People

National

United Risk, headquartered in New York City, made additions to its leadership team.

Hayden Smith, who was promoted to CEO of United Risk worldwide, previously served as vice president of M&A at Enstar Group and earlier as head of Ceded Reinsurance for StarStone.

Andrew Lucas was appointed United Risk’s general counsel.

Gregg Holtmeier was appointed chief commercial officer (CCO).

Patrick Watson was appointed chief operating officer (COO).

Howden, the global insurance broker with headquarters in Miami, Florida, appointed Chris Aries as general counsel of its U.S. retail broking and advisory business. He most recently served as global strategy and execution leader at Aon Global Specialties.

Howden also appointed Elizabeth Neumann as executive vice president (EVP), financial lines claims leader. Neumann joins Howden from CAC Specialty.

Marsh McLennan, headquartered in New York City, appointed Mike Mathews as global digital infrastructure leader. Mathews joined Marsh McLennan’s global insurance brokerage and risk advisory business, Marsh, in 2020.

Bryan Feitel joined Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, as vice president (VP) within its employee benefits group.

Demex, headquartered in New York City, promoted Michael Anderson to CEO following four years as chief growth officer.

Demex also promoted Matthew Coleman to president, reinsurance from chief risk officer; and Charlie Eadie from EVP, strategic partnerships and growth to chief growth officer.

Outgoing CEO Bill Clark will continue to serve on the company’s advisory board.

AXA XL, headquartered in New York City, promoted Matthew Stitham to chief underwriting officer, casualty, in the Americas. Based in San Francisco, California, Stitham assumes the regional underwriting management responsibilities previously held by Donnacha Smyth, who transitioned to global chief underwriting officer, casualty.

H.W. Kaufman Group, headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, promoted 16 members of its executive and North American teams. Promotions include:

Christine Tricoli to group chief HR Officer and EVP.

David Janis to group general counsel and senior vice presiden (SVP).

Andy Wood to Burns & Wilcox SVP, professional liability.

Kate Wright to Burns & Wilcox vice president (VP) and senior regional practice group leader.

Tom Carvalho to Burns & Wilcox VP and managing director.

Jeff Ditmar and Amy Felder to Atain VP.

Brad Nehring to RB Jones’ VP.

Travis Verdino, Aaron Pfister, and Justin Pressly to Burns & Wilcox associate vice president (AVP) and managing director.

Dario Nalli to Burns & Wilcox AVP, digital business.

Karen Preston to Burns & Wilcox managing director.

Patricia Sheridan to Burns & Wilcox managing director.

Mike Pernicano to senior director, audit.

Kyle Widerstedt to senior director, finance and corporate development.

East

Penn National Insurance, headquartered in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, appointed Robert Brandon as CEO after over 30 years with the company, including more than five as president and CEO.

John Foster became president and joined the company’s board of directors. He will assume the CEO role following Brandon’s retirement in July.

Randal Mancini, currently VP of field operations, will be promoted to SVP of insurance operations.

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc., headquartered in East Providence, Rhode Island, hired John Zito as an account executive on the employee benefits team. Zito most recently served as an employee benefits producer at Hilb Group.

Patriot Growth Insurance Services LLC, headquartered in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, appointed Daryl Siry as COO.

NFP, headquartered in New York City, named Adam Favale as EVP and head of mergers and acquisitions. Favale joined NFP in 2010, serving as a leader on the M&A team for over 15 years.

John Michael “JM” Edge, formerly of Amwins, joined Jencap Group LLC‘s property and casualty (P&C) binding team as its manager for the Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Denver, Colorado teams. Jencap Group LLC is headquartered in New York City.

The Great Bay Insurance Group, headquartered in West Atlantic City, New Jersey, named Brian S. Schleider EVP and chief financial officer (CFO). Schleider joined the Group in March 2020 as CFO.

Great Bay Insurance Group also promoted Sharon Karlsson-Simons to SVP of business development for Great Bay Underwriting Services, a wholly owned affiliate of the group.

Karlsson-Simons joined Great Bay in 2020 as director of marketing.

Erie Insurance (ERIE), headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, named Todd Morrison and Chad Ackerman as branch managers for the company’s Roanoke and Richmond, Virginia, branches.

Keystone, headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, will appoint Mike Walsh as president in the coming months.

Patrick Kinney will continue to serve as CEO during this period. Once the transition is complete, Walsh will assume the role of CEO, and Kinney will move to the Keystone board of directors.

Sheila Lowe joined Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, as a producer within its employee benefits group. Lowe is based in Portland, Maine.

Patriot Growth Insurance Services (Patriot), headquartered in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, appointed Tom Rogers as chief sales officer.

South Central

Novatae Risk Group, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the wholesale insurance business of World Insurance Associates, hired Walter Juergens as CFO.

Brown & Riding, headquartered in Dallas, Texas, hired Seth Fagan to its National Property Practice. He most recently served as a commercial property broker at CRC Group.

Midwest

Coterie Insurance, headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, appointed Mark Seich as chief revenue officer.

Justin Doss assumed the role of VP, personal lines underwriting at RLI Corp., headquartered in Peoria, Illinois.

CRC Group, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, named Matt Blessing as office president in Kansas City, Missouri, where he will to lead select binding operations.

The Jacobson Group, headquartered in Chicago, appointed President Corey Pinkham as CEO. Current co-CEOs Gregory P. and Richard L. Jacobson will transition from day-to-day leadership to serve on the firm’s board, with Greg Jacobson assuming the role of chairman.

Cottingham & Butler, headquartered in Dubuque, Iowa, named Mike Hessling as president. Hessling joins Cottingham & Butler from Gallagher Bassett, where he served as CEO of North America.

Amerisure, headquartered in Farmington Hills, Michigan, named Doug Roggenbaum VP of strategic growth. Roggenbaum joined the organization in 1987 and most recently led operations across the Midwest and Florida

West

The California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation (CHSWC) elected Commissioner Nicholas Roxborough as the chair of the commission for 2026. Roxborough is the managing partner of Roxborough, Pomerance, Nye & Adreani, LLP.

Aspire General Insurance Services, headquartered in Rancho Cucamonga, California, appointed April Moore as general counsel. Moore previously served as general counsel of USA Underwriters Insurance Company.

Cowbell, headquartered in Pleasanton, California, appointed Simon Hughes as CCO. He previously served as senior vice president, Global Distribution & GM, UK.

ICW Group, headquartered in San Diego, California, hired Travis Murnan as head of its new ICW Specialty business unit, Alternative Risk Transfer.

EverPeak Insurance, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, created a unified leadership team headed by insurance veteran Kathy Kranz. Kranz most recently served as interim COO at EverPeak. She previously served a long tenure as CFO of Pinnacol Assurance.

Arrowhead Intermediaries, headquartered in San Diego, California, appointed Katie Davis as chief marketing officer. Davis will oversee the global marketing strategy across Arrowhead Intermediaries and its three divisions: Arrowhead Programs, Bridge Specialty Group, and Arrowhead Specialty.

Sara Owens joined Alliant Insurance Services as SVP, regional director within its Alliant Americas division. Ownes is based in Los Angeles, California.

CRC Group, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, hired Joe DeJesus to its CRC Specialty Underwriting leadership team as an underwriting team leader, He is based in Sacramento, California.