People

Casey W. Connor has been named president of Dempsey & Siders Insurance Agency in Madeira, Ohio. Dempsey & Siders is a member of Cincinnati, Ohio-based Great American Insurance Group.

Connor succeeds Randy Denker, who retired in April after nearly 24 years of service.

Connor has 21 years of industry experience. He joined Great American in 2012 and serves as divisional vice president of Marketing for Great American’s Specialty Human Services Division. Prior to Great American, Connor was assistant vice president of Marketing for Liberty Mutual.

Deerfield, Illinois-based Alera Group, a national employee benefits, property/casualty, risk management and wealth management firm, appointed Jim Blue as president.

Blue will work closely with the existing leadership team to focus on revenue growth and integration of new Alera Group firms.

Blue was formerly the CEO of Marsh & McLennan Agency New England, where he helped grow a small, local firm into a national hub.

Mike Humphry joined The Iroquois Group’s Mid-Atlantic team as a regional manager for southern Ohio and Kentucky.

Humphry has experience in both the independent agency and exclusive agency distribution systems. Prior to joining Iroquois, Humphry worked with Grange Insurance and Nationwide, serving in sales, marketing, underwriting and operations roles.

Iroquois Mid-Atlantic is part of The Iroquois Group, serving member agencies in eight Mid-Atlantic states plus the District of Columbia.

Appleton, Wisconsin-based SECURA Insurance added three new board members: Alice Gannon, Mark Behrens and Tim Bergstrom.

Gannon has more than 40 years of insurance experience, and most recently served as the senior vice president and chief actuary of USAA (United Services Automobile Association). She is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) and a Chartered Property & Casualty Underwriter (CPCU).

Behrens will bring the perspective of a former independent agent to the SECURA Board, in addition to his financial acumen and leadership skills. Behrens currently serves as the executive vice president and CFO of Johnson Financial Group.

He started his career as a staff auditor in 1985 and has advanced through different roles in Johnson Bank and Johnson Financial Group.

Behrens became COO of Johnson Insurance Services, one of SECURA’s appointed independent agencies, in 2006. He was later promoted to president, a position he held from 2011-2016.

Johnson Bank and Johnson Insurance are a part of Johnson Financial Group, a privately held, full-service financial services company based in Racine, Wisconsin, with ties to the SC Johnson family.

Bergstrom is president and COO of Bergstrom Automotive, which has annual sales exceeding $1 billion and represents all major brands sold in the U.S. Bergstrom is responsible for day-to-day oversight of operations at all 32 locations and more than 1,600 team members.

SECURA is a mutual insurance company represented by more than 475 independent agencies in 12 states.

Indiana-based MJ Insurance hired Stephanie Jokl as a risk transfer specialist on its commercial insurance and risk management team.

Jokl will develop and execute client risk financing and transfer strategies with the risk analysis and client advocacy teams.

Most recently, Jokl served as a commercial account manager at Brown & Brown in Carmel, Indiana. She also has worked as a marketing intern for State Farm in Fishers, Indiana.

MJ Insurance is a commercial insurance, risk management and employee benefits consulting agency that, since 1964, has grown from a two-person start-up to an agency with more than 140 employees in both Phoenix, Arizona, and Indianapolis.

Global Marine Insurance Agency (GMIA) in Traverse City, Michigan, a specialty marine brokerage and program administrator, has expanded its product offering and leadership team.

GMIA is the marine division of Specialty Program Group LLC (SPG).

Mark Yearn, RJ Lorenzi and Paul Sexton, along with 15 marine insurance staff, have joined GMIA through SPG’s acquisition of Norman-Spencer Marine and will continue to manage their respective offices and programs.

With locations across the country, GMIA specializes in insurance products for personal watercraft spanning from jet skis to super yachts, and commercial marine risks for marine manufacturers, boat dealers, yacht clubs, marina operators and all related coverages

Topics Agencies Ohio Risk Management