Chubb on Wednesday said it appointed Teresa Black executive vice president, chief operating officer of North America Surety. In this new role, Black will have responsibility for the underwriting, strategy and profitable growth of the Commercial and Construction Surety business in North America. She will continue to report to Stephen Haney, vice president, Chubb Group, and division president, North America Surety.
“Teresa has been an exceptional leader to our surety team and partner to our clients seeking reliable surety capacity for wide-ranging projects,” John Lupica, vice chairman, Chubb Group, and president, Chubb North America, said. “In this new role, she will have a broader role impact in setting the course for the ongoing growth of our North America Surety business.”
Based in New York, Black was previously executive vice president, commercial surety. She has 25 years of insurance industry experience and joined Chubb, then named ACE, Surety in 2013 as senior vice president and chief operating officer for the U.S. business. She also previously served as senior vice president, distribution management, and vice president, national segment leader for New York, as well as assistant vice president, financial lines.
Separately, Chubb said it promoted four executives in its North America Financial Lines Division to further elevate its underwriting and service excellence and enhance the digital experience for customers and brokers.
Effective immediately, Jarrod Schlesinger is chief operating officer; Scott Williams is executive vice president, Private/Not-for-Profit Practice leader and chief underwriting officer; Jennifer Riley is executive vice president, head of digital strategy & operations; and Alissa Theberge is now head of learning & development. All four report to Michael Mollica, who was recently appointed division president, North America Financial Lines.
In addition to his current responsibility leading Chubb’s North America Financial Lines Management Liability business, Schlesinger is now responsible for developing and executing the division’s operational strategies to optimize management and professional liability products and services across all distribution channels. He will also support the division’s growth objectives by driving the operational tactics of technology implementation, product development and cross-selling.
Williams now has executive responsibility for all aspects of the division’s PNP underwriting, including field distribution, product development and profit & loss performance. He also continues to lead Chubb’s financial lines private equity vertical, with responsibility for business development across new and existing private equity relationships, oversight for product and field underwriting teams, and direct accountability for production and financial reporting.
Riley assumes executive responsibility for digital transformation with an initial focus on PNP, professional liability and cyber lines. She oversees the division’s overall digital strategy and production, including financial reporting, underwriting and service center operations, along with profit & loss performance. She is also responsible for further developing the financial lines underwriting practice with efficiencies that increase productivity through automation.
Theberge now oversees the development, coordination and execution of key learning programs across all levels of North America Financial Lines underwriting. As part of this work, she will identify and leverage opportunities to update, automate and enhance existing programs and tools to align with the division’s evolving risk underwriting and digital strategy. She will also retain her current role of senior vice president, accountable for the Financial Lines Underwriting Service Branch, reporting to Stoyan Konaktchiev, executive vice president, head of underwriting operations, Chubb.
