People – East

The Hanover Insurance Group Inc., a Worcester, Mass.-based holding company for several property and casualty insurance firms, has announced the September resignation of Andrew S. Robinson, executive vice president and president of specialty insurance.

His resignation will take effect September 1, and his responsibilities as head of specialty insurance have been temporarily reassigned to John C. Roche, executive vice president and president of business insurance.

Robinson’s resignation comes after a series of management changes in the past year for the firm. In June, Joseph M. Zubretsky stepped in as president, chief executive officer and director to succeed Frederick H. Eppinger, who last fall announced his intention to retire.

Wells Media Group Inc. recently hired Elizabeth Blosfield as editor for Insurance Journal’s East region. She is replacing Young Ha, former East editor, who left the company to pursue other opportunities.

Blosfield has a background in financial reporting, previously serving as a New York-based energy and commodities reporter for Incisive Media’s online brand, Risk.net, and its monthly print publication, Energy Risk.

Insurance Journal is a property/casualty news website and biweekly print publication for property/casualty insurance industry professionals. Wells Media Group Inc. is a business-to-business media company with a focus on the $443 billion property/casualty insurance industry.

Victor O. Schinnerer & Company Inc., has hired Yvonne Castillo as the director of its risk management division. She will be based in the firm’s Chevy Chase, Md., headquarters and will report to Jill Tellaz, the firm’s professional liability leader.

In her new role, Castillo will be responsible for leading and developing a risk management strategy across the firm, with a focus on education and practice management for design professionals to help them navigate industry challenges.

Castillo joins from the American Institute of Architects (AIA), where she most recently served as senior director of business and practice policy.

W. R. Berkley Corp. announced the appointment of Scott R. Barraclough as president of its excess and surplus lines insurer, Admiral Insurance

Barraclough is succeeding Steven S. Zeitman, who has been named chairman. The appointments are effective immediately.

Barraclough joined Admiral in 1996 and has held various financial and operational positions throughout his 20-year career with Admiral. Most recently, he was executive vice president, a post he has held since 2012. He has also been regional vice president, chief financial officer and controller. Prior to joining Admiral, he was with KPMG US from 1990 to 1996.

Zeitman was named president of Admiral last June, succeeding James S. Carey who passed away in April of last year.

Admiral is based in Mount Laurel, N.J. Its lines of business include general liability, professional liability, property and excess coverage. Its products are distributed by wholesale brokers.

GEICO has named John Pham vice president of its regional operations in Virginia Beach. Pham will oversee all business functions for Virginia and North Carolina insureds, as well as GEICO’s military, motorcycle and recreational vehicle divisions.

Pham joined GEICO in 1990 as a management intern, and advanced through several claims leadership roles. He was later named a sales director, and then took over responsibility for directing GEICO’s motorcycle division. In 2005, Pham was elected an assistant vice president of claims for GEICO’s Fredericksburg, Va., office, and assumed the same role for GEICO’s office on Long Island, N.Y. prior to becoming regional vice president of GEICO’s New York operations.

In Virginia Beach, Pham succeeds Joe Thomas, who retired after a career of more than four decades with GEICO.

JLT Re, a U.K.-based reinsurance broking and consultancy provider, hired Micah Woolstenhulme as its Philadelphia, Pa.-based head of risk and economic advisory. In his new role, he will report to the firm’s global head of analytics, David Flandro.

Woolstenhulme joins JLT Re from Guy Carpenter, where he was managing director of enterprise risk management and actuarial.

Woolstenhulme’s hiring comes as JLT Re continues to build its global team in an effort to increase its analytical capability. The firm most recently hired Scott Fields in August as an Atlanta-based senior vice president. It also hired Pete Chandler at the end of July as executive vice president and managing broker in JLT Re’s San Francisco office.

JLT Re is part of the Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc.

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