Argonaut Exec Michael Nolan Named President of CWCI

J. Michael Nolan, senior vice-president, general counsel and secretary of Argonaut Insurance Company, was named the new president of the California Workers’ Compensation Institute. The CWCI is an Oakland-based nonprofit organization that provides research and information about California’s $9-billion-a-year workers’ comp industry.

Nolan’s selection, the result of a nationwide search for a successor to the late Ed Woodward, was announced this week by David Mitchell, Chairman of the Institute’s Board of Directors and senior vice-president of claims at Republic Indemnity Company of America.

Nolan, who will take over on June 15, brings to the Institute 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, having held legal and management positions with several large insurers. For the past 10 years, he has managed the varied legal activities of Argonaut’s insurance group. In that capacity, Nolan worked with Argonaut’s reinsurance and employee benefits committees, and last year directed the workers’ compensation and general liability claims departments as the company reengineered its home office management.

He currently serves on the board of governors of the California Insurance Guarantee Association, and laws committee of the National Association of Independent Insurers and is a past member of the board of directors of the National Council of Compensation Insurance.

“[Nolan's] experience in a variety of industry organizations, his knowledge of workers’ comp in California and nationally, and his ability to clearly articulate the issues will make him a forceful spokesman for the industry,” Mitchell stated.

Nolan will work closely with executive vice-president Ron Markson, who has served as acting president for the past several months (and who will continue to serve as Institute general manager), as well as the rest of the Institute’s 12-member staff, its board of directors and standing committees.