Moves and Views

1 Serge Lavoie [1], former president and chief executive officer of Jevco Insurance Company, took on duties as president of the Canadian subsidiary, Echelon Financial Holdings Inc., as of December 1. Most recently Quebec president of GDI Integrated Facility Services, Lavoie headed Jevco until 2012, when The Westaim Corporation sold the company to Intact Financial Corporation. Formerly known as EGI Financial Holdings Inc., Echelon Financial writes non-standard auto and other specialty insurance in Canada through Echelon General Insurance Company.

2 J.R. (Bob) Tisdale [2a], vice president of Allstate Canada Group, was elected this past October as chair of the Insurance Institute of Canada’s Board of Governors, succeeding T. Neil Morrison. Tisdale, who served as vice chair in 2014-2015, is also president and chief operating officer of Allstate subsidiaries, Pembridge Insurance Company, Pafco Insurance Company and Ivantage Insurance Brokers Inc. Jean-François Blais [2b], president of Intact Insurance, has been elected as the board’s 2015-2016 deputy chair, while Lynn Oldfield [2c], president and chief executive officer of AIG Insurance Company of Canada, will serve as vice chair and governor at large. The regional vice chairs for 2015-2016 are Robert Katzell, Tim Shauf, Chantal Gagnon and Kathy Stewart, while the divisional vice chairs are Michael Wills, and Julie Pingree.

3 The Guarantee Company of North America has named Dave MacDonald [3] as its national vice president, corporate insurance, effective November 10. MacDonald was most recently assistant vice president at RSA Canada, notes his LinkedIn profile. He has also worked for Northbridge/Lombard Canada, XN Risk and ACE Limited, where he served as Toronto-based vice president from 2000 through 2007. He has experience with directors’ and officers’ liability, errors and omissions, fidelity, employment practices liability, fiduciary liability and commercial general liability.

4 Bermuda-based Arch Capital Group Ltd., which owns Arch Insurance Canada Ltd., has promoted Marc Grandisson [4] to the position of president and chief operating officer, effective January 1, 2016. Grandisson is currently chairman and chief executive officer of Arch Worldwide Reinsurance and Mortgage Groups. In his new role, he “will have responsibility for all of the company’s operating units, insurance, reinsurance and mortgage.” He previously served as president and chief executive officer of Arch Reinsurance Ltd. and has held senior positions at Berkshire Hathaway and F&G Re.

5 Monique Leroux [5], chair of the board, president and chief executive officer of Desjardins Group, has been elected as president of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) for the 2015-2017 term. Leroux, who will step down as head of Desjardins Group in April, was elected to serve the remaining two-year mandate of Dame Pauline Green, ICA’s outgoing president, who is retiring after six years serving the co-operative movement. Leroux served on the founding board of Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada in 2014.

6 The organization formed by the merger of Allianz Global Assistance Canada and TIC Travel Insurance Coordinators officially became known as Allianz Global Assistance as of November 16. “This rebranding is an important and symbolic milestone in the integration of our recently merged entity,” says Daniel Wichels [6], chief executive

officer of Allianz Global Assistance in Canada.

7 Brad Steele [7a] has been appointed Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty’s (AGCS) head of property for Canada. Steele, who joined AGCS Canada in 2007, was most recently director of global broker management for the company. Before joining Allianz, Steele was an account manager at FM Global and has also worked at Aviva Canada. Also at AGCS, Robert Fellows [7b] was named head of market management for Canada, effective January 4, 2016. Fellows most recently served as senior vice president, distribution and regional management for Zurich Canada, and is a former president and chief agent for Travelers Canada.

8 Andrew Torr [8] is Willis Canada’s new managing partner for the Toronto branch. Torr previously was a senior vice president at Marsh Canada. He “has developed deep experience with a variety of industries, but with a specific concentration in natural resources,” Willis Canada notes.

9 Dan Burns [9] is the new branch manager, inTrust for Cunningham Lindsey Canada Claims Services Ltd.’s Toronto branch. Through inTrust, Cunningham Lindsey Canada provides third-party administration of insurance claims programs. Before joining the company in 2014, Burns had worked for Granite Claims Solutions, Jevco Insurance Company and Confederation Life Insurance Company.

10 Peter Duhault [10] has assumed the branch management position for On Side Restoration’s office in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Duhault’s new duties will be in addition to his role as branch manager for the company’s Surrey, B.C. location. He joined On Side in 2013.

11 Ben Isotta-Riches [11], chief information officer of Aviva Canada Inc., has been named to the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations’ Board of Directors. Isotta-Riches is appointed for a two-year term. Aviva was previously represented on CSIO’s board by Robert Merizzi. Working out of the United Kingdom, Isotta-Riches’s most recent role was Digital CIO.