Liberty Mutual has announced the appointment of executives to lead commercial lines business for wholesale distribution in its Global Risk Solutions unit.

The company has appointed Tara Houvenagle as wholesale distribution executive west, while Jessica Ferguson has been named wholesale distribution executive east. They will join a team led by Ben Johnson, wholesale distribution executive for North America. Johnson is responsible for overseeing the development and placement of products and services across wholesale distribution channels for both Liberty Mutual and Ironshore.

“We are excited to offer our wholesale partners with a single access point representing a full range of specialty and commercial product lines within Ironshore and Liberty Mutual,” Johnson said. “With the appointments of Tara and Jessica, we are confident of being in a sound position to meet growing market demand. In addition, we have established dedicated wholesale underwriting units located in offices across the country, serving excess casualty, primary general liability, and property products. We will continue to invest in serving the wholesale marketplace with better access and more products.”

Houvenagle is based in Liberty Mutual’s St. Louis office. She joined Ironshore in 2009, and has held various leadership roles focusing on umbrella, excess liability and primary general liability. Most recently, she served as Western Region casualty manager and wholesale west branch executive for Ironshore.

Prior to her appointment at Liberty Mutual, Ferguson served as vice president of the broker programs business development unit at JLT Re North America. She has also held positions at AIG and Lexington Insurance. Ferguson is based in Liberty Mutual’s Boston office.