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The Automobile Insurance Plans Service Office (AIPSO) appointed Executive Vice President Les Willis as president and CEO. Willis succeeds President and CEO Charles Kwolek, who is retiring after a 32-year career with the organization. Prior to joining AIPSO, Willis served as a member of AIPSO’s board of directors for 10 years, serving two terms as chair. As vice president of operations for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., he has more than 32 years of insurance industry experience and led multiple teams at State Farm working in both the United States and Canada. AIPSO is headquartered in Johnston, Rhode Island.
Canopius Group, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, appointed Nadine Moore as CEO of its U.S. business. Based in Chicago, Moore will lead Canopius’ U.S. operations across both its retail and wholesale businesses. Moore will assume leadership of the U.S. business in September 2026, reporting to group CEO Neil Robertson, and will join the group leadership team. Moore most recently served as managing director and senior partner at Boston Consulting Group.
Canopius Group also appointed Stacey Alioto as group chief operating officer (COO). Alioto will join Canopius in September. Based in Chicago, Alioto joins Canopius from HSBC, where she worked for over 25 years, most recently serving as deputy group chief operating officer. Alioto will succeed Kate Roy, who is retiring after a five-year tenure at Canopius as group COO.
Everest Group Ltd., headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda, appointed Craig Hanrahan as global distribution and chief commercial officer. He leads Everest’s global distribution strategy and key commercial relationships across its insurance and reinsurance businesses. Hanrahan most recently served as head of U.S. retail insurance, where he led Everest’s U.S. retail insurance portfolio across commercial property, casualty, financial lines and industry practice solutions. Since joining Everest in 2024 as Northeast regional executive officer, he also served as head of North America field operations.
HDI Global (HDI) appointed Bevan Greibesland as chief underwriting officer, specialty lines, and Bruce Griffin as chief underwriting officer, long tail lines.
Greibesland joined HDI in March 2025. She will have responsibility for the company’s specialty lines business and will help drive the expansion of further specialty capabilities in the U.S. market.
Griffin joined HDI in August 2025 with over 30 years of experience in commercial casualty insurance. He will focus on building a casualty portfolio across areas including excess casualty, primary casualty, construction, environmental, life sciences, multinational business and cyber.
DeCotis Specialty Insurance, headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, hired Frank Moran Jr. as a production underwriter on its personal lines team, building on DeCotis’ market presence across the North Shore, Western Massachusetts and Northern New England. Moran most recently served as territory manager for Liberty Mutual/Safeco Insurance.
The MEMIC Group, headquartered in Portland, Maine, hired Sean Rutledge to its Northeast underwriting team as a production underwriter. Based in Massachusetts, Rutledge will partner with agents and employers across Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, specializing in small business accounts.
Tom Clifford assumed an expanded leadership role as leader of U.S. brokerage and account management in the construction and infrastructure (C&I) group at NFP, an Aon company. Based in New York, Clifford will oversee the C&I brokerage strategy and relationships with insurers and wholesalers, as well as brokers and account management personnel for all construction P&C lines. He will also supervise the national account management strategy and enhance protocols for contractors and developer clients. He previously served as senior vice president, C&I, in NFP’s Northeast and Atlantic regions.
Mychal Walker, owner of an insurance agency in Duluth, Georgia, has been named president of the National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals. He succeeds Susan Rider. Walker is president of The Walker Agency, a retirement planning firm, and is owner of CC and Associates, a benefits firm for small employer groups.
Tampa-based Praxis Reciprocal Exchange, approved to do business in Florida in September 2025, has named Ross Bowie CEO of PRE Risk Management. This attorney-in-fact manages Praxis, as well as head of PRE MGA Holdings. Bowie comes to Praxis after two years as president, chief risk officer, then CEO of Private Client Select Insurance Services, a joint venture between AIG and Stone Point Capital that focuses on high-net-worth individuals. Before that, he was president of Orchid Insurance.
W.R. Berkley Corp. named Paul Stock president of its subsidiary, Carolina Casualty, a provider of coverage products for the transportation industry. Stock has been divisional president at Carolina Casualty since May 2025. Before that, Stock was president of Verikai, an analytics and insurtech firm that was sold to American Financial Group. He also was vice president at National Interstate Insurance Co.
Abe Kane joined Brown & Riding‘s national casualty practice. With over 20 years of industry experience, Kane specializes in casualty solutions for public entities and higher education institutions. His background spans underwriting, reinsurance, and specialty brokerage.
Betsey Milord joined World Insurance Associates LLC (World), headquartered in Iselin, New Jersey, as chief broking officer. Milord will lead World’s broking organization.
With more than 30 years of industry experience, Milord joins World after a decade at Marsh, where she led middle market placement operations at both the regional and national levels. Milord is based out of World’s Chicago, Illinois office.
Grange Insurance, based in Columbus, Ohio, named Krista Conte as chief distribution officer. With over 20 years of industry experience, Conte most recently served as executive vice president of insurance and distribution at AAA Club Alliance. Before joining AAA, Conte served as head of distribution at Farmers Insurance. Conte also spent 16 years at Allstate in several leadership positions, most notably as field vice president for the California region.
IMA Financial Group hired Simone Hanraads as global risk practice leader for property and casualty and Dana Cook as global benefits practice leader. Hanraads is based in IMA’s Pasadena, California, office. Cook is based in the Kansas City market.
Hanraads has more than two decades of experience, most recently leading global insurance programs with Lockton’s global practice.
Cook has 30 years of industry experience; most recently serving in a global leadership role at Lockton as co-chair of client services, overseeing service delivery for clients in the West.
Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers, the underwriting management division of Ryan Specialty, named Jeff Smith as CEO of newly created Ryan Specialty Renewables. Ryan Specialty Renewables is RSUM’s managing general underwriting practice focused on the global delivery of renewable and energy transition solutions.
Mutual of Enumclaw (MOE), headquartered in Enumclaw, Washington, appointed Scott Roddy as chief financial officer (CFO) of the Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance Holding Company. Roddy brings more than 20 years of executive leadership experience with Liberty Mutual Insurance.
Most recently, he served as senior vice president and chief operating officer of Comparion and Liberty Mutual Insurance Agency, overseeing strategy, finance, technology, operations, and carrier partnerships. Previously, he served as chief financial officer for Liberty Mutual’s Asia Pacific operations, leading finance across eight countries.
Trucordia, headquartered in Lindon, Utah, named Steve Roberts executive vice president, health benefits and financial services. Roberts has 30 years of experience, including senior leadership roles at Carelon, Aetna, Henry Schein, Datavant, GE Healthcare, and Veradigm.
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara made several appointments and reappointments to the California Department of Insurance’s statewide governing boards.
Lara named newly appointed members Andrea Hecht and Jim Taylor to the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA) Board of Governors and Don Hofer to the California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau (WCIRB) Governing Committee.
The reappointed members include Nona Tirre to the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan Advisory Committee; Thomas Connell (T.C.) Wilson and Ophir Bruck to the California Organized Investment Network Advisory Board; Janise Graham to the Curriculum Board; and Alycia Anderson, Kelly Huang, Pradip Khemani, Jose Plascencia, Vikita Poindexter, and Marquita Thomas to the Insurance Diversity Task Force.
UCA General Insurance Services Inc., headquartered in Cypress, California, promoted Laurie Eusebio to vice president of operations. Eusebio started with UCA in 2006 as a marketing assistant. Since then, she has served as inside marketing manager, licensing coordinator and HR manager.
The Baldwin Group appointed Phil Pierce as west regional president for its Insurance Advisory Solutions segment. With 20 years of industry experience, Pierce is responsible for the strategic direction, growth, and operational excellence of Baldwin’s IAS business across the West Region.