People

National Marsh appointed Linda Jones as U.S. healthcare industry practice leader, Marsh Risk, effective today. Based in Washington, D.C., Jones reports to Darren Cromwell, industry practice group leader, Marsh Risk, U.S. and Canada. Jones has been advising health systems, hospitals, managed care, and other provider groups on their risk management strategies for 40 years. She joined Marsh in 2018 and most recently served as U.S. Healthcare Growth & Innovation Leader. She succeeds Gisele “Gigi” Norris, who will shift her focus to her role as global commercial industry leader, Marsh. Jessica Ciak joined the healthcare segment Guy Carpenter as the firm’s as a senior vice president, focusing on the U.S. medical professional liability sector. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Ciak reports to Martha Jacobs, Guy Carpenter’s healthcare segment leader. Ciak joins Guy Carpenter from BMS Group, where she most recently served as a senior vice president. She has over 25 years of reinsurance experience, having placed treaty reinsurance across a wide range of property/casualty products, most recently with a focus on specialty lines, including medical professional liability. CRC Group hired four professionals across its underwriting and brokerage teams nationwide. Hart Slade joined CRC Specialty as an underwriting team leader. Based in Sumter, South Carolina, Slade has over a decade of personal lines underwriting experience, including work with high-net-worth and hard-to-place risks. Brian Stephens joined CRC Specialty as a broker based in Austin, Texas. His background includes managing all-lines E&S placements, leading underwriting operations and building relationships across the retail and carrier marketplace. Tyler Fuchs has joined CRC Specialty as an underwriting team lead in Charleston, South Carolina. Fuchs background includes commercial risk evaluation, account servicing and underwriting operations. Alyssa Scher joined CRC Group as a senior associate underwriting team leader in Tampa, Florida. Her background includes account management, risk assessment and underwriting operations. Verisk named Greg Alling president of its casualty solutions business. Most recently, Alling served as senior director of product management at CCC Intelligent Solutions. Ascot made a series of changes to its U.S. operating and distribution model, including a new U.S. regional executive leadership team, an expanded North America distribution role and the consolidation of seven U.S. business segments into five product verticals. These updates will align underwriting expertise and regional leadership more closely around the exposures, geographies and client segments Ascot serves. Brian Chiolan, currently executive vice president, head of management and professional liability at Ascot, has been appointed U.S. regional executive officer. Oliver Ade, currently senior vice president, central region partnership engagement leader, has been appointed executive vice president, regional executive for the central region. Jeff Canfield, currently executive vice president, head of specialty casualty, has been appointed executive vice president, regional executive for the West. Dane Lopes, currently Ascot’s head of U.S. partnership engagement and strategy, has been appointed head of North America distribution. Chubb Limited named Sean Ringsted as chief scientist and executive vice president, Chubb Group, a newly created role. Ringsted has over 30 years of experience at Chubb and its predecessor, ACE Group. He most recently served as executive vice president, Chubb Group and chief digital business officer and has led the company’s AI efforts globally. Technical Risk Underwriters (TRU), the Ryan Specialty Underwriting Managers’ managing general underwriter specializing in complex first-party risks for the construction industry, made two leadership promotions. Earlier this year, Nick Hays was promoted to president. Hays joined TRU in 2023. Hays is a former Navy SEAL, Fortune 500 solutions architect, and performance coach for NBA and NFL organizations. Aaron Reissner was promoted to executive vice president. Reissner joined TRU in 2012. The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) named David Gorman as president, succeeding Mark Suhr, who will serve as immediate past president. Gorman, of Dallas, Texas, founded Red Gorman Insurance Services in 2018 and has a long history of service to the independent insurance agent community holding various leadership roles in the PIA of Texas and PIA National. Joining Gorman as national officers are Vonda Copeland of Manhattan, Kansas, as president-elect; Albert S. Pappalardo, Jr. of New Orleans, Louisiana, as vice president/treasurer; and Erin Dey of Portage, Michigan as secretary/assistant treasurer. East The MEMIC Group, headquartered in Portland, Maine, added Brandon Waddingham to its Northeast underwriting team as a production underwriter. Waddingham joins MEMIC with nine years of insurance experience. In his role, he partners with independent agents and brokers throughout New Jersey to evaluate new and renewal opportunities, underwrite and price accounts, and identify market opportunities. RT Specialty, the wholesale brokerage division of Ryan Specialty, promoted John O’Marra to regional director and appointed him to its executive leadership team. With more than two decades in the specialty insurance sector, O’Marra joined RT Specialty in 2011 and assumed the role of president of RT Specialty NY in July 2023. O’Marra remains president of RT Specialty’s New York City office. Insurance broker network Keystone, headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, appointed Kevin Meskell as national brokerage leader. Meskell will lead Keystone’s national brokerage strategy, joining Keystone from The Baldwin Group, where he most recently served as national placement leader. Prior to Baldwin, he spent his career at Marsh, most recently as U.S. placement leader for Marsh Affinity. Earlier in his career, Meskell served as a reinsurance broker at Guy Carpenter. Southeast Jackie Obusek, who spent 30 years with the North Carolina Department of Insurance, including the last six as chief deputy insurance commissioner, retired from the DOI on Oct. 1. She is now senior managing director of strategy and operations for Examination Resources, an Atlanta-based firm that provides examination services for regulators. South Central Erick Johnson joined INSURICA as vice president of sales, P&C. Based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Johnson has over 25 years of experience in production, sales leadership and agency management. Stephen Armstrong joined Brown & Riding’s national casualty practice. With over 14 years of industry experience, Armstrong specializes in complex casualty placement, with a strong focus on real estate and construction. Brown & Riding also added David Grollman and Matt Grollman to its national Construction Practice. David Grollman has nearly 35 years of industry experience with expertise in both major projects and practice policies. With 14 years of industry experience, Matt Grollman specializes in complex casualty accounts. His construction expertise spans from complex OCIP and CCIP projects to various classes of contractors’ practice policies. Midwest Church Mutual Insurance Company named Ben Parisi as vice president, head of finance operations and financial planning and analysis. Parisi leads finance operations, expense management, procurement, payroll, financial planning and analysis, and management reporting. Parisi brings more than 25 years of finance experience to the newly created role, including more than two decades with Zurich North America. Most recently, he served as vice president, head of finance operations. Jeff Black joined Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, as senior vice president within its employee benefits group. The Chicago, Illinois-based consultant will advise a diverse portfolio of clients on human capital and benefits strategies. Prior to joining Alliant, Black was a partner with a global employee benefits consulting firm, where he held various leadership positions in both health and M&A advisory areas. American Agricultural Insurance Company appointed Andrew Ealey as vice president, international brand awareness. Ealey brings more than 30 years of insurance and reinsurance experience to the newly created role. He most recently served as head of property treaty at Canopius Group. West Barrett Esarey joined Alliant Insurance Services as vice president within its employee benefits group. Based in Los Angeles, California, he serves a national client base. Prior to joining Alliant, Esarey was a business consultant with a national employee benefits and HR consulting firm. Alliant is headquartered in Irvine, California. The California Department of Industrial Relations swore in Nicole Richardson as administrative director of the Division of Workers’ Compensation on Sept. 1, following her appointment by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Richardson previously served as DWC’s acting administrative director and chief counsel. Richardson has more than 20 years of experience in California’s workers’ compensation system. Earlier this year, she was named acting administrative director. Burns & Wilcox, headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, hired Winston Rendall and Sandra Shambaugh as associate managing directors for the West region. Rendall comes to Burns & Wilcox with 10 years of experience. Most recently, he was vice president of sales, distribution and business development at Hull & Company, part of Bridge Specialty Group. Shambaugh has over 15 years of executive leadership experience and previously served as vice president of insurance at AAA Hoosier Motor Club. Burns & Wilcox also promoted Tom Carvalho to regional vice president. Carvalho will oversee Burns & Wilcox operations in Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and San Francisco, Sacramento and Fresno, California. He joined Burns & Wilcox in 2011 as a producer and has held increasingly senior leadership over more than 15 years, including serving as managing director of San Francisco since 2024. In California, he will provide leadership to the San Francisco, Sacramento and Fresno offices.