BULLETIN
January 5, 2018
Announcing New Management Roles in Our Seattle Office
Happy New Year to all our agency partners. We hope you found some time to celebrate the holidays with family and friends and have entered the New Year refreshed and ready to go! As we begin 2018, we’re pleased to announce some exciting management changes in Western National’s Seattle office.
After a 35 year career with Western National, Steve Richards will be retiring on July 2, 2018. While we will be sad to see Steve go, we are excited for him personally and thankful for his leadership and commitment to Western National. During the transitionary period before Steve retires, he will continue to be a critical leader in both our Seattle and Anchorage offices. We are currently seeking a new leader for our Seattle office to succeed Steve and hope to share news on that front in the weeks ahead.
We are also pleased to announce that we have moved to a three-team underwriting group, with each team being led by a Commercial Lines Underwriting Manager. These changes are designed to improve responsiveness and communication between staff and agency partners and to create new opportunities for our employees as we develop and grow in Seattle. You can view a breakdown of our underwriting teams here. As part of this structure update, the following changes are effective immediately:
Underwriting Team 1
- Jarrod Stone has been promoted from Senior Underwriter to Commercial Lines Underwriting Manager. Jarrod joined Western National in 2016 and brings an extensive trucking and transportation background, having spent eight years in the transportation unit with AIG prior to joining Western National. Jarrod has had a positive impact at Western National, and we look forward to his continued contributions in his expanded role.
- To fill Jarrod’s Commercial Lines underwriting position, Ken Potts joined Western National in December as a Commercial Lines Underwriter. Ken has over 14 years of underwriting experience with the likes of NIF Group, Canfield & Associates, Mattei, and Liberty Mutual. His underwriting acumen combined with his knowledge of the agency side will serve him, Western National, and our agency partners well.
Underwriting Team 2
- Lisa Cooley has been promoted to Commercial Lines Underwriting Manager after demonstrating solid leadership and underwriting insight. Lisa has been with Western National just over two years, most recently as a Commercial Lines Team Lead. She has played a key role in organizing our underwriting procedures and strengthening agency relationships. Prior to joining Western National, Lisa had various management and underwriting positions at Alaska National, AIG, and Allianz.
- Fil Geronimo has been promoted from a commercial support position to Underwriting Associate. Fil has been with Western National for over four years. Prior to joining Western National, Fil spent time working for Allstate and on the agency side. Fil brings forth a great deal of knowledge and is a great fit for the position.
- Chris Siano has been promoted from a commercial support position to Commercial Lines Underwriter. Chris has been with Western National since May 2016. He is a New Jersey native and has spent time on the agency side as an Account Executive at E&K Agency and in sales of property-and-casualty business at Keer and Heyer in New Jersey. Chris brings a unique perspective and skill set to the underwriting function.
Underwriting Team 3
- The third commercial lines team will be led temporarily by Steve Richards. Steve will be wearing multiple hats in the Seattle office as we are currently looking to hire our final Commercial Lines Underwriting Manager.
Our commercial lines support staff, led by Terry Gerrard, has not changed. To help enhance our responsiveness and effectively balance workflow, the commercial lines support staff will continue to support each team as needed.
While our team structure is certainly new, the vast majority of Underwriter/agency relationships will not change. In cases where an Underwriter change will take place, we will contact impacted agencies directly in the weeks ahead to ensure a smooth transition. Western National will continue to be a best-in-class underwriting company with a broad underwriting appetite. Thanks to our agency partners and employees, our Seattle office has a proven track record of solid results. We are excited about profitably growing again in 2018 and beyond and enhancing our status with you as The Relationship Company.
Jeff Couchman
Senior Vice President
