Texas Mutual Names COO, Senior V.P. of Underwriting and Chief Risk Officer

Texas Mutual Insurance Co. has made changes to its senior management. The company has promoted Lisa Corless, senior vice president of claim and underwriting operations to chief operating officer. She will oversee the company's claim, information technology, underwriting, actuarial and premium audit functions.

Corless succeeds former COO Ron Wright, who was promoted to president.

In addition, Steve Math was named senior vice president of underwriting. Cecily Gallagher, former senior vice president of underwriting and actuarial services, has assumed her new role as corporate actuary and chief risk officer.

Corless joined Texas Mutual in 1998 as manager of its Houston regional office claim department. She was also manager of the Lubbock and Dallas regional offices before becoming vice president of claim field operations in July 2001. In 2005, the company appointed her senior vice president of claim and information services. Last year, she assumed the additional duties of providing operations leadership to Texas Mutual’s underwriting and actuarial services division.

Math will oversee the company's underwriting, marketing and loss prevention services. He most recently served as senior vice president and chief actuary of Argo Insurance Group, the parent company of Argonaut Specialty. Prior to that, he served in chief actuary roles at Ace Insurance Group and CNA.

Gallagher will provide actuarial analysis of long-term and critical strategic issues for senior management and the board. She will also oversee the pricing and reserving actuarial function, head up risk quantification analysis, and assist with risk mitigation efforts. Prior to joining Texas Mutual in 1998, Gallagher worked as a consultant and principal with Tillinghast/Towers Perrin for almost 20 years.

(By Caroline Saucer, editor, BestWeek: [email protected])