What’s New: In Brief (April 24, 2009)

Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (TSX:KFS, NYSE:KFS) has appointed Colin Simpson as president and CEO, effective immediately.
Simpson was previously the chief operating officer and executive in charge of the company’s transformation program.
At its annual general meeting of shareholders, Kingsway elected the following people as directors: Bill Andrus, Robert Cassels, Peter Copestake, Walter E. Farnam, Terry Kavanagh, J. Brian Reeve, Spencer L. Schneider, Jack Sullivan and Larry J. Swets.
Swets had originally been appointed to the board as a nominee of the Stilwell Group, a minority shareholder.
Immediately after the annual meeting, Swets resigned as a director, paving the way for Joe Stilwell, principal of the Stilwell Group, to be appointed as a director.
The new board chair is Spencer L. Schneider.

York Fire & Casualty Insurance Company (York) has appointed Martin Delage to be its president and chief operating officer, effective May 1, 2009. 
“Delage is very familiar with York,” the company said in a press release. “He has been a key player as the liaison between York and La Capitale General Insurance Company (La Capitale) since La Capitale’s purchase of York in October 2008.” 
Delage joined La Capitale in 1992 and has held progressive leadership positions in the areas of human resources and operations. Most recently he was vice president of strategic operations at La Capitale.
In addition, York announced the appointment of Dave Smiley to the York executive team as vice president of operations, effective May 7, 2009. 
Smiley has almost 20 years of extensive insurance experience, spanning underwriting (personal and commercial lines), business development and marketing, including senior management positions based out of Ontario and Alberta.