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IFNY Elects Officers and Directors for 2016

New York, N.Y.,–The Insurance Federation of New York, Inc. (IFNY) has announced the election of its 2016 Board of Officers and Directors. IFNY, now in its 102nd year, is noted for its prestigious Annual Free Enterprise Award given to business leaders whose significant achievements embody the spirit of American free enterprise. The latest honoree was Don Kramer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ILS Capital Management, Ltd. (Bermuda) who received the Free Enterprise Award at IFNY’s Annual Luncheon in 2015.

Nick Pearson, Esq., has been re-elected as President of IFNY. Mr. Pearson is an independent Insurance Consultant who focuses on reinsurance arbitration and insurance regulatory and transactional matters after having spent nearly 40 years as a widely recognized attorney specializing in insurance. In his first term in 2012, Mr. Pearson inaugurated the IFNY Intern Program, which introduces young New Yorkers from challenging backgrounds to careers in the insurance and financial services sectors.  Since its inauguration, IFNY has raised over $100,000 for the program and seen participants enter into the financial services business.

Elected Officers include:

Re-elected to serve as Directors are:

Newly elected to serve as Directors are:

Michael Catina is Assistant General Counsel with the Insurance Product & Regulatory Team at Zurich North America. In this capacity, Mr. Catina provides legal counsel and strategic advice to business units and internal clients on all insurance product and regulatory related matters. He advises on specific implications of potential business decisions and initiatives to enhance opportunities and reduce business risk. He provides legal advice and review with respect to drafting and/or amending of new and existing insurance products, advertising and marketing materials, training materials and non-disclosure agreements. He handles negotiation and drafting of multi-purpose contracts.

Prior to Zurich, Mr. Catina was an Associate Division Counsel at American International Group, Inc. from Nov. 2006-May 2014. In this capacity, he would draft, review and negotiate multi-purpose contracts, insurance policies, bonds, endorsements, applications, policyholder notices, and advertising and marketing materials. He handled drafting of new cyber/internet security coverage policy materials. From 2001-2006, Mr. Catina was Senior Litigation/Coverage Associate with Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker, LLP; from June 2000-March 2001, he was a Litigation Associate with Silberman & Platte, P.C.; and from Sep. 1999-Jun. 2000 he was Litigation Associate with Ahmuty, Demers & Mcmanus.
Mr. Catina is admitted in New York State / Southern District of New York / Eastern District of New York. He is a current Board Member for the Insurance Regulatory Forum of Greater New York.

Huhnsik Chung is a partner in Baker & McKenzie’s North America Banking, Finance and Major Projects Practice Group in New York and focuses on Insurance and Reinsurance advisory and litigation. He has more than 25 years of experience in handling sensitive, complex and high value contentious and non-contentious matters for the insurance industry. On the dispute side, he has served as lead counsel in more than 70 insurance, reinsurance and commercial proceedings in the U.S. and abroad and is regularly called as New York counsel in Bermuda form arbitrations. On the advisory and transaction side, he provides insurance regulatory and structuring advice related to M&A, ILS, credit enhancement and new product development. He also advises on compliance, policy wording, and regulatory matters involving various business lines and products. Mr. Chung is a Fellow of Litigation Counsel of America and is recognized as a New York Super Lawyer.

Tony Grippa is Regional President of Brown & Brown, Inc. and oversees the operations in Daytona Beach, New York, Tennessee and the Mid-West. Mr. Grippa also has oversight responsibilities for Wright Risk Insurance and Wright Specialty Insurance. He joined Brown & Brown in 2005 as leader of the operations of Public Risk Insurance Agency (PRIA) in Lake Mary and Tallahassee, Florida. Prior to that time, Mr. Grippa was President of the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association for two years while concurrently serving as Executive Director of the Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association, Inc. for more than eight years. He commenced his insurance career with the Florida Department of Insurance and at one time served as the Legislative Director for the Office of the State Insurance Commissioner. He served as a member of the Leon County (Florida) Commission from 2001-2006, and served as its Chairman in 2003. Mr. Grippa currently serves on the boards of Florida Workers Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association, Associated Industries of Florida, AMCOMP and Council on Aging. He previously served as a member on the Florida Building Commission, the Board of Directors of the American Society of Workers’ Compensation Professionals, and the Foundation Boards of Stewart-Marchman-Act, Daytona State College and Halifax Hospital. He is also the winner of two national awards: the “Above and Beyond Award,” conferred by the United States Department of Defense in 2004, and the “Outstanding Young American Award,” given by the Florida Jaycees in 2003.

Richard White is CEO of ShelterPoint Life Insurance Company. Mr. White joined ShelterPoint, formerly known as The First Rehabilitation Life Insurance Company of America, in August 2009 as Chief Executive Officer. As of 2014, ShelterPoint is the largest provider by premium volume of Disability Benefits Law (DBL) insurance in the State of New York. ShelterPoint also provides various other employee benefit products in New York and 48 other states. Mr. White has over thirty years of experience in creating and implementing effective strategies for business growth, diversification, product development, sales expansion and operational excellence for several leading insurance companies. Prior to joining ShelterPoint, Mr. White was Executive Vice President of Domestic Markets with Pan American Life Insurance Company in New Orleans, where he was responsible for businesses in the United States. This included employee benefits as well as a focus on selling individual products to the U.S. Hispanic market. Mr. White spent almost twenty years with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, where he held various leadership positions, and with the last five years as Senior Vice President, Group Insurance, where he lead Guardian’s over $3 billion group insurance business.

Full biographies can be viewed online at www.ifny.org.

For further information, please contact Ms. Gina Marie Balog, IFNY Executive Administrator at 914.966.3180, x113 or via email at g@cinn.com