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National

The Hartford’s board of directors named company President A. Morris “Mo” Tooker to succeed Christopher Swift as CEO. Swift will transition to the role of executive chair of the board. Both appointments are effective March 1, 2027. Tooker will join the board effective Oct. 1, 2026.

Tooker joined The Hartford in 2015 as chief underwriting officer and has served in successive leadership roles of increasing responsibility throughout the past 11 years.

Swift will transition to executive chair after nearly 13 years as CEO, including more than 12 years as chairman. He will lead the board of directors and serve as an advisor to the CEO. He intends to step down from his role as executive chair in the second half of 2027. The Hartford is headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut.

Ascot Group Limited appointed Mark “Sarge” Pepper as president, global underwriting. Pepper has nearly four decades of industry experience and joined Ascot at its inception in 2001 to lead the company’s treaty reinsurance team. He most recently served as Ascot Group chief underwriting officer, a role he has held since 2009.

Elizabeth Johnson has been appointed president of the newly created specialty insurance and reinsurance division, encompassing all of Ascot’s global insurance and reinsurance underwriting operations, including Global Specialty, Bermuda Specialty/Leadline Capital Partners and U.S. Specialty. Johnson joined Ascot in 2020 and most recently served as group chief operating officer.

Christopher “Chris” Flatt will join Ascot in November as president of the new consumer solutions division and will become a member of the Global Executive Committee. Flatt has over 30 years of experience, most recently serving as global chief underwriting officer at AIG. He previously led AIG North America Alternative Channels.

Huntington T. Block Insurance Agency Inc., a subsidiary of Aon plc, hired Emily Schaffer as senior vice president of fine art insurance. Schaffer has over 15 years of experience designing and managing complex global insurance programs for museums, galleries, auction houses, multinational corporations, private collectors and galleries. She most recently served as vice president and team leader for fine arts at Risk Strategies Company.

John Zern joined Howden U.S. as vice chair of health and benefits. He joins Howden from Ryan Specialty Benefits, where he served as president and CEO. Zern will oversee Howden’s health and benefits practice. He has over 35 years of experience leading and growing significant employee benefits and property-casualty businesses.

Southeast

Gabriel “Gabby” Dieppa, based in Miami, has been appointed to the Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Board of Governors for a three-year term. Dieppa has been managing partner at Hotaling, a brokerage and risk management firm, since 2018. Before that, Dieppa was a vice president at the Brown & Brown insurance brokerage for almost four years.

South Central

BevCap Management has added David Gross as a business development executive. He will focus on expanding the company’s Dealer Management Group and Sharefield captive solutions throughout the Midwest and Western U.S. Gross brings more than 18 years of insurance industry experience, with a career spanning both the carrier and brokerage sectors at Sentry Insurance, Huntington Bank and Garnet Captive.

Brown & Riding has added Jarrod Williamson to its national casualty practice. With 14 years of experience, Williamson focuses on large, complex casualty risks, specializing in real estate, construction, and hospitality. He began his career working as a retail broker and before transitioning to wholesale.

Texas Mutual Insurance Company recently promoted John Grube to vice president of regional operations for Texas Mutual’s Austin region, effective May 2026.

Grube will direct and coordinate all regional office operations, including underwriting, claims, safety services, premium audit and business development.

Grube first joined Texas Mutual in 2013 and most recently served as senior manager of agency operations.

Midwest

Jeff Black joined Alliant Insurance Services as senior vice president within its employee benefits group. The Chicago, Illinois-based consultant brings more than 30 years of experience advising organizations on human capital, total rewards, and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining Alliant, Black held leadership positions in both health and M&A advisory areas.

American Agricultural Insurance Company appointed Andrew Ealey as vice president, international brand awareness. Ealey brings more than 30 years of insurance and reinsurance experience to the newly created role. He most recently served as head of property treaty at Canopius Group.

East

InsurBanc, headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, named Lou Garcia as president and CEO. Garcia has over 25 years of leadership experience, previously serving as vice president at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette and as vice president at JH Whitney & Co. He was also a partner and chief operating officer of Addison Clark Management before becoming managing director of CBAM Partners.

David Tralka, former president and CEO, has assumed the role of chairman of the bank.

Plymouth Rock Home Assurance Corp., headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, named Jared Stuckey as vice president of customer service and underwriting. Stuckey previously led underwriting strategy and managed personal and commercial products for Plymouth Rock’s Independent Agent auto business. He will now oversee both customer service and underwriting for the home insurance group. Stuckey previously spent 16 years at Liberty Mutual in a variety of senior roles.

Plymouth Rock Assurance Corp. named Chris Taylor as president and CEO. He will lead the Boston, Massachusetts-based company’s independent agency group. Taylor most recently served as vice president and head of state management at The Hanover Insurance Group. Before joining The Hanover, Taylor worked at Plymouth Rock.

Lawley hired Ricky Albano as an insurance advisor in New York, Albano has over 20 years of industry experience as an insurance producer, account executive, and business owner providing firsthand insight into commercial exposures and risk management.

Lawley also hired Nicolas DeLuca as an insurance advisor in New Jersey. He specializes in business insurance, workers’ compensation, and specialty coverage. Before joining Lawley, he worked in client service and solution delivery within the electrical distribution industry.

Lawley hired Marco Rumbin as an insurance advisor in Connecticut.

He develops practical strategies aimed at reducing total cost of risk. Prior to joining Lawley, Rumbin served as a sales representative in the beverage distribution industry.

Paragon Insurance Holdings, headquartered in Avon, Connecticut, made three senior leadership promotions.

Mike Denton has been promoted to executive vice president of Paragon Insurance Holdings. In his expanded role, Denton will continue to work closely with the Paragon Specialty Property team while taking on additional responsibilities and strategic initiatives.

Brett Papenhagen has been promoted to senior vice president of Paragon Specialty Property and will lead PSP Custom, the business previously referred to as the OT team.

Erik Ostgulen has been promoted to senior vice president of Paragon Specialty Property and will lead PSP Select, previously referred to as the E3 team.

Marsh appointed Andrew Neary as CEO of Marsh Agency’s newly combined East region. Neary will be based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. The new East region brings together the former East and Northeast regions.

Prior to his expanded role, Neary led the former East region for five years.

West

Alchemy Insurance Solutions LLC, headquartered in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, named Michael Peck as president, personal lines, Western region. Peck will lead Alchemy’s underwriting strategy and growth across the Western U.S. He has experience in wildfire-exposed markets across California and the West, along with experience managing complex property risk, including hurricane, wind, and earthquake exposure.

Leavitt United Insurance Services hired David Ring as senior vice president of employee benefits. Ring has over 17 years of experience in the employee benefits industry, including previous roles with Gallagher and USI Insurance Services, focussing on population health management, alternative funding strategies, employee engagement, and proactive benefits planning.

Barrett Esarey joined Alliant Insurance Services, headquartered in Irvine, California, as vice president within its employee benefits group. Based in Los Angeles, California, Esarey has over 15 years of experience in employee benefit, most recently serving as a business consultant with a national employee benefits and HR consulting firm.

SAGE Program Underwriters, headquartered in Sparks, Nevada, hired Ken Kaufmann as a senior vice president. Kaufmann has over 10 years of insurance experience with a focus on workers’ compensation in both retail and wholesale insurance platforms. He previously served at Paragon Insurance Holdings.