Richard Robin

February 19, 2006

People

Encino, Calif.-based NAS Insurance Services has appointed Richard Robin president. He will be responsible for overall operations, including underwriting, marketing and administration. Ed Robin will continue to serve as chairman and will remain responsible for overall management and direction of the company.

Robin has been with NAS for more than 11 years. He is a licensed surplus line broker, member of the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices and serves on the Southern California Steering Committee for Professional Liability Underwriting Society.

ABD Insurance and Financial Services, Sacramento, Calif., has named Dan R. Francis president and CEO. ABD Owner Greater Bay Bancorp said Francis will succeed Frederick J. de Grosz, who becomes co-chairman of ABD, joining current chairman Bruce M. Basso in that new role.

Francis has worked in insurance since signing on at Rollins, Burdick and Hunter in Palo Alto, Calif., in 1976. He joined ABD in 1997, when it bought Minet Insurance Services Inc. At ABD, he was president of the technology division and president of the property and casualty operations unit before becoming COO in 2004.

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. has named M. Michele Burns executive vice president starting March 1, 2006, and chief financial officer no later than March 31, 2006. Burns succeeds Sandra S. Wijnberg, who announced in August that she plans to resign from the company.

Burns has been executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief restructuring officer of Mirant since 2004. Prior to Mirant she spent five years at Delta Air Lines Inc., last serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Before Delta, she was a senior tax partner at Arthur Andersen LLP.

Western Security Surplus Insurance Brokers Inc., Pasadena, Calif., has promoted Kyle Stevens to executive vice president and chief operating officer. Previously vice president/branch manager of the Dallas office, Stevens now oversees all offices and is responsible for the overall production and progress of the WSS branches. Managers will work with him in executing WSS’ 2006 business model and marketing plan.

Beecher Carlson, an insurance brokerage and risk management consulting company, has added Sharon Ostern as senior vice president in the company’s Los Angeles office.

Ostern will be responsible for providing risk services consulting for new and prospective clients with a focus in professional liability and employment practices, including sexual harassment and compliance programs for employers, general liability and workers compensation. This will include coordinating employee incentive bonus programs to support safe workplace environments and injury reduction, best practices and insured litigation management.

Ostern’s career spans 17 years in the insurance and risk management industry. Prior to joining the company, Ostern served as vice president-risk manager at Sun Mar Healthcare. Before Sun Mar Healthcare, Ostern served as assistant vice president at Lockton Insurance Brokers, where she was accountable for risk and insurance management programs for large national accounts and responsible for claims cost control in general liability, workers compensation and professional liability programs. She began her career at Aetna Life and Casualty.

ECM Insurance Services Inc., a San Francisco-based management liability and property & casualty insurance wholesaler, has appointed Misty Reistad as vice president in its San Francisco office.

Reistad joins ECM with more than 10 years of national and international brokerage and wholesale insurance experience. Most recently, Reistad was assistant vice president for a London based wholesale firm, where she was responsible for the development of the West Coast Casualty operation. Prior to that, Reistad was marketing manager at a risk management and brokerage firm, where she specialized in construction and large complex and middle market casualty and property risks. Reistad’s area of specialty will include construction, OL&T/habitational, tough products, marine and hard to place risks both domestically and with Lloyds of London.

Arrowhead General Insurance Agency Inc. has appointed Mike Mathews vice president of marketing and national accounts. He will develop existing production relationships, as well as help to grow national relationships. He also will be involved in the underwriting program development for those national accounts.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has chosen an insurance industry lobbyist Dan Dunmoyer to be his deputy chief of staff and senior advisor for policy development, a new position. Dunmoyer has left his post as president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California. Dunmoyer, a Republican, will serve under Susan Kennedy, a Democrat who Schwarzenegger recently named his new chief of staff.

ACORD has appointed Cindy Maike director of standards planning. She will be responsible for supporting and coordinating strategic standards initiatives at ACORD across all of the standards programs. She will work closely with the ACORD Business Subcommittees for Life and Annuity, Property and Casualty/Surety, and Reinsurance and Large Commercial domains.

Since 1995, Maike has been with IBM in various business consulting and strategy roles. Most recently she served as the global market segment manager for IBM Software Group for Insurance and the chief standards officer for insurance. She was responsible for the market management strategy for the IBM Software Group for the multiple brands and product suites for the insurance industry.

James McCarthy has joined Los Angeles-based Anderson and Murison as executive vice president and manager. He has experience as an insurance and reinsurance underwriter, as well as has management skills as a senior insurance company executive.

Topics California Agencies Property Casualty Risk Management Casualty

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