View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/mag-people/2007/02/26/77619.htm
James W. Good, executive vice president of trucking industry insurer Baldwin and Lyons Inc. and president of its subsidiary insurance company, Protective Insurance Co., announced he will retire from the company in May 2007, after 42 years of service. Following retirement, Good will remain with the company in a consulting capacity.
Joseph J. DeVito has been elected to the position of president and chief operating officer of Baldwin and Lyons. DeVito has been employed by Baldwin and Lyons in various capacities since 1981 and has been a director of the company since 1997. He most recently served as executive vice president and president of its subsidiary company, Sagamore Insurance Co.
Gary W. Miller will remain CEO of Baldwin & Lyons and chairman of the board. Steven A. Shapiro was nominated by the board to fill the vacant seat caused by Good’s decision to not stand for re-election. Shapiro is a professional money manager with the firm of SF Investments in Highland Park, Il.
RJF Agencies, with offices in Minnesota and Wisconsin, has hired Craig Bongart as its executive vice president of business development. Prior to joining RJF, Bongart spent 20 years leading sales teams for financial services firms, including Fair Isaac Corp. and MoneyGram International.
Stephen E. Ewing, retired vice-chair of DTE Energy, was elected for a one-year term as chair of the board of directors of the more than 1.6-million-member Automobile Club of Michigan (AAA Michigan) during a board meeting Dearborn, Mich. Ewing has been a member of the Automobile Club of Michigan board of directors since 1998. He serves on the boards of several economic, educational, cultural, community and health and human service organizations and businesses, including Detroit’s Regional Chamber and United Way Community Services Board in Detroit.
Joseph M. Stewart, CEO of Stewart Industries, was elected for a one-year term as AAA Michigan vice-chair. Stewart is CEO of Stewart Industries, LLC and manager of Stewart Investments LLC. He is retired from his position as senior vice president, Corporate Affairs and chief ethics officer for Kellogg Co., a position he assumed in 1988 after eight years in management positions in food service marketing, corporate communication and public affairs.
Cincinnati insurance agent Carl Schlotman III was appointed to the executive board of NorthStar, the agent advisory panel for Encompass Insurance. His appointment became effective on Jan. 1, 2007. NorthStar provides a forum for a select group of independent insurance agents to provide insight on the insurance industry and regional market trends. Schlotman is president at CAI Insurance in Cincinnati, Ohio, a diversified full-service financial services company.
One year ago, Olympic gold medal speedskater Casey FitzRandolph was headed for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turino, Italy as the defending champion in the 500 meters long track event. Today, the 32-year-old Wisconsinite is a first-time dad beginning a new career as a sales representative in Madison, Wis. for Wausau Signature Agency, a commercial insurance agency. FitzRandolph was sponsored by Wausau Insurance during his final four years of international competition.
Newly appointed Ohio Department of Insurance Director Mary Jo Hudson has announced staff and structural changes. Hudson was appointed by Governor Ted Strickland and officially began serving as the state’s 46th insurance director on Jan. 8, 2007. The department reorganization is as follows:
The Office of Consumer Services will be merged with the Market Conduct Division to form the Office of Consumer Affairs. The Offices of Property and Casualty and Life and Health will be merged to form the Office of Life and Health and Property and Casualty, headed by Assistant Director John Pedrick.
The Office of Fraud and Enforcement will be merged with the Licensing Division to form the Office of Fraud, Enforcement and Licensing, led by Assistant Director Anne Thomson, a current employee.
Wendy Pestrue has joined as the assistant director of the newly formed Health Insurance Policy Section.
Deputy Director Peg Ising will assume the title deputy director of regulatory compliance and consumer protection.
Amy Andres has been named the new chief of staff. Guy Ford has been named the new assistant director of policy and legislation. And Kathy Hoke has been named assistant director of communications
Pete Schwanke is now senior executive, corporate risk management, at Westfield Insurance. His responsibilities include designing Westfield’s risk management programs and maintaining its reinsurance programs.
Schwanke previously served as risk management actuary. He began his career at Westfield in 1989 as an actuarial trainee. Since that time, Schwanke has held multiple positions within Westfield’s actuarial department.
The Des Plaines-Ill.-based Property Casualty Insurers Association of America named Cliston Brown as the organization’s director of federal public affairs. Brown comes to PCI after three years with the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America where he served as director of public affairs. Previously, he worked for two years as director of communications for U.S. Rep. Peter J. Visclosky (D-Ind.), the current chairman of the Energy & Water Development subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations.
CNA Surety Corp. recently announced that David Edelson, a senior vice president of Loews Corp., the parent company of CNA Financial Corp. who is the parent company of CNA Surety, joined its Board of Directors effective today, Feb. 13, 2007. Edelson will replace RoyE. Posner, who died suddenly on Dec. 31, 2006.
To submit information for People, e-mail smckenna@insurancejournal.com.