Advisen’s Ruggieri Replaces Hooper as North America CEO for Cooper Gay Swett Crawford

Global wholesale and reinsurance broker Cooper, Gay, Swett & Crawford said that Thomas P. Ruggieri will join the company as chief executive officer and president of the North American operations effective Oct. 10.

Ruggieri, CEO at Advisen Ltd., replaces Shaun Hooper in the role of CEO.

Ruggieri brings 30 years of wholesale and managing general agency experience to CGSC, which is an Advisen client. Based in New York, he will report to Toby Esser, CEO of the CGSC Group.

Ruggieri began his career at Marsh & McLennan, developing numerous specialty products and practices, including Marsh’s Global Broking Division, its Professional Liability & Financial Guarantee practices and its tech risk offerings. He also founded the broker’s small business Managing General Agent (MGA) SAFE facility. In 2000, Ruggieri co-founded Advisen Ltd., a provider of commercial insurance data and analytics of which he was CEO and chairman.

Hooper, who had been serving as the CEO and president of CGSC North America, will return to CGSC’s headquarters in London as Group chief commercial officer.

In addition to wholesale broker Swett & Crawford, CGSC’s North American platform includes reinsurance intermediary Cooper Gay Re and a number of specialty MGAs, including energy specialist J.H. Blades; Blades Marine and recently formed Healthcare MGA Pro-Praxis.

In the wake of a disappointing 2013 and a Standard & Poor’s outlook downgrading, CGSC Group CEO Esser earlier this month that said the firm would be targeting cost reductions and acquisitions as well as bolstering its senior management to get back on track.

Esser said that “despite the acquisitions and launches of some excellent businesses over the last 12 months,” the firm needed to “take some corrective action.”

“Bolstering our existing management team underscores our commitment to implementing efficient processes around day-to-day business and around driving the new elements of our business forward,” he said earlier this month.

Esser said changes were already having an effect, with July reported as the firm’s best revenue month ever.

Advisen said Ruggieri will remain acting CEO until Oct. 9, at which time Advisen’s executive management team – co-founders Dave Bradford and Ed Forer, as well as CFO David Dahlquist – will assume his responsibilities. Effective immediately, Ed Forer will expand his COO role to assume more day-to-day management responsibilities.

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