September 1, 2016 by Greg Meckbach
1 Patrick Bieleny [1a] has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Western Financial Group, effective August 22, replacing Paul Taylor [1b], who retired July 4.
Bieleny was previously chief executive officer and managing director of private equity and investment firm, XALTA Capital Partners Ltd.
A former chief executive officer of Insurance Corporation of British Columbia, Taylor took over as chief executive officer of Western Financial in July 2015 from Scott Tannas [1c], who founded the company. Tannas is now vice chairman of Western Financial, owned by Desjardins Group, which has 160-plus brokerage locations in Western Canada.
2 Albert Poon [2] took on his new role as president of Cunningham Lindsey Canada Claims Services Ltd. on August 1. Poon, who has worked for Cunningham Lindsey Canada for nine years, most recently served as chief operating officer. Poon, a former president of the Canadian Independent Adjusters’ Association, began his career in 1990 as a telephone adjuster with Home Insurance and has also worked for Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc.
3 Colin Simpson [3a] is now chief executive officer of the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO). Simpson served in the role on an interim basis from December 2014 through June 2015. Simpson previously held chief executive officer roles at IBAO subsidiary Independent Broker Resources Inc., Intrinsync Insurance Solutions Inc. and Kingsway Financial Services.
Jim Murphy [3b] was named IBAO’s chief executive officer in July 2015 and served until this June. Murphy came to IBAO from the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals, where he had been president and chief executive officer.
4 Lackner McLennan Insurance Ltd. of Waterloo, Ontario, which has placed personal and commercial insurance for more than 70 years, has acquired nearby Erb and Erb Insurance Brokers Ltd. Erb and Erb – with 65 staff and offering personal, commercial and life insurance, as well as financial services products – did not entertain any offers from insurance companies, brokers or other entities outside of the Waterloo Region, reports company president James Chmiel. Going forward, the business will be operated by six partners and a staff of insurance specialists and support personnel.
5 Rob Strain [5a], president of Sudbury-based Canadian Resources Insurance Solutions Inc. (CRIS), is joining Totten Insurance Group, which recently acquired CRIS.
Strain will report to Totten Insurance president Susan Murphy [5b]. CRIS offers wholesale insurance solutions specializing in natural resources and specialty niches.
6 Insurance Claims Collaborative (ICC) has named Mark Tucker [6] as its new president, effective July 1. With the insurance flooring, roofing and siding evaluation service since 2004, Tucker previously served as vice president of sales. He has also “held a series of senior management roles with SCM Insurance Services,” ICC reports.
7 Lynn Kelly [7] has been named Insurance Woman of the Year by the Canadian Association of Insurance Women (CAIW). The award recognizes insurance professionals who have contributed to both CAIW and the insurance community. A senior adjuster at claims services firm Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. and a former first vice president of CAIW, Kelly has more than 33 years of experience as an insurance adjuster. Among other areas, her expertise includes liability and malpractice claim investigations.
8 Donna Barclay [8] has been appointed chief underwriting officer, property and casualty for The Guarantee Company of North America. Barclay “brings 30 years of property and casualty insurance experience, most recently providing senior leadership to casualty insurance teams at several major global insurers,” The Guarantee reports. Barclay has an economics degree from the University of Western Ontario.
9 Travelers Canada has announced former Ontario cabinet minister Dwight Duncan is now on its Board of Directors. Currently a senior strategic advisor at law firm McMillan LLP, Duncan is a former Liberal MPP whose cabinet portfolios have included finance, energy and revenue.
10 Chadwick Westlake [10] will take on duties as RSA Canada’s new senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer on September 12. Westlake was previously at Scotiabank as vice president and chief financial officer of Canadian banking, RSA Canada notes. While there, “Chadwick built a reputation for driving transformational change across a diverse range of priorities, including customer strategy, data analytics and mergers and acquisitions.”
11 Jeff Sutton [11] is ClaimsPro’s new senior vice president, business development. Sutton most recently was senior vice president of sales with Opta Information Intelligence, which is also owned by SCM.
12 Dennis Squibb has joined e-djuster Inc. as director of strategy and operations. “Squibb will lead the expansion of the company’s industry partners and clients in the United States, with a secondary focus on supporting e-djuster’s Performance Excellence Guarantee program.” He will also help shape e-djuster’s approach to long-term technology and business strategy, overseeing corporate development activities and the firm’s leading strategic alliances and client roster.”
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