Personalities and Personnel

In this issue, we welcome Cyber Security expert Pete Sfoglia, Chief Information Security Officer and Cofounder, Insurun Advisory Services. Pete has 26 years Big-x consulting experience in IT Security, Business Process Re-engineering and Governance, Risk and Compliance management, 13 as a Partner at EY, Accenture, and Wipro. He brings a wealth of experience in ensuring the integrity and safety of our customer information, garnering and nurturing customer relationships, and helping companies utilize technology to demonstrate compliance with industry standards and regulations. Timely topic; talented tutor. Welcome Pete…….. Congratulations are due to R Benedikt Sander. Preferred Mutual Insurance Company (PMIC) has have promoted him to the role of president and chief executive officer and Jeffrey M. Lopata to chief oper¬tions officer and executive vice president, effective January 1, 2022. PMIC’s current CEO, Christopher P. Taft, will be retiring but will become the chairman of the company’s board of directors, replacing Robert A. Wadsworth, who will continue to support PMIC as a member of the board.

Sander, who joined PMIC in June 2019, has been serving as EVP, insurance operations, and has more than 20 years of leadership experience in the insurance industry. In his time at PMIC, he has championed strategies to improve company growth and profitability as well as initiatives that foster strong relationships with employees, agents and business partners.  Lopata, who has been serving as EVP, chief strategy officer, has been a driving force behind PMIC’s strategic planning initiatives and a visionary across several key areas of the company during his 17-year tenure, including information technology, enterprise project management and the development of many business strategies and services.  “As we position PMIC for its next chapter, we’ve identified an opportunity to strengthen our corporate structure by promoting two individuals who will lead PMIC into the future,” said Taft. “My new role as chairman of the board will allow me an opportunity to continue to focus on shaping the culture and strategic direction of PMIC in partnership with our leadership team.”

“I am humbled to be PMIC’s next leader and am looking forward to continuing its proud 125-year-old tradition of being centered on our community, our policyholders, our agents and all our employees,” said Sander. “We have a supremely talented team at PMIC and I look forward to working closely with Jeff Lopata, the leadership team, our new chairman Chris Taft, and the board of directors as we chart the course to continued success.”

“This company is built on a foundation of strong relationships with our agents, customers and employees,” said Lopata. “I could not be more excited about our partnership in leading PMIC, or more confident in our leadership team as we navigate into the future.”

Preferred Mutual Insurance Company provides property and casualty insurance coverage to more than 232,000 individual and business customers through a network of more than 500 independent agents throughout New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In business since 1896, Preferred Mutual is rated “A” by A.M. Best Company and is headquartered in New Berlin, New York. Learn more at www.preferredmutual.com……… Lawsuit to watch: A complaint filed by Cozen O’Connor attorneys, led by partner James A. Gale, on behalf of Francis DeSola, a licensed insurance agent alleging he was improperly terminated due to an illegal no-poach/no-hire agreement between defendants, Robert Hodes, Ocean Consulting Group Inc. and Cost Containment Group and their competitors. The complaint was filed in the Southern District of Florida, and alleges the defendants suppressed competition by not only conspiring with their competitors not to solicit each other’s senior-level employees, but also agreed not to hire—or even contact—any of the defendants employees and independent contractors. The complaint also alleges that the defendants went as far as to threaten to sue their competitors for breaking the agreement if they did not immediately terminate their relationship with individuals that the defendants contend formerly worked indirectly for them, engaging attorney David Boies and the Boies Schiller Flexner LLP firm to threaten the defendants’ competitor, with litigation if they did not enforce the no-poach agreement. Naturally, we are not taking sides and present it only for information. We will follow this lawsuit as / if it goes forward. SA