People – West

Equity Risk Partners named four insurance industry executives to its team in California, while also establishing the firm’s physical presence in Southern California. Equity’s new executive hires are Doug Akerson, Michael Cardenas, Gil Goetz and Rob Jevens.

Akerson joins as a senior vice president of energy risk, and is based in Equity’s San Francisco office.

He has more than 25 years of insurance experience and has knowledge of the power generation, oil and gas, petrochemical and renewable energy markets. Akerson previously held positions as managing principal at Renuity Capital, senior vice president at Jardin Lloyd Thompson, managing director at Beecher Carlson and senior vice president at Marsh & McLennan.

Cardenas is a vice president of business development and healthcare risk and leads Equity’s newly formed Los Angeles office.

He has a background in the healthcare industry with more than 20 years of experience. Prior to Equity, Cardenas was an assistant vice president of medical professional liability at Allied World Assurance Co.

Goetz, vice president, is a property/casualty broker serving the due diligence requirements of private equity firms and the commercial insurance needs of publicly and privately owned businesses. He is headquartered in the San Francisco office.

Prior to Equity, Goetz was a managing director at Marsh, leading the firm’s retail wholesale food and beverage industry practice in the West.

Jevens is vice president of transactional risk and is based in San Francisco.

Jevens has more than 20 years of experience. He previously served as director of business markets and mergers and acquisitions practice at The Bensman Group, focusing on employee and executive benefits, commercial insurance and high-limit individual and professional insurance. Previously, he was a consultant at The Cochlan Group Inc., a relationship manager, a business markets at MB Financial Insurance and a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual Life.

San Francisco-based Equity is a full-service insurance brokerage, employee benefits and risk management consulting firm with additional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

Ascension Insurance Inc. named Keri Lopez to an executive leadership position for its Northern California benefits operations.

Lopez will also continue to work with mid to large clients, designing and managing employee benefit programs that meet their business and human resource objectives.

Lopez has more than 16 years of employee benefits consulting experience. Her focus is on strategic planning, funding analysis, carrier negotiations, compliance and communication strategies.

Ascension and its affiliates have 450 employees and 35 locations nationwide.

Laurie Hoag-Winkler has been named senior vice president, employee benefits practice leader, for USI Colorado.

USI Colorado is the firm formerly known as Van Gilder Insurance Corp.

Hoag-Winkler will be responsible for managing the employee benefits practice in USI’s newly formed Rocky Mountain region and will be located in USI Colorado’s Denver office.

Hoag-Winkler was with Van Gilder from 1996 to 2010, starting out as an employee benefits manager and eventually becoming vice president of employee benefits.

Prior to USI, she was vice president of employee benefits and group programs at IMA of Colorado, a retail insurance broker and subsidiary of The IMA Financial Group.

Valhalla, N.Y.-based USI operates out of roughly 100 offices across the United States.

Poms & Associates Insurance Brokers Inc. named Andrew Valencia in the firm’s New Mexico office as vice president of employee benefits.

He specializes in the development and implementation of group health, dental, vision, wellness, life and disability plans.

Prior to Poms Valencia was a benefits consultant at The Manuel Lujan Agencies, a recently acquired division of HUB International Insurance Services. He serves as vice president of the Young Professionals of Albuquerque.

Poms has offices in California, Colorado, New Mexico and Washington.

Hub International Insurance Services Inc. named Arturo Perez-Reyes vice president and privacy and errors and omissions lead in its San Francisco, Calif., commercial division.

In addition to his production role and client executive roles, Perez-Reyes will serve as an E&O and privacy specialist in the greater San Francisco market.

Prior to Hub, Perez-Reyes was affiliated with the Barney and Barney LLC Brokerage in Oakland, where he served as a client executive and broker specializing primarily in technology E&O risks.

Perez-Reyes began his insurance consulting career at Marsh, where he placed technology E&O, professional liability and privacy insurance for large and complex clients.

Chicago, Ill.-based Hub provides an array of property/casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services.

San Mateo, Calif.-based CAMICO, a CPA-focused program of insurance and risk management for the accounting profession, named Rachel Ehrlich vice president and chief claims officer.

Ehrlich has served in various legal, claim and underwriting positions, most recently as senior vice president of U.S. casualty claims for Navigators Management Co. She began her insurance claims career with an excess and surplus lines broker.

Ehrlich was in private law practice before joining The Travelers Indemnity Co., where she rose to managing counsel in the claim legal group.

CAMICO delivers insurance, risk management and related services to more than 8,300 CPA firms in 45 states.

CAMICO provides professional liability insurance, employment practices liability insurance, business owners package, workers’ compensation, personal umbrella and other insurance products.

Lockton is expanding its global technology and privacy practice with staffing moves in several cities.

Emily Freeman, founder and original leader of Lockton’s global technology and privacy practice, is now based in San Francisco. Freeman will continue to advise global clients.

Florence Levy joins Lockton as leader of the team in the U.S. Levy will be based in Lockton’s Denver office. She previously led Aon’s commercial errors and omissions and cyber practice in the U.S.

Kansas City, Mo.-based Lockton employs more than 4,900 people and reports more than 35,000 clients around the world.

Heffernan Insurance Brokers named Jeff Prout assistant vice president North Bay office in California.

Prout will focus on new business development for all Commercial Lines for Heffernan.

Prout’s background includes consulting, sales and marketing in the insurance and banking industries along with property and business ownership and management.

Walnut Creek, Calif.-based Heffernan has California offices in San Francisco, Petaluma, Menlo Park, Los Angeles and Orange County, as well as in Portland, Ore; St. Louis, Mo. and New York, NY.

Edgewood Partners Insurance Center named Sama Hershey Davis in its employee benefits consulting practice in California.

Davis has 15 years of experience in healthcare, benefits consulting, human resources, compliance, wellness and client relationship management.

Davis will provide client service leadership, including overall strategy, coverage negotiations, compliance consulting and the coordination and management of internal and external resources.

Before joining EPIC, Davis was an account executive at Woodruff Sawyer & Co in Novato, Calif.

Prior to that, she was an employee benefits account executive at ABD Insurance and Financial Services.

EPIC has more than 300 employees operating from 10 offices across California: Los Angeles; Irvine; Ontario; Fresno; Folsom; San Francisco; San Mateo; Petaluma; San Ramon; Inland Empire. EPIC also has offices in Denver, Colo., Chicago and New York.

The Arizona Insurance Council has elected its officers for 2014.

AIC’s 2014 elected officers and the companies they represent are:

• President: Rick Jones, executive vice president of insurance operations and president of subsidiaries for SCF Arizona;
• Vice president: Tim Goeller, regional vice president of business insurance for state auto insurance;
• Treasurer: Brad Oltmans, vice president of insurance for AAA Arizona;
• Corporate secretary: Melissa Crawford, assistant general counsel for Nationwide Insurance.

AIC is a non-profit, trade association dedicated to consumer education and partnership building on behalf of property and casualty insurers in Arizona.

Farmer Woods Group hired agent Mike Ginzl in the Phoneix, Ariz. Office.

Ginzl specializes in commercial insurance for the technology, landscape and manufacturing industries.

Ginzl has worked in insurance for more than 15 years in Wisconsin and Arizona for carriers and brokers.

Farmer Woods is part of the Leavitt Group. The firm’s insurance products and services include commercial insurance, insurance for individuals, life and health, commercial and personal risk management.

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