The Hartford named one of its rising executives to be head of the Western Division for its Middle and Large Commercial Insurance business. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions appointed a new Head, Crisis Management & Product Recall.

***

The Hartford appointed Shahzad Ahmad head of the Western Division for the company’s Middle and Large Commercial Insurance business.

Ahmad now leads the sales and underwriting operations for the company’s independent agents, brokers and customers across 13 Western states including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. He will report to Tracey Ant, head of Field Operations & General Industries for Middle and Large Commercial insurance.

He succeeds Gretchen Thompson, who was recently appointed head of Construction, Inland Marine, Excess Solutions and Complex Liability Solutions for Middle and Large Commercial at The Hartford.

With more than 16 years of industry experience, Ahmad was most recently the regional vice president of Northern California, where he worked across multiple lines of business including Complex Casualty, Large Property, Construction, Marine, and Multinational, as well as The Hartford’s Global Specialty organization, to drive profitable growth and market success on the West coast.

Ahmad joined The Hartford in 2005 and has since held several key positions of increasing responsibility across a diverse portfolio of middle market businesses, including Technology, Life Science, Construction, and General Industries.

***

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions named Caitlin McGrath as Head Crisis Management & Product Recall.

In this role, McGrath will be responsible for growing Swiss Re Corporate Solutions’ presence in this area of the market and strengthening the team with new talent. She will be based in New York.

McGrath brings 11 years of industry experience to this role, as both a broker and an underwriter. Most recently, she successfully developed the first domestic Product Recall practice group at a major brokerage house – Lockton Companies,

She is also a veteran of Aon Risk Solutions Partners Specialty Group and Starr Companies, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Sources: The Hartford, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions