Moves & Views

1 Alister Campbell [1] assumed his duties as CEO of The Guarantee Company of North America, effective September 4, 2012. Over the past 27 years, Campbell has held senior executive positions in a range of capacities within the life and property and casualty insurance industries. These include general management, marketing, brokerage distribution strategy, financial services and e-commerce, notes a company statement. Campbell holds degrees from the University of Toronto, the London School of Economics and the Wharton Graduate School of Business. He is a past chair of the Board of Directors of the Property & Casualty Insurance Compensation Corporation and deputy chair of the board of the Insurance Bureau of Canada, as well as a current member of the Board of Directors for the Global Risk Institute. As CEO, he will lead The Guarantee’s continued growth, overall strategy and operations.

2 Omega Insurance Holdings Inc. has named Matthew Cook as president of the group, including both subsidiary companies, Omega General Insurance Company and Focus Group Inc. Prior to his new role, Cook was the group’s chief financial officer and company secretary. “Under his financial oversight we have validated our initial business plan, and we look forward to Matthew leading our team in his new role, as we continue to achieve our corporate objectives,” chairman David Atkins says in a statement. Philip Cook continues in his role as the group’s CEO, concentrating on assumption reinsurance transactions and specialty insurance products.

3 RSA has announced two new appointments to its senior leadership team in Canada to support the company’s growth strategy in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Glen Bates [3], who joined the company in 1996, takes on duties as vice president in Quebec, as part of RSA’s acquisition of l’Union Canadienne. Fully bilingual, Bates will be responsible for leading RSA’s integration with l’Union Canadienne and for the company’s growth strategy in Quebec. He has held senior roles with RSA in several major cities across the country and is a former vice president in eastern Canada. Bates will be based in Montreal. Rosalind Staples-Simpson, RSA’s new vice president in Atlantic Canada, was previously director of commercial insurance. As part of her new duties, Staples-Simpson will oversee all sales, underwriting, operations, large commercial and specialty, commercial insurance, personal insurance and Canadian Services Centre activities in the Atlantic region. The 12-year veteran of RSA will relocate to Halifax.

4 Kurt Johnston became the new vice president of sales and marketing for Granite Claims Solutions on August 1. Johnston most recently served as the company’s vice president of the marketing department. With years of experience in the technology field and business-to-business world, he brings an innovative, grassroots approach to the sales role, focusing on utilizing the wealth of talent throughout Granite Claims Solutions, notes a company statement. “Kurt will be instrumental in consolidating and growing our marketing and sales initiatives across the country,” says president and CEO Michael Holden. “As we continue to expand, which we will, Granite will remain aligned with our clients’ focus and expectations.”

5 Burns & Wilcox Canada has expanded its team to include Mei Han [5a] and Nicole Abraham [5b]. Han, who has more than seven years of experience as a broker and underwriter with expertise in personal and commercial coverages, will take on tasks as a commercial insurance underwriter. She previously worked at Aviva Canada, AIG China and Beijing New World Insurance. Abraham, the company’s new national sales and marketing manager, brings more than 12 years of industry experience, including expertise in business development and broker management, to her new role. She joined the company after 10 years at Unica Insurance Company, and has worked at RSA Insurance in both the Toronto and Dubai offices. “Both Mei and Nicole will be instrumental in enhancing our service to Canadian brokers as we grow our business,” says Gary Hirst, executive director of Burns & Wilcox Canada.

6 Crawford & Company (Canada) Inc. recently named Nancy Toso as the new branch manager for the company’s office in Calgary. With Crawford since 2006, Toso has held positions as a casualty specialist, a general adjuster with the Global Technical Services division and branch supervisor of the Calgary office. She has previous experience in a management role with a large carrier and has held positions in the risk management community and brokerage business. “Nancy brings extensive knowledge of all facets of the insurance industry and her keen enthusiasm for our business to her new position,” says Walter Waugh, Crawford’s vice president of operations for Western Canada. In her new role, Toso will report to Waugh.

7 Kevin Skauge [7] is the new district regional manager, Saskatoon for FirstOnSite Restoration. With more than 20 years of international business experience, Skauge is now responsible for overall sales, operations and financial performance of the business in Saskatoon, as well as for providing leadership to the more than 50 local company employees. Skauge was born in Alberta, but spent the last 25 years in Australia, notes a statement from FirstOnSite, an independent emergency restoration company serving the residential, commercial and industrial sectors. While in Australia, Skauge’s position included CEO of the Australian Institute of Building Surveyors and trade commissioner to the Canadian Consulate General in Sydney. “Kevin’s strong background in sales, marketing, and general management are a great complement to the operational strength of the local organization,” says Doug Irwin, senior vice president and managing director, Western Canada for FirstOnSite.

8 Terry Holowaty [8] was recently appointed as CARSTAR’s new quality systems specialist for Western Canada. Holowaty will work directly with franchise partners in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba to help them better understand and implement CARSTAR’s Quality Systems (CQS) best practices in the technical, estimating and production aspects of their operations. He will work to support the needs of insurance partners in these regions by ensuring their customers’ vehicles are repaired correctly and in a timely manner. A journeyman autobody technician, Holowaty has more than 25 years in the collision repair industry and previously operated his own Independent auto damage appraiser company. “Terry’s experience and expertise in effective production, technical logistics and estimating practices will be invaluable to our current and future CARSTAR partners in the Western provinces,” says Lloyd Wheeler, the company’s regional director for Western Canada.

9 The Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) has announced the appointment of Hans Gantzkow [9] to the position of senior architect and analyst in the CSIO’s Montreal office. Hans has more than 17 years of experience in various progressive roles at Accenture and Canada Health Infoway. Gantzkow’s previous experience includes building strong relationships with project teams and working in the deployment of large-scale, enterprise-wide solutions, including design, development, testing and operations. In his new role at the centre, he will be responsible for assisting in the development of CSIO XML standards and other technical and process improvement initiatives.