People & Places

June 6, 2005
Russell Smith

North Canton, Ohio-based insurer Hartville Group Inc. announced that the company’s board of directors have accepted the resignation of chief executive officer Russell Smith III. The board has also accepted the resignation of chief financial officer, Josh Feldman, who has resigned to pursue other business opportunities. Both resignations are effective immediately.

Roger Kimmel

The board has appointed Roger A. Kimmel Jr. as nonexecutive chairman of the board. Kimmel was appointed to Hartville’s board of directors Nov. 7, 2003. Since founding the law firm of Kimmel, Lembright & Bosco in 1975, Kimmel has engaged in a general corporate practice including areas of public offerings and the private placements of securities, stock and asset acquisition, mergers and acquisitions, representation of closely held businesses, federal and state securities laws compliance matters, corporate governance and other related securities issues.

Dennis Rushovich

The board also elected Dennis C. Rushovich as chief executive officer. Rushovich is the founder and CEO of Strategic Financial Solutions Inc., a consulting, software, and services supplier to financial institutions. Rushovich co-founded and was chief operating and financial officer of Independent Financial Marketing Group, the largest marketer of investment and insurance products to financial institutions, nationwide.

Brian Maclean

Property/casualty insurer St. Paul Travelers announced Brian MacLean, 51, has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer. He will report to President and CEO Jay Fishman. The appointment is effective immediately.

Susan Jones

MacLean joined the St. Paul-based company in 1988 as director of planning in the corporate finance department. In 1993, he was appointed chief financial officer for claim, and in 1996 became chief financial officer for commercial lines. In 1999, he was named senior vice president to lead commercial lines select accounts, and was promoted to executive vice president and appointed to lead claim in 2002.

Sheboygan, Wis.-based regional property/casualty insurer ACUITY recently named Susan Jones as territory manager. In this capacity, Jones will manage growth in a $115 million revenue territory and relationships with more than 800 agents in Northeastern Wisconsin. Jones first began her career at ACUITY in 1989 and was a senior personal lines underwriter before she left in 1993 to join West Bend Mutual as a commercial lines underwriter.

In 1997 she joined SECURA, also as a commercial lines underwriter, but earned promotions to personal lines underwriting director and commercial lines supervisor, the position she had most recently held before returning to ACUITY.

National Builders Insurance Services promoted Andrea Griggs to senior vice president, business and product development. In her new role Griggs will be overseeing the development of NBIS’s eight homebuilder association endorsements, including all future endorsements. Over the next months and under the direction of Griggs, NBIS plans to introduce several new products and special services.

NBIS reports that over the past three years, Griggs has been instrumental in the profitable growth and success of the company by contributing to the implementation of a variety of programs designed to service the general liability needs of contractors nationwide. NBIS is the manager of ProBuilders Specialty Insurance Co., a risk retention group, with offices in Atlanta, Ga., and Palm Desert, Calif.

Joseph Bishop was elected president of the Professional Insurance Agents of Connecticut during its annual convention in Mashantucket, Conn. Bishop is vice president and secretary of Associated Insurance Agencies Inc. in Hamden, Conn. He succeeded Jeffrey Parmenter, a principal with S.H. Smith & Co. Inc. in West Hartford, who will serve as immediate past-president.

The Fresno, Calif., office of Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Insurance Services hired Kaye Wells as marketing director. Bringing 21 years of industry experience to HRH in various areas of insurance including marketing, underwriting and program management, Wells specializes in casualty, auto and agricultural lines of insurance. She previously served for two years on the Agricultural Producer Advisory Council for One Beacon Insurance.

Dallas, Texas-based MarketScout made Ralph Brown part of the company’s underwriting and brokerage operation, focusing on energy, manufacturing and wholesale opportunities. Brown, formerly vice president of XL’s primary domestic and international casualty division, has more than 30 years of insurance industry experience.

Janet Warren was appointed senior vice president and practice leader of claims, Beecher Carlson Holdings Inc., in Atlanta. Warren will establish and manage Beecher Carlson’s claims practice and focus on providing brokerage claims services. Prior to joining Beecher Carlson, she served as vice president and claims manger for Willis of Georgia. Warren was also vice president and claims consulting team leader at Marsh Atlanta, after originally starting with Johnson & Higgins in 1996. She started her insurance career with Crawford & Co. in Michigan.

Robert Erburu was named the non-executive chairman of the Board of Directors of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. Erburu has been lead director since 2004, and a member of the MMC Board of Directors since 1996. He was chairman of The Times Mirror Co. from 1986 until his retirement in 1996.

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