People and Places

Argonaut Group Inc., based in San Antonio, reported that Gregory M. Vezzosi has joined the organization as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Vezzosi will report to Mark E. Watson III, president and chief executive officer, who explained that Vezzosi will guide the company’s core business strategy.

Vezzosi brings 30 years of insurance experience, mainly in large specialty operations, to the insurer group. Prior to joining Argonaut, Vezzosi served as senior vice president, Specialty Commercial, for St. Paul Travelers. Prior to joining The St. Paul, he spent 20 years at Chubb & Son and also served in executive management roles at Royal & SunAlliance in Charlotte, N.C.

Dallas-based McQueary Henry Bowles Troy L.L.P. named Mike Harris to the new post of chief information officer. In this role, Harris oversees all technical operations for MHBT’s Dallas, Austin and Fort Worth offices, including Web services and the Information Technology department.

Harris is a veteran in the IT industry, bringing 17 years of experience specializing in network infrastructure and security. Prior to joining MHBT, Harris was the director of services at CyberDyne Systems, an IT consulting firm based in Dallas.

Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation hired Bruce Lambert as director of safety and loss prevention. In this position, Lambert will oversee the strategic direction for LWCC’s loss prevention services programs for policyholders.

Lambert previously was a safety management specialist and ergonomist for the Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Company in Portland, Maine.

The Central Texas Chapter of the CPCU Society announced the following property and casualty insurance professionals have obtained the CPCU designation: Jeremy Bryan, State Farm Insurance Co.; Darrell McClanahan, Texas Windstorm Insurance Association; Christina Osterhouse, Mercury Insurance Group; Meredith Hilverda, Mercury Insurance Group; Robin Carr, State Farm Insurance Co.; Vance Miller, State Farm Insurance Co.; Bernard Chewe, State Farm Insurance Co.; and James Agnew, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Zurich Financial Services Group appointed Maine Insurance Superintendent Alessandro A. Iuppa as head of Government and Industry Affairs for General Insurance, and as chief government affairs officer, North America. Based in Washington, D.C., Iuppa will represent Zurich with various governmental and industry bodies at the federal and state levels in the U.S., as well as globally for general insurance.

As Maine Superintendent of Insurance Iuppa was an active participant on insurance issues at both the national and international levels. He recently served a term as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

MarketScout, the Dallas, Texas-based eInsurance Exchange, noted that Neal Odom has joined the firm as vice president of Finance. Odom will direct MarketScout’s expanding finance and accounting operations and will work directly with MarketScout’s executive team in managing the distribution of products across the U.S.

Odom has 13 years’ experience in accounting, finance, human resources, and administration with a specialized focus on insurance distribution. Most recently served as controller for Curley Insurance Group/Heartland Marketing.

MarketScout also named Tina Harris as property underwriting manager. Harris will write monoline property for independent agents and members of MarketScout’s eInsurance Exchange.

Harris’ expertise includes a thorough understanding of property and casualty underwriting and rating principles. She has more than 17 years of diverse insurance industry experience. Prior to joining MarketScout, Harris was a senior underwriter with XL Insurance Group for 15 years.

BKS Insurance Agency located in Allen, Texas, added Annette Moore to its staff. Moore has experience in both the independent agency and direct writer systems, and will be managing personal lines for the agency.

BKS Insurance Agency opened its doors November 2006 and represents most of the major carriers.

Guy Carpenter & Co. Inc., part of the Marsh & McLennan Companies, appointed Eric “Rick” Johnson as senior vice president. Johnson will focus on growing the firm’s property and casualty business throughout the Mid-America region and will be based in Minneapolis.

Johnson was most recently senior vice president at Willis Re Inc., where he was a broker.

John Latham was promoted to senior vice president in operations for Markel Corp. Latham will work with president and CEO Tony Markel and executive vice president Paul Springman in directing Markel’s worldwide insurance company operations. Most recently, Latham has served as Markel’s chief information officer.

Also at Markel, David Egbert, currently chief technical officer, was promoted to chief information officer and will report to Latham in his new role.

A newly created Office of Business Development comprised of Letha Heaton, Brenda Phillips and Jeff Lamb will also report to Latham, as his primary focus will be on business development.

Lloyd’s of London announced that Julian James, its director-worldwide markets, will be leaving at the end of April to join Lockton International.

James has been responsible for all Lloyd’s commercial activities outside the U.K., including the management of its 72 trading licences. He joined Lloyd’s in December 1997 and prior to that, he spent five years in senior positions with Sedgwick in North America.

Kansas City-based Lockton Inc. acquired Alexander Forbes International Risk Services, the international brokerage operation of Alexander Forbes Limited. It formed Lockton International when it combined its international operations with the business acquired from Alexander Forbes. The main international office is in London.

To submit information for “People” e-mail sjones@insurancejournal.com.

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