Nationwide
Nice American Insurance coverage Group has promoted Jason M. Cohen to senior vp and Julie F. Kadnar to divisional group president inside its Property & Casualty Group.
In 2006, Cohen joined the corporate as divisional vp inside Company Claims. In 2008, he transitioned to Strategic Comp, a enterprise unit targeted on staff’ compensation insurance coverage.
Cohen has served as divisional president of Strategic Comp since 2017 and as a divisional reporting officer since October 2020. He now assumes extra reporting tasks for the Specialty Human Providers Division and Nice American’s Loss Management division.
Kadnar joined the corporate in 1988 as an auditor. In 1991, she transitioned to the Product Information Compliance division of the corporate, the place she served as divisional senior vp.
In 2004, Kadnar joined the Property & Inland Marine Division and has held numerous management roles of accelerating accountability.
She was promoted to divisional president in 2017 and can proceed to serve on this function, with the extra tasks of overseeing the Ocean Marine Division and the Dempsey & Siders Insurance coverage Company.
Markel Worldwide employed Ben Wakeham as senior struggle and terrorism underwriter and head of terrorism, North America.
The brand new arrival marks Markel Worldwide’s entry into the U.S. struggle and terrorism market. Wakeham will likely be accountable for main a workforce within the U.S., which can permit the group to serve purchasers domestically.
Reporting to Ed Winter, senior underwriter and head of terrorism at Markel Worldwide, Wakeham will likely be primarily based at Markel’s London workplace for 12 months, earlier than shifting to the U.S. subsequent 12 months.
Beforehand, Wakeham was employed as assistant vp and head of property and terrorism at Hiscox USA, Los Angeles, the place he managed the terrorism portfolio. He additionally offered management and mentoring to Hiscox’s nationwide workforce of underwriters.
East
Brace Underwriting Restricted appointed Glenn Dorr as head of distribution, North America.
Based mostly in Boston, Dorr will report back to Adam Holberry, co-founder and chief underwriting officer.
Dorr brings greater than twenty years of expertise to Brace and joins from Hiscox, the place since 2017 he held the function of head of enterprise growth and dealer relations, North America.
Previous to becoming a member of Hiscox, Dorr held a variety of senior positions together with regional director of northeast U.S. for Lloyd’s of London and senior vp of HCC Specialty.
Brace Underwriting is a part of the London-based Beat Group, which incorporates Beat Syndicate 4242, a Lloyd’s of London syndicate.
Wholesale dealer Brown & Driving added Jeffrey Jamison to its nationwide casualty apply in New York.
Jamison makes a speciality of development, actual property, manufacturing and environmental enterprise, with a specialization within the New York development sector. He joins Brown & Driving as senior vp and dealer.
Jamison joins Brown & Driving from wholesaler AmWINS Group which he joined in 2015. Previous to that, he was a dealer with the startup Wholesale Buying and selling Insurance coverage Providers, now JenCap.
He additionally has served as an underwriter and underwriting analyst at AIG in Boston and New York.
Nationwide wholesale dealer Brown & Driving was based in northern California in 1980.
The Vermont Captive Insurance coverage Affiliation selected Kevin Mead as president, efficient Feb. 22. Mead replaces Richard Smith, who led the group for 12 years.
Mead brings affiliation administration expertise, having engineered a merger of three international unbiased accounting associations and forming PrimeGlobal, which represented 2,000 companions. He additionally was vp with Spokane County United Manner and most lately was the manager director of a uncommon illness basis.
The VCIA, established in 1985, offers lobbying and training for its practically 400 members.
Midwest
Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Groundspeed, a supplier of SaaS-delivered sensible submission and analytics options to the property/casualty insurance coverage trade, lately employed three key executives — Vishal Srivastava, Devon Watts and Danielle Hurley.
Srivastava joins Groundspeed as vp of Engineering, the place he’ll lead the corporate’s engineering, information science, enablement, and automation efforts. Previous to Groundspeed, Srivastava labored for Marcus — the buyer division of Goldman Sachs — as vp.
As vp of Advertising, Watts will likely be accountable for positioning Groundspeed because the thought and market chief for sensible submission and analytics in property/casualty insurance coverage. Watts beforehand led advertising groups at Asana, Carta, and most lately RollWorks.
Transitioning from the same function at her earlier employer, Hurley involves Groundspeed as the brand new vp of Gross sales. At her final place, Hurley constructed out Feedzai’s forecasting, income reporting, and SDR course of along with tripling the corporate pipeline. Previous to Feedzai, Hurley labored in monetary gross sales and started her profession in funding banking with Goldman Sachs.
Alera Group appointed Tracy Reyes as affiliate basic counsel, M&A. As affiliate basic counsel, Reyes will help the group’s strategic development initiatives, managing the authorized actions associated to all nationwide merger and acquisition transactions.
Previous to becoming a member of Deerfield, Illinois-based Alera Group, Reyes served as an affiliate at Kirkland & Ellis, the place she led deal groups for vital transactions.
Reyes is predicated in Chicago.
Alera Group additionally appointed Tina Santelli as vp of Worksite Specialty Options and Providers. On this function, Santelli will develop Alera Group’s nationwide specialty advantages options, enhancing choices, training and companies for purchasers of all sizes.
Santelli beforehand served as vp, Provider Accomplice Administration at Alera Group.
Earlier than becoming a member of Alera Group, Santelli’s earlier expertise consists of serving as vp of Specialty Advantages with GCG Monetary, the place she offered purchasers with ancillary options. Earlier than her time with GCG, she labored with Unum for 13 years on the gross sales and repair aspect.
Deerfield, Illinois-based Alera Group an unbiased, nationwide insurance coverage and wealth administration agency with greater than $850 million in annual income, providing complete worker advantages, property/casualty insurance coverage, retirement plan companies and wealth companies options to purchasers nationwide.

POWERS Insurance coverage & Threat Administration employed Kari Hohn as a surety underwriting government.
On this place, she’s going to accumulate and assess shopper data to greatest decide credit score high quality and underwriting acceptability. Hohn will likely be accountable for growing and managing a guide of enterprise, in addition to offering danger evaluation and technical experience to new and present purchasers.
Hohn brings greater than 15 years of expertise to her place. Previous to becoming a member of POWERS, Hohn served as a surety underwriting government at a Kansas Metropolis insurance coverage company. She beforehand labored as an operations supervisor/CFO for {an electrical} contractor primarily based in Kansas.
Based mostly in St. Louis, Missouri, POWERS Insurance coverage & Threat Administration offers private and enterprise insurance coverage, surety, and danger administration.
Southeast
Alabama-based Palomar Insurance coverage has named Justin Smitherman chief know-how officer, charged with tech methods and administration.
Smitherman began with Palomar in 2011 and was promoted to data know-how director in 2013.
Palomar Insurance coverage, which writes industrial and private property and casualty insurance coverage, was based in 1954 and has workplaces in Montgomery, Alabama, in addition to in Georgia and Tennessee.
Insurance coverage Workplace of America added three folks to its franchised dealership program.
Chip Sellas beforehand owned an insurance coverage company and labored with one of many largest property/casualty insurers within the nation, specializing in auto, truck, bike, agriculture and heavy gear dealerships.
Paul Elliott has twenty years of expertise in auto and truck leases, dealerships and captives.
Mat Pope has represented franchised auto, truck and gear dealerships and is an authorized danger supervisor.
IoA, based in 1988, mentioned it’s the fourth-largest privately held insurance coverage brokerage within the nation. It’s headquartered in Longwood, Florida, and has 1,300 associates in 60 workplaces within the U.S. and the UK.
Century Threat Advisors, an unbiased insurance coverage and danger administration agency primarily based in Boca Raton, named Jose Gonzalez managing director of Century Advantages, a division of the corporate.
Gonzalez, of Miami, has greater than 20 years’ expertise in worker advantages.
Based in 2013, Century Threat Advisors is licensed to jot down insurance coverage in all 50 states.
West
The J. Morey Firm Inc. Insurance coverage Brokers & Brokers in Cypress, California, named Brian Chu to the gross sales workforce as a senior vp.
Chu will likely be accountable for new enterprise growth and function an advisor to purchasers on danger mitigation methods.
The J. Morey Firm additionally named Jeff Breskin senior vp of danger administration. Breskin will likely be accountable for overseeing the enlargement of the chance administration division.
He has greater than 35 years of expertise in claims administration, danger management and security.
The J. Morey Firm is a California-based insurance coverage company offering purchasers with insurance coverage and monetary merchandise. The J. Morey Firm operates 4 California workplaces in Cypress, Downtown Los Angeles, San Jose and Torrance.
LP Insurance coverage Providers LLC named Adam Heuer and the Heuer Insurance coverage Company to the LP Insurance coverage Providers workforce.
Heuer joins LP Insurance coverage as a member/proprietor and can proceed serving purchasers all through the Sparks, Nevada, group and past.
Heuer has practically 20 years of expertise particularly throughout the private strains and industrial insurance coverage area.
Reno, Nevada-based LP Insurance coverage is a danger administration and insurance coverage brokerage agency specializing in property/casualty, surety, staff’ compensation, worker advantages, private and danger administration companies.
Woodruff Sawyer promoted Ryan Meissner to vp chief of the Southern California worker advantages apply.
Meissner beforehand served 4 years because the vp of knowledge analytics for Woodruff Sawyer.
Earlier than Woodruff Sawyer, he held underwriting positions at Burnham Advantages and UnitedHealth Group.
San Francisco, California-based Woodruff offers property/casualty, administration legal responsibility, cyber legal responsibility, worker advantages, and private wealth administration companies.