Going Places

Company focus
MMA
MMA Insurance has appointed Christine Bryant to the newly-created role of customer service manager in the operations department.

Bryant is specifically responsible for managing MMA's call centre in Reading

Bryant joins MMA from Britannic Retirement Solutions where she was responsible for managing the sales and service contact centre.

She brings with her 15 years' experience of managing call centres within the insurance industry.

MMA has also appointed Kate Penrose in the new role of marketing strategy and planning manager.

In addition to the management of agency processes, her responsibilities include focusing on wider distribution issues, FSA regulatory impact on MMA's intermediary network and planning assistance for the sales and key account teams.

Penrose was previously marketing manager for Fortis.

Brokers

Country Mutual
Nigel Bryan has been appointed as financial controller at Country Mutual Insurance Brokers, a subsidiary of NFU Mutual.

Bryan has worked for NFU Mutual for five years and moved to his new post from the position of assistant financial controller.

Riverbourne Group
New corporate insurance broker Riverbourne Group has made several appointments.

David Garrad has been appointed as sales and market development director.

Garrad has joined to head up the development of London market facilities and the future placement strategy of both the London and composite markets.

Garrad was previously at AXA City, where he was responsible for account management of key national and strategic partners. He has 13 years' experience within the industry from both a broking and composite insurer background.

Chris Denbeigh has joined Riverbourne as a full-time compliance officer

Denbeigh's role will be to ensure that there is a smooth transition from GISC to FSA compliance. He was previously with the Folgate Group and has eight years' experience in both general broking and training and compliance issues.

Tim Catt has joined Riverbourne as corporate account director.

Catt will head up servicing and administration for the group. He joins from the Folgate Group and has 15 years' broking experience.

Miller
Miller Insurance Services has appointed Peter Dixon as a director in its marine unit.

Dixon was previously with Smith Bilbrough & Co, where he was a director and senior broker. He has 16 years' industry experience and specialises in marine and, in particular, liability business.

Medicash
Medicash has appointed Sue Weir as financial director. Weir's recruitment is the latest in a series of senior appointments at Medicash. Weir was formerly finance director with investment fund MSIF.

She has previously worked as an accountant with Morris and Co. Chartered Accountants in Chester, as an audit senior with Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants in Liverpool and with Cook and Co., also in Liverpool.

Medicash has also appointed Therese Eltringham as operations director, a new position.

Eltringham aims to build on the company's model of client care. She was previously operations director for IFAengine and spent four years working for BT.

Frank Field MP has joined the board as a non-executive director.

James Hallam
James Hallam has appointed Keith Donnelly and Laura Mansfield as development executives. They will operate from the Hatfield office.

Insurers

Reliance National Insurance
Omni Whittington Group has appointed three directors to the board of Reliance National Insurance Company (Europe) Ltd, following its purchase in October.

Dennis Eve has been appointed managing director and chief financial officer.

Stephanie Mocatta and Richard Whatton have both been appointed as directors of Reliance.

St Paul
Cassidy Davis, the personal lines unit of The St Paul at Lloyd's, announced today the appointment of Bruno Schuoler as special risks underwriter within the kidnap and ransom team.

Schuoler will work alongside Stephen Quinton, senior special risks underwriter and unit head. Schuoler has 12 years of market experience.

Markel International
Stuart Willoughby will join Markel International as claims director in February, with responsibility for managing the company's claims operations across all its business lines.

Willoughby will join Markel from St Paul Syndicate Management Company where he is the director of claims operations.

In his new role, Willoughby aims to develop a co-ordinated approach to claims handling, build upon existing claims management capabilities, and provide improved services to clients and brokers.

Willoughby has worked in the insurance industry for more than 25 years and is a member of the LMA-sponsored Lloyd's Market claims group.

Prior to joining St Paul, Willoughby headed up claims for Unionamerica, where he was a member of the board and represented the company on the IUA non-marine claims group as well as being a founding member of the company market co-ordination group.

Legal

Kennedys
Dispute resolution firm Kennedys has promoted two of its senior assistants to partner. This takes the number of partners at the firm to 70.

Kerry Woodland and Andrew Caplan, both within Kennedys' liability unit, were promoted to the partnership from 1 November.

Woodland specialises in catastrophic injury cases and Caplan focuses on defending liability claims.

Other

Skills Council
The Skills Council for Financial Services has announced a change of role for David Jackman.

Jackman has become a special adviser to the board, having acted as chief executive during the start-up phase. Jackman is professor of business ethics at London Metropolitan University.

Teresa Sayers has been appointed as managing director and will lead the Skills Council through its development phase to gaining the full licence.

The Skills Council continues to have the support of the FSA in taking the work of the Examination Review forward, exercising responsibility for determining the appropriate levels for qualifications and assessing and publishing the qualifications that meet this standard.