Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) has appointed Gabe Poppie (pictured above, left) as strategic growth broker leader and Brian Cummins (pictured above, right) as customer and broker engagement leader for the US Northern Central region.
Poppie joined BHSI in 2023 as customer and broker engagement leader for the US Central region. He has 25 years of insurance industry experience, spanning both brokerage operations and senior positions at other insurers. He is based in Chicago.
Cummins, who will now lead customer and broker engagement efforts in the Northern Central region, previously served as head of BHSI’s Central region property team for more than a decade.
He joined the company in 2013 as vice president of property. Cummins has nearly 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, including work as a broker and property underwriting leader. He is also based in Chicago.
Travis Bethune, customer and broker engagement leader for North America at BHSI, said that in his new role, Poppie will focus on expanding relationships with regional and global brokers across the US, while Cummins will lead efforts to grow customer and broker engagement in the Northern Central region.
BHSI’s promotions come amid a massive growth surge for the parent company, Berkshire Hathaway, with the Warren Buffett business reporting a 71% increase in operating earnings for the fourth quarter.
These results were driven by higher interest rates that boosted investment income, and an improvement in its insurance business.
Elsewhere, BHSI also promoted Shelley Norman to US executive and professional lines field leader. Norman, who joined BHSI in 2021 as senior vice president of management liability, brings over 30 years of industry experience to her new role. She oversees E&P regional underwriting teams across the US.
Simultaneously, Brady Head was appointed as E&P product lead for North America. Head, who joined BHSI in 2020 as head of directors & officers liability, will be responsible for all E&P lines products in the region.
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