Executive Changes
Zurich North America Names Ben Harper Head of Corporate Sustainability

Zurich North America has named Ben Harper to the newly created role of head of corporate sustainability.

In his new role, Harper will be responsible for integrating Zurich's people and capabilities to create solutions that advance the company's sustainability priorities of workforce in transition, climate resilience and confidence in a digital society. He will work closely with Zurich's business units, functions, customers, government organizations, NGOs, industry groups and trading partners to influence, deliver, connect and prioritize the company's current sustainability activities, according to a company statement.

Harper has been with Zurich for 18 years and has more than 31 years of sustainability and insurance experience.

Most recently, he served as the global environmental subject matter expert in technical underwriting and as head of the pollution team responsible for providing technical, policy, strategy and underwriting guidance in support of environmental coverages. He has been active in Zurich's climate, environmental, social and governance initiatives through product development, actuarial modeling, green investment advising and internal evaluations. Harper served as part of Zurich Group's Climate Office from 2009 to 2013.

Harper will be based in Schaumburg, Illinois.

—Barbara Edwards

Tennessee Insurance Division Names Director

Bill Huddleston, most recently the Tennessee Insurance Division's director of receiverships, has been named director of the division.

Huddleston has served in the department since 2014 and has previous experience in banking and public accounting, according to a statement from the division. He received a Governor's Excellence in Service Award in 2017, the insurance division said.

The division is one of eight under the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance, which is headed by Hodgen Mainda.

Safety National COO to Retire After 44 Years in Insurance Industry

Safety National Casualty Corp. has named John Csik to succeed Steve Luebbert as chief operating officer.

Csik, currently executive vice president and chief financial officer, will transition to his newly expanded role on April 1. Luebbert, who will retire after a 44-year career in the industry, has served in an executive management role with Safety National for more than 13 years and has been instrumental in the company's growth and success over that period, according to a company statement.

Safety National has also announced Cyndee Morton, senior vice president of operations and chief information officer, will join the executive management team as executive vice president of operations and chief innovation officer.

Tom Grove, executive vice president and chief business development officer, will be adding executive management oversight of the claims department to his existing oversight of the business development, communications and risk services departments.

Successor Named as Guardian CIO Retires

Guardian Life Insurance Company of America has named Jean LaTorre to succeed Tom Sorell as executive vice president and chief investment officer.

LaTorre will be responsible for Guardian's investment policy and strategy across public and private equity, fixed income and commercial real estate. She will report to Deanna Mulligan, chief executive officer. Sorrell will retire by the end of the year after 25 years with the company, 17 of which were as CIO.

LaTorre is joining the company after almost 30 years at Aetna, where she was most recently CIO and corporate economist overseeing the management of more than $40 billion in diversified assets. Additionally, she led the pensions business, economic analysis and chaired Aetna Capital Management.

Penn Mutual Names Successor for Retiring CFO

Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co. has named Dave Raszeja to succeed Sue Deakins as senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Raszeja, currently senior vice president, financial management and chief risk officer, transitioned into his new role on March 1. Deakins announced her retirement early last year.

As CFO, Raszeja will lead all areas of the financial management department, including financial reporting, accounting, financial controls, actuarial valuation, financial analysis, risk management, financial operations and procurement and benefits and payroll, according to a company statement.

Raszeja joined Penn Mutual in July 2001 as an actuarial analyst. He has risen through the ranks and held various roles in the organization, most recently as SVP, financial management and chief risk officer.

MetLife Names Chief Auditor

MetLife Inc. has named Toby Srihiran Brown to succeed Karl Erhardt as executive vice president and chief auditor.

Erhardt will continue to oversee a data management initiative focused on improving the quality and consistency of data capture to reduce risk and foster innovation.

As chief auditor, Brown will lead the team responsible for providing assurance over MetLife's risk management, control and governance processes across MetLife's global business operations.

Brown, since 2016, has been executive vice president and chief operating officer of MetLife Japan and has also served as a member of the MetLife Japan board of directors since 2012. He joined MetLife in 2010 and became regional chief financial officer of MetLife Asia in 2011. Before that, he worked at AIG/ALICO for more than a decade in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. Brown started his career with Coopers & Lybrand, now PwC, in the United Kingdom.

Mutual of Omaha Names Chief Financial Officer

Mutual of Omaha has named Rick Hrabchak to the dual role of chief financial officer and chief investment officer.

Hrabchak joined the company in 2016 as chief investment officer and last August, assumed the role of chief financial officer on an interim basis. Hrabchak previously spent 29 years with Prudential Financial Inc., where he held a variety of investment management and finance positions including chief investment officer of the U.S. Retirement Business.

Acadia Insurance Names Former Insurance Commissioner as Chief Underwriting Officer

Acadia Insurance, a member of W.R. Berkley Corp., has named John Elias as senior vice president and chief underwriting officer.

Elias most recently served as the insurance commissioner of the State of New Hampshire, where he led improvements in overall efficiency, speed to market of new products, advancements in technology and use of data.

Prior to his regulatory role, Elias was vice president of underwriting for two regional property/casualty insurance carriers.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Names President of GRS North America

Liberty Mutual Insurance has named Tracy Ryan as president of Global Risk Solutions North America.

In her new role, Ryan will oversee the company's North American commercial property, casualty, and specialty operations, including underwriting, distribution and claims, according to a company statement.

Ryan has held several leadership positions during her 25-year career at Liberty Mutual, most recently as executive vice president and chief claims officer for GRS. Prior to claims, she held leadership roles in actuarial, product, and client management in the United States and Europe, according to the company.