as property practice leader. Tom McLaughlin, head of brokerage casualty, has been appointed casualty practice leader. Andrea Larkin, recently appointed head of financial lines, will become the financial lines practice leader. Dave Roberts, executive vice president, Westchester digital and middle market, will take on operations, programs and IT.

Ignite Specialty Risk, headquartered in London, appointed Ankit Patel to lead the contingent legal risk insurance team for the Americas at Liberty Mutual Corporation.

Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, hired professional employer organization (PEO) specialist Crystal Calvo as vice president within its employee benefits group. Calvo most recently served as a senior broker relationship manager within the PEO division at ADP.

QBE North America, headquartered in New York City, appointed Lauren Finnis as senior vice president of distribution. Finnis joins QBE from Willis Towers Watson, where she served as head of commercial lines in their insurance consulting and technology practice.

AXA XL in the Americas, headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, hired Peter Bakker as head of environmental package solutions for middle market in the Americas. Based in New York, Bakker joins AXA XL after 13 years with Aspen Insurance.

Tokio Marine HCC (TMHCC), based in Houston, Texas, appointed Brendan Gaine as head of North American distribution, a newly created role. Gaine joins TMHCC from Brightway Insurance, where he was head of national franchise sales. TMHCC also appointed Stuart Heath as head of distribution – international. Heath previously served as TMHCC’s head of delegated property.

Hiscox, headquartered in Atlanta, appointed Karen Baldwin as vice president, media practice leader. Baldwin leads Hiscox USA’s media liability practice. Baldwin most recently served as AXIS Capital’s vice president, media, film & entertainment product leader.

Willis, a WTW business headquartered in London, named Stephen Kyriacou as head of litigation and contingent risk solutions, and senior director of transactional solutions for North America. Kyriacou most recently served as managing director and senior lawyer in Aon’s litigation risk group.

Kirstie Settas-Jones joined Alliant Insurance Services as vice president within its employee benefits group. Based in Florida, Settas-Jones serves a nationwide client base. Alliant is based in Irvine, California. Prior to joining Alliant, Settas-Jones was senior vice president, consultant relations with Progyny, Inc.

Tokio Marine HCC (TMHCC), based in Houston, Texas, appointed Greg Hamlin as president of its newly launched U.S. healthcare professional liability business. Based in New York City, Hamlin joins TMHCC from Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, where he served as senior vice president for institutional accounts.

RP Hallenbeck joined Amwins, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the newly created role of healthcare practice leader. Hallenbeck most recently served as the national business development leader for MedPro Specialty.

(HUB), headquartered in Chicago, appointed Carol Murphy as North American casualty practice leader. Murphy joined HUB in January 2023 as executive vice president. She previously served as chief client officer, U.S. casualty and executive vice president at Aon.

Chesapeake Employers Insurance Company, headquartered in Towson, Maryland, named Jodi M. Swartz as the company’s senior vice president and chief growth officer. Swartz most recently served as senior vice president, marketing and communications for PayScale.

Lawley, headquartered in Buffalo, New York, appointed four new partners, Michael Jantzi II; Michael Knott, leader of Lawley’s healthcare practice group; Kevin Ross, leader of Lawley’s construction and real estate segments; and Michael Ross, property and casualty insurance advisor.

Rosenberg & Parker, headquartered in Wayne, Pennsylvania, promoted Jack Rosenberg to president. Elizabeth Cervini was promoted to executive vice president development; John Wescott was promoted to executive vice president strategy and firm architecture; and James DiSciullo was promoted to director of advisory and production.

XS Brokers, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts, hired Annie Dawson as senior vice president to head national carrier relations and strategy. Dawson most recently served as a director for national binding authority at RT Specialty.

Plymouth Rock Assurance, headquartered in Woodbridge, New Jersey, named Greg Kalinsky as president and CEO of the Plymouth Rock Management Company of New Jersey. Kalinsky comes to Plymouth Rock after a 37-year career at GEICO, where he held multiple leadership roles.

Adrienne Johnson joined Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, as vice president within its employee benefits group. Johnson is based in Nashville.

Hiscox, headquartered in Atlanta, appointed Alexandra Furth as head of claims in the U.S. Before AIG, Furth held deputy general and corporate counsel roles with Liberty Mutual, the University of Massachusetts and Resolute Management.

Orion180, headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, hired former The Hartford executive Chris DiMartino as chief underwriting officer. Prior to joining Orion180, he served as senior vice president of insurance services at AAA Northeast.

Orion180 Chief Operations Officer (COO) Ryan Jesenik has been promoted to president, insurance. Jesenik will retain his responsibilities as COO while also leading growth strategy.

DOXA, headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, hired five new executive leadership team members.

Matt Bishop joined the team from AGIA Affinity as head of operating entities and business verticals. He came to DOXA from Farmers. Cindy Bush joined as senior vice president, people and culture. Doron Hai joined as chief operating officer. Ammon Smartt joined as general counsel and secretary. Amy Watts was named senior vice president of marketing.

JM Wilson, headquartered in Portage, Michigan, promoted Lesley Boles to senior personal lines underwriter. She joined JM Wilson in January 2023 as a personal lines underwriter.

Encova Insurance, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, appointed Dawn Colavecchi as commercial lines regional vice president, and Todd Becker as vice president, commercial underwriting office, workers’ compensation. Colavecchi most recently served Encova as a senior production underwriter in Michigan. Becker previously served as vice president and business director for the Standard South workers’ compensation small business team.

CoVerica, headquartered in Dallas, appointed Mark Holland as president and CEO. Holland previously served as the co-founder, partner, and CEO of BenCom and recently launched BenefitHelp. BenefitHelp and its team will integrate into CoVerica, expanding its service offerings.

One General Agency (OGA), headquartered in Oklahoma City, promoted Taylor Matthews to vice president of operations. Matthews joined OGA during an acquisition in 2024. Russ Iden is OGA’s newest marketing specialist. Kraig Rosenow was promoted to OGA’s director of underwriting. Jana Anderson has rejoined OGA as a senior advisor.

ICW Group Insurance Companies, headquartered in San Diego, appointed Mark Moitoso as president. He succeeds Kevin Prior, who will remain CEO. Moitoso previously served as executive vice president, risk practices at Lockton Companies.

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) named Andrea Coleman as president and CEO. Coleman joined the WCIRB in May 2022 as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Coleman succeeds Bill Mudge, who transitioned to CEO emeritus until his retirement on April 1.

IMA Financial Group, headquartered in Salt Lake City, named Kendall Empey as president, Salt Lake City and market leader for Utah. Empey most recently served as chief operating officer at Lockton.

Media Guarantors, a CAC Group Company headquartered in Los Angeles, appointed Angus Sutherland as senior vice president of business development and client relationships.

The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services appointed Matt West as administrator of the Workers’ Compensation Division. West began with the Workers’ Compensation Division in 2003 as a benefit consultant and served as the division’s deputy administrator for two years before becoming the interim administrator in January 2024.