Barney & Barney Names Five New Principals

SAN DIEGO, March 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Barney & Barney, a Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC Company, today announced the promotion of five senior executives to principals of the firm.

The new principals are Sara Bennett, an executive in the Property & Casualty Group in San Diego; Nicole Mehrara, an executive in the Employee Benefits practice in San Diego; John Whalley and David Nava, executives in the firm's Employee Benefits practice in Orange County; and Sean Reddy, an executive in the Property & Casualty Group in Orange County.

Barney & Barney now has 43 active principals in its offices in San Diego, Orange County, Oakland and San Francisco.

"Sara Bennett, Nicole Mehrara, John Whalley, David Nava and Sean Reddy are stellar performers, and we are proud to welcome them to the Principal group at Barney & Barney," said CEO Paul Hering. "As our focus continues to be on providing best-in-class service to our clients, we recognize those performers who create value to the firm and demonstrate exceptional leadership qualities."

The following is a brief biography about each of the new principals:

• Sara Bennett, Principal. Bennett joined Barney & Barney's Property & Casualty division in 2003 and specializes in workers compensation and risk management. She has 11 years of experience. Bennett earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Administration from the University San Diego. She is a Board member and Committee Chair for the San Diego Women's Foundation, and was previously the Chair of Barney & Barney's B&B GROW – an internal women's initiative.

• Nicole Mehrara, Principal. Mehrara joined Barney & Barney in 2008 in the Employee Benefits division and specializes in employee benefit needs for small businesses with an emphasis on life science and technology companies. She received a Bachelor's degree in Business from the University of San Diego.

• John Whalley, Principal. Whalley joined Barney & Barney's Employee Benefits division in 2011 and specializes in the private equity and food services industries. He has over 25 years of experience in the health and welfare industry. Prior to joining Barney & Barney, he was Vice President at GNW-Evergreen and before that, General Manager at PacifiCare Dental and Vision. Whalley earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Master's degree in Business Administration from California State University, Long Beach.

• David Nava, Principal. Nava joined Barney & Barney in 2008 in the Employee Benefits practice and has more than 14 years of experience. At Barney & Barney, he leads the Apparel Practice Group, specializing in employee benefits programs for the retail and apparel manufacturing industry. Prior to joining Barney & Barney, Nava was a Benefits Consultant for Hays Companies and Standard Insurance Company. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from The University of Oregon.

• Sean Reddy, Principal. Reddy joined Barney & Barney in 2005 in the Property & Casualty Group and has 12 years of experience. At Barney & Barney, he created and leads the Environmental Practice Group. Prior to joining Barney & Barney, Reddy was Assistant Vice President at Marsh. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from The University of Southern California and holds four professional designations: Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), Associate in Risk Management (ARM), Associate in Underwriting (AU), and Accredited Advisor in Insurance (AAI).

About Barney & Barney
Barney & Barney is a risk management and insurance brokerage firm providing solutions, services and products in commercial property and casualty insurance, employee benefits, workers' compensation, compensation consulting, executive liability, personal lines and surety. Barney & Barney also offers value-added services in alternative risk financing, business continuity and loss control. In 2014, Barney & Barney joined Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC (MMA), a subsidiary of Marsh Inc., the world's leading insurance broker and risk advisor. Barney & Barney has offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Oakland and Orange County. The firm's San Diego location serves as the headquarters for MMA's Western region. For more information, visit www.barneyandbarney.com, or call 800-321-4696.

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SOURCE Barney & Barney, LLC