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CEO, Entertainment Group
Aon, Atlanta

It's Addison in a Pinch

Joe Addison is known to his clients as an unflappable, detail-oriented executive who is always available in a pinch.

Linda Huot, director of insurance for Intrawest, praised Addison for his last-minute rescue work at the Vancouver Olympics.

"When we realized some of the events had only limited coverage, Joe stepped right in and took care of the situation. He never showed the stress," she said about the CEO of Aon's Entertainment Group.

Prior to the event, it became apparent the coverage outlined in the contract provided only limited coverage, if any in some instances. After further review, and with a short time frame, Addison and his group established a stand-alone policy for the exposure the client was required to insure. This included several unique exposures required by the contract.

"Joe has customer service down to a fine art," said Bill Noonan, senior vice president of administration at Boyd Gaming. "He has a gentlemanly, easy-going manner. You don't feel like he's always pressing you for business, but he never forgets what your needs are."

Noonan noted the occasion when he and some colleagues were caught in London when last spring's volcanic ash clouds prevented them from leaving the country.

"Joe and the Aon team in London took care of everything for us," said Noonan. "They provided fresh clothes and refills on medicine. It was really quite remarkable."

Another client noted that, in today's tough market, Addison's extensive connections are invaluable.

Vice President
Marsh, New York

A Quick Study of Consistency

Clients of Lauren Giangrande said that she works with lightning speed and delivers work without a slip-up.

Just ask Maria Diaz, director of global risk management at Xerox Corp.

"We just made a $6 billion acquisition, and Lauren single-handedly managed the consolidation of insurance coverage in 30 days, and did it without a hiccup. That's astonishing. And she did all this with a pricing decrease and handled all filings done in every state. She was dogged during this process."

Xerox had savings on its total casualty program of more than $500,000, while the acquired company gained several coverage enhancements and an additional $215 million in excess limits. "Lauren is so consistent it's almost amazing," Diaz said about the vice president from Marsh's New York office. The director of insurance at a major, diversified media company noted how Giangrande gets to know a client company in-depth, spending the time to understand its corporate culture and keeping that in mind.

"As we know, the casualty market has been soft, but she's been able to achieve expanded coverage with a reduction in premiums. She is especially good with carriers, always striving to and up with a win-win situation," this client said. "Another thing I like about Lauren is that she doesn't have to ask twice. She's a great learner."

"We get a lot of bizarre things thrown at us, and Lauren is always ready to step in and help us out on a moment's notice," observed another risk manager.

Vice President, Client Executive
Marsh, San Jose, Calif.

Following Through on the Deal

Manpreet Gill, vice president at Marsh, is known as a skilled deal maker who conducts comprehensive research before making recommendations.

In one case last year, one of Gill's clients said she was apprehensive about renewing her contract with a carrier because of some adverse national headlines about this carrier.

"So I asked Manpreet if we should switch carriers," this corporate treasurer said. "Manpreet approached the issue calmly and carefully, and after several meetings with the carrier about our key D&O policy, we decided to stick with the carrier. And I've been comfortable with that decision."

This treasurer said that she has such a high degree of confidence in Gill that she has him handling all of her many lines of coverage.

"He is very proactive," said the treasurer. "He consistently enhances coverage and saves money."

Added Sean Prasad, director of workplace services at Logitech: "Manpreet is an extension of my team, not just an insurance provider. He has created an excellent team, and you can tell his team members enjoy working with him."

The past year has been full of M&A activity for Gill and his group. Their due diligence saved one client 30 percent of a deal's cost because of uncovered liabilities and insurance premiums that were not factored into the deal calculations.

Managing Director
Arthur J. Gallagher, Glendale, Calif.

The Inside Man on Movie Making

In addition to being a great team builder, Brian Kingman knows movie making inside and out.

"Brian can talk with any technical craftsperson in their language," said one admiring client. "In one case, we were shooting in 3D and we had to shut down for three weeks. Brian got into everybody's head, including the underwriter, and we were back on track before anybody could imagine."

On the HBO series "Treme," Kingman's team was successful in obtaining hurricane coverage in the middle of hurricane season thanks to the development of plans for emergency evacuation, protection of property and personnel safety.

Another area that Kingman excels in is making sure acting deals are adhered to. "He knows how to quantify risk in these deals," said one client.

Said another client: "I view Brian as my bulldog in negotiations. He is not afraid to wield leverage. He's always got my back. He always makes sure carriers pay out. He regularly delivers the best prices, but in addition his guidance is indispensable."

"Brian is a key element in our in-house risk management operation. This is a big plus for a smaller company," said a financial person at a smaller firm.

Since joining AJG two years ago, the managing director at Gallagher Entertainment has helped to build the unit into a very competitive film and television broker in the media space with such clients as Time Warner, Lion's Gate Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Viacom/Paramount, New Regency Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment.

Vice President
Dewitt Stern, New York

Taking it on Herself

Stacie O'Beirne's cell phone is her constant companion. That's how much dedication she brings to her job, according to her professional admirers.

Said Karen Kennedy, U.S. risk manager for Publicis Groupe, the third-largest advertising group in the world: "In our world, there are always things that come up at the last minute. Things like needing a helicopter in Mexico for a film shoot Friday night. Stacie is literally always available. One time, she was at a party and had to go out on a fire escape to take a call from me."

Kennedy has such a high degree of confidence in O'Beirne that the vice president at DeWitt Stern is the only broker Kennedy allows to go directly to the 62 entities under her supervision.

"All other brokers have to come through me," Kennedy said.

Neil Walls, senior risk manager at Turner Broadcasting, said, "Even though we're not Stacie's largest client, she does a tremendous amount of work for us. We talk with her multiple times every day. She makes sure our underwriters understand the many demands of our truTV division, which is completely comprised of reality shows such as live-action cop shows and Jesse Ventura's conspiracy show. With Stacie's help, we've had very few losses."

Added Walls: "Her tremendous dedication frees me up to do my job, which is to analyze and manage risk. Some brokers throw work back on you, but that is never the case with Stacie."

Director, Business Development
Aon/Albert G. Ruben Insurance Services, Sherman Oaks, Calif.

Art Star for Film Students

Daniel R'bibo has more than enough clients to keep himself busy. In one market, he is reportedly without a peer--serving the insurance needs of film-school students.

"Daniel has made incredible insurance inroads for us," said Barbara Boyle, chair of the department of theatre, film and television at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"We received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for students to shoot eight films all over the country on public education in the United States. There were a lot of potential risks to deal with," Boyle explained.

The traditional entertainment insurance marketplace was too expensive for these students to purchase their insurance, and their small group was not large enough to enter the Aon Film School Insurance Program.

But R'bibo, director of business development at Aon/Albert G. Ruben, was able to cover the programs they were producing under one policy. This allowed the school to bypass standard minimum premiums, saving the students thousands of dollars. R'bibo is now working with Boyle to enroll her students in the Aon corporate program to cover all their film students and the department's 200-plus productions.

In another instance, R'bibo worked the same magic with the film students at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, the largest art school in the United States.

Senior Vice President
Aon
Chicago

Managing Director
Marsh
Philadelphia

President
Taylor & Taylor
New York

CEO
Aon/Albert Ruben
New York