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Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Ted Nickel has been elected as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Created in 1871, the NAIC establishes standards and conducts peer reviews for insurance regulatory agencies across the nation.

In addition to Nickel, the following officers were elected for 2017: President-Elect Julie Mix McPeak, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance; Vice President Eric A. Cioppa, superintendent of the Maine Bureau of Insurance; and Secretary-Treasurer David Mattax, Texas Insurance Commissioner.

Great American Insurance Group promoted Michael E. Sullivan Jr. to executive vice president and David L. Thompson Jr. to senior vice president within its property/casualty operations.

Sullivan will serve as the reporting officer for Great American’s Environmental Division, Great American Custom and Great American Professional Risk Insurance Services, in addition to his current reporting responsibilities for Republic Indemnity, Strategic Comp and Summit.

Sullivan has 25 years of insurance experience. He began his insurance career with Great American’s former commercial division in 1991 as a workers’ compensation product manager. After Great American’s Commercial Division Ohio Casualty Group he various leadership roles at that company. He rejoined Great American in 2007, most recently serving as senior vice president.

Thompson will assume expanded reporting responsibilities, in addition to his role as reporting officer for Great American’s Specialty Human Services and Trucking Divisions as well as the P/C group’s predictive analytics function. He will also have reporting responsibilities for Great American’s Alternative Markets, Excess Liability and Public Sector Divisions.

Thompson began his career with Great American in 2006 and has held various positions of increasing responsibility within the P/C group, including divisional president of Great American’s AgriBusiness division. He was promoted to divisional group president within its P/C operations in 2014.

Chicago-based CNA has appointed Emma Riza to vice president, Corporate Development. She will be responsible for a number of functions, including enterprise-level strategy, financial reporting to the board of directors and executive management, capital and rating agency management, investor relations, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).

Riza previously served as head of Corporate Development for CNA Hardy, where she worked to develop CNA’s international strategy and managed the review and execution of new business initiatives in collaboration with the international underwriting and field leadership teams.

CNA Hardy is a specialist commercial insurance provider for clients within both the Lloyd’s and company markets.

Kathryn Sieman joined the executive leadership team of Neenah, Wis.-based Jewelers Mutual Insurance Co. as chief financial officer and treasurer.

Sieman has more than 20 years of insurance industry experience. She most recently served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at SECURA Insurance.

Sieman serves on the Board of Directors of Affinity Health Systems and the Community Foundation of the Fox Valley, including being active on the Community Foundation’s investment and audit committees.

Heffernan Insurance Brokers hired Matthew Skarin as assistant vice president in the commercial lines department of its St. Louis, Mo., office.

Skarin comes to Heffernan with eight years of insurance experience between personal and commercial lines. Most recently, he worked at Arthur J. Gallagher in the marine and construction niches focusing on contractors and transportation companies.

Heffernan Insurance Brokers, based in Walnut Creek, Calif., has offices in San Francisco, Petaluma, Menlo Park, Los Angeles and Orange County, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; and St. Louis, Mo.

Vanliner Insurance Co., a specialist insurance provider for moving and storage industry, named Matt Grimm as president.

Grimm previously served as vice president, Passenger Transportation, at National Interstate Insurance Co. Grimm also has held various positions at Great West Casualty Co. and worked in private practice specializing in insurance defense law.

Vanliner, located in Fenton, Mo., is a subsidiary of National Interstate Insurance Co. National Interstate is a member of Great American Insurance Group.

Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Amerisure Mutual Insurance Co. appointed Erin Buddie as director of Human Resource operations and Keith Maciejewski as director of Underwriting Consultative Services.

Buddie joined Amerisure in 2014 as a senior HR consultant and most recently served in the role of manager, HR Consulting and Recruiting.

Maciejewski joined Amerisure in 2013. In his new role, he will continue to grow and expand service offerings of the UCS department to help drive underwriting quality, profitability and training.

Insurance broker HUB International announced executive changes in the Midwest region.

Neil Hughes, current president of HUB International Midwest, assumes the role of president of HUB International’s U.S. North Region, covering the Midwest, Colorado and Mountain States divisions. He has been with HUB for more than 18 years.

Lerone Sidberry, president of employee benefits for the North and Central regions of HUB, succeeds Hughes as president of the Midwest division. Sidberry has more than 25 years of experience in the insurance industry.

Michael Booth, previously HUB Midwest’s executive vice president of employee benefits, has been promoted to chief sales officer. He will continue to oversee all producers, as well as operations of ihouse, HUB’s HRIS consulting practice, and HUB Philanthropic Solutions.

Seth Hopkins, previously vice president and Midwest regional marketing manager for a large international insurance company, will move into the role of HUB Midwest’s chief marketing officer and property/casualty practice leader.

CNA named Joe Cranny as vice president in the company’s Minneapolis branch, reporting to Steve Wachtel, senior vice president and northern zone officer.

Cranny joins CNA with more than 30 years of insurance industry experience.

Most recently, he served as regional vice president for Hanover Insurance Group.

Cranny is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU).

Michigan-based Acrisure LLC named Adam C. Reed as general counsel. He succeeds John P. Iacono, who will retire later this year.

Maria Ruvalcaba joined the Pardridge Insurance Agency in Sycamore, Ill.

Ruvalcaba comes to the independent insurance agency after 20 years working for direct writers such as State Farm and American Family. She has experience in both personal and commercial lines of insurance.

Topics Agencies Market Property Casualty Casualty