Gallagher is expanding its US retail brokerage capabilities with three senior appointments to lead its manufacturing, energy and transportation practices, following its 2025 acquisition of AssuredPartners.
The broker has named Alush Garzon as managing director, manufacturing; Trevor Gilstrap as managing director, energy; and Andy Engardio as managing director, transportation. All three most recently led their respective industry verticals at AssuredPartners.
Garzon (pictured, left) will head Gallagher’s manufacturing practice. He brings extensive experience developing comprehensive risk management programs for manufacturers and has firsthand perspective from his earlier career as a manufacturing engineer. His remit includes advising industrial clients on property, casualty, supply chain and liability exposures at a time when manufacturers are dealing with cost pressures, supply chain disruption, automation and evolving safety standards.
Gilstrap (pictured, center) has been appointed managing director, energy, and will work alongside existing practice leader Mike Hogue to deepen Gallagher’s energy capabilities. He advises energy clients across the risk and insurance spectrum, with a focus on upstream and midstream organizations and the contractors that support them.
The sector continues to contend with commodity price volatility, regulatory scrutiny and the operational demands of both traditional oil and gas and lower‑carbon transition projects, increasing the need for specialized broking and risk engineering support.
Engardio (pictured, right) becomes managing director, transportation, joining existing practice leaders Chris Demetroulis and Kevin Woods. Drawing on experience as a cargo claims adjuster and fleet underwriter, he focuses on risk management programs for transportation and logistics companies. The transportation sector remains under pressure from large liability awards, driver shortages and tighter safety expectations, with fleets increasingly turning to telematics, analytics and loss control measures to manage their cost of risk.
Garzon, Gilstrap and Engardio previously served as industry vertical leaders at AssuredPartners, where they built out dedicated practices in manufacturing, energy and transportation. Their transition into Gallagher’s US retail brokerage division follows Gallagher’s acquisition of AssuredPartners in 2025, a deal that significantly expanded Gallagher’s middle‑market footprint and added a broad portfolio of sector-focused expertise.
The appointments highlight how Gallagher is using that acquisition to reinforce its industry‑vertical model rather than simply adding scale. Embedding former AssuredPartners leaders in key practice roles is intended to preserve client relationships and specialist knowledge while aligning approaches to placement, analytics and service across the combined organization.
The emphasis on sector specialization reflects a wider trend among large brokers, which are increasingly organizing around industry groups that can combine technical broking skills with specific operational insight. In manufacturing, energy and transportation in particular, clients are facing complex risk profiles, regulatory demands and shifting underwriting appetites, and are looking to brokers for more tailored program design and advocacy with carriers.
The appointments also come against the backdrop of a US commercial insurance market that remains broadly stable but continues to face upward pressure from loss‑cost inflation and severity trends in certain casualty lines. In that environment, firms with established practice leadership and data-driven insight are positioning themselves to negotiate terms, retentions and capacity on behalf of clients while responding to carriers’ calls for better risk information and controls.
By placing experienced, sector‑specific leaders at the head of its manufacturing, energy and transportation practices, Gallagher is signaling that these industries will remain core to its growth strategy in US retail, and that integrated, vertical teams will be central to how it competes for large and middle‑market accounts.
