People – East

Susan L. Donegan, who has been serving as commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) for past three years, will step down from her position on June 30.

Donegan has met with Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin and then informed the DFR staff of her plan to resign. Donegan said DFR is in good shape and that it’s the right time for her to step down. She will work with the administration on a transition plan over the coming months.

An attorney with specialties in financial regulation, Donegan first worked at DFR from 1985 to 1990 and was the department’s first director of securities regulation. She was later counsel to the commissioner at the Massachusetts Division of Insurance from 2008 to 2011.

In 2011, she returned to Vermont to become deputy commissioner of the Insurance Division at DFR. She was appointed commissioner in January 2013, when then-Commissioner Stephen Kimbell retired. She was reappointed as commissioner in January 2015.

The Hartford has appointed Melinda Thompson as vice president and head of Sales and Distribution, reporting to Doug Elliot, president of The Hartford.

In this role, she will be responsible for relationships with The Hartford’s top distribution partners and with the company’s Property & Casualty and Group Benefits sales leadership teams.

Thompson began her career with The Hartford in 1998 as an underwriter in the middle market business and has held positions of increasing responsibility in sales and underwriting across The Hartford’s Middle Market, Small Commercial and Personal Lines businesses.

Most recently, Thompson was regional vice president of the company’s office in Charlotte, where she led the Middle Market field operations in North and South Carolina.

The Insurance Society of Philadelphia has hired Melodye Zapalac as director of Education.

In her new role, Zapalac will be responsible for the Insurance Society of Philadelphia’s professional development and continued education programs. She will also lead the organization’s outreach and coordination with insurance and risk management academic programs at Temple University, St. Joseph’s University and LaSalle University.

Zapalac most recently was vice president with Zurich North America. In addition to her time with Zurich, Zapalac spent more than 25 years working with Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company where she served in various leadership roles.

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has hired David Valzania as customer and broker engagement leader for the eastern U.S. region. He is based in BHSI’s office in Boston.

Valzania comes to BHSI with nearly three decades of insurance industry experience. He was most recently president, AIG Multinational, Americas, at AIG. Before that he was president and CEO of American International Company Limited (AICO), and president of AIG’s Cat Excess Liability. He also held several other senior level positions at AIG and its Lexington Insurance subsidiary.

Earlier in his career, Valzania held roles on the brokerage side of the business, including senior vice president, Client Executive, at Marsh & McLennan.

York Risk Services Group has hired Patrick J. Walsh as president of the firm’s Risk Management Practices business and executive vice president of York Risk Services Group. He is based in York’s home office in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Walsh will provide direction and expertise in servicing York’s self-insured and deductible clients and lead the division’s strategic growth initiatives.

Walsh comes to York with 30 years of industry experience. Most recently, he was senior vice president and chief claims officer for Accident Fund Holdings.

Maryland Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer Jr. announced the appointment of Tracy Imm as the Maryland Insurance Administration’s (MIA) director of Public Affairs.

In her role, Imm will serve as the agency’s point of contact for external and internal communications.

Prior to joining MIA, Imm served in communications leadership positions with Erickson Living, Constellation Energy/BGE, Northrop Grumman, Algeco Scotsman and ITT.

MIA is an independent state agency charged with regulating Maryland’s $28.5 billion insurance industry.

Ames & Gough, a specialty brokerage based in McLean, Virginia, has hired Cady M. Sinks as a broker.

Sinks has more than 12 years of experience in risk and insurance services. At Ames & Gough, she is responsible for evaluating clients’ risks, as well as their insurance renewal process.

Before joining Ames & Gough, Sinks was director in Clark Construction Group LLC’s risk management program for three years. Earlier, she was with Victor O. Schinnerer from 2004 to 2013, where she was associate vice president and program manager.

Topics Maryland Vermont AIG