U.S. Insurance Industry Sees Key Leadership and Strategic Talent Appointments

The insurance industry has recently seen a series of strategic talent appointments and leadership changes across multiple firms in the U.S. market, signaling efforts to strengthen underwriting capabilities, digital transformation, and market presence. Carbon has appointed Jeff Bright as underwriting director to lead its expansion into the U.S. Bright brings over 30 years of experience, primarily from the Lloyd's Property delegated underwriting agency market, enhancing Carbon's U.S. property portfolio expertise. AXA XL Reinsurance expanded its U.S. property treaty reinsurance team by hiring Dan McCrosson as a senior underwriter. McCrosson’s extensive background at major reinsurers like Swiss Re is expected to bolster AXA XL's property treaty underwriting capacity. Meanwhile, Howden has strengthened its U.S. retail division by naming Colleen Ryan as chief communications and marketing officer and Uri Dallal as executive vice president for financial lines. Ryan’s experience in communications across various sectors will support Howden’s market positioning, while Dallal’s background from Aon enhances the financial lines underwriting leadership team. Canopius Group, headquartered in Chicago, appointed John Tiesi as the U.S. head of financial lines. Tiesi brings over 25 years of financial and professional liability underwriting experience, previously holding senior roles at Marsh. Additionally, Lisa Leftwich joined Canopius as the regional head of strategy and transformation, bringing more than two decades of expertise in sustainability and insurance services from Zurich North America. FM, a commercial property insurer in Rhode Island, named Alison Erbig as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Erbig's previous CFO role at Liberty Mutual Global Risk Solutions equips her to lead FM’s financial and risk management functions, succeeding Kevin Ingram upon his retirement at the end of 2025. AM Specialty Insurance Company announced the promotion of Dominick Tassone Jr. to CEO, effective January 2026. Tassone's prior contributions as chief underwriting officer will guide the company’s underwriting platform advancement. Shevawn Barder continues in her role as group CEO, overseeing broader strategy from New York. NFP appointed David Roberts as senior vice president of surety for its Northeast region, leveraging his three decades of commercial risk experience including leadership at Liberty Mutual. Falvey brought in legal expertise by naming Marc S. Blubaugh as lead national coordinating counsel. Blubaugh’s background in transportation law and litigation supports Falvey's legal strategies. Commercial insurance brokerage Starkweather & Shepley recruited Dennis Leamy as a commercial risk advisor, enhancing their property, casualty, and life insurance consulting capabilities. Acrisure created the role of chief corporate affairs officer, hiring Aaron Radelet to oversee global corporate branding and reputation, drawing on his executive communication experience from Walgreens and Hilton. Encova Insurance filled key executive roles with Zach Webber as vice president of corporate actuarial and Boppana Rao as vice president of enterprise digitization, AI, and data, reinforcing its actuarial leadership and digital modernization efforts. Alliant Insurance Services made multiple hires to its employee benefits group, including Tim Simokonis, Jason Ellison, Khynna Ausink, and John Lapinski, focusing on self-funded health plans, plan design, compliance, and fiduciary optimization strategies. Mutual of Enumclaw appointed Daniel Guthrie as vice president of product operations and chief operating officer, and Hem Chari as chief information officer, bringing extensive leadership in operational transformation and digital innovation. King & Neel in Hawaii named Brian Itami as market president and Aukai King as vice president and commercial account executive, continuing a legacy of regional insurance leadership. These collective changes reflect a broader industry focus on enhancing market penetration, underwriting sophistication, digital transformation, and corporate governance within the U.S. insurance sector.