Selective Insurance Group Announces Officer Appointments

BRANCHVILLE, N.J., Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Selective Insurance Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:SIGI) announced the following appointments by its subsidiary, Selective Insurance Company of America:

Kimberly Burnett (Sparta, NJ) to executive vice president, Chief Human Resources Officer.  Ms. Burnett joined Selective in 1989 and has served in a variety of Human Resource positions including vice president, Human Resources; assistant vice president of Leadership and Professional Development; assistant vice president and manager of Employee Relations; and Human Resources generalist.  Ms. Burnett earned a B.A. in Journalism from The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH.  She is also a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and holds the designation of Senior Professional in Human Resources from SHRM.

Yanina Hupka (Milford, PA), to senior vice president, Chief Risk & Reinsurance Officer.  Previously she served as vice president of Reinsurance and ERM Manager. Ms. Hupka joined Selective in September 2000 as a senior reinsurance accountant.  Before coming to Selective, she was a reinsurance technical analyst with Frontier Insurance Company. Ms. Hupka holds a B.A. from the State University of New York in New Paltz, NY and earned an M.S. in Accountancy from State University of New York Institute of Technology in Utica, NY.  She holds the Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) and Associate in Insurance Accounting and Finance (AIAF) designations from the Insurance Institute of America.

Pamela Keough (Wilton, CT) to senior vice president, IT Control & Enterprise Services.  Ms. Keough joined Selective in December 2011.  Her prior position was senior vice president, Information Officer for General Reinsurance Corporation.  Ms. Keough earned a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.B.A. in Management Information from Western New England College in Springfield, MA.  She is also a Life Office Management Association Associate and has an Associate in General Insurance designation.

David Colarusso (Bethlehem, PA) to vice president, Director of Safety Management.  Mr. Colarusso joined Selective in 2002 as a field loss control representative. In 2006, he was promoted to Safety Management Supervisor in Selective's Mid-Atlantic Region. Prior to that, he was a Construction Safety Specialist with Travelers Insurance.  Mr. Colarusso earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Lowell in Lowell, MA and holds designations as a Certified Safety Professional and an Associate in Risk Management.

Stephen Crosta (Livingston, NJ) to vice president, Assistant General Counsel, Insurance Operations.  Mr. Crosta joined Selective in 1997 as a staff attorney in Selective's East Hanover, NJ staff counsel office.  In 2002, he served as Area Vice President for William H. Connolly & Associates, a Division of Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc. before returning to Selective in 2007 as Corporate Counsel, Insurance Operations.  Mr. Crosta earned his B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ and his J.D. from the New England School of Law in Boston, MA.  He holds designations as NJ Insurance Producer for Property & Casualty/Health, Associate in Risk Management and Associate in Insurance Services.

Joseph Kristel (Richmond, VA) to vice president, Claims, for Stonecreek Specialty Underwriters, a division of Selective Insurance Company of America.  Mr. Kristel joined Selective in November 2011.  Prior to that, he was a Claims Manager with James River Insurance.  Mr. Kristel earned his B.S. in Business Administration from LaSalle University in Philadelphia, PA.

Michael Baisley (Avon, CT) to assistant vice president, Investments.  Mr. Baisley joined Selective in November 2010 as assistant portfolio manager.  Prior to that, he worked as a consultant to private equity firms and started his career with Prudential Financial, Inc.  Mr. Baisley earned his B.S. in Business Administration from Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA and his M.B.A from the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, MA and holds the designation of Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst(SM).

Patty Horvath (Montague, NJ) to assistant vice president, Line of Business Manager.  Ms. Horvath joined Selective in 1984 as an Underwriting Trainee and has held a variety of positions throughout the company.  Ms. Horvath earned a B.A. in Psychology from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA and holds the Associate in Underwriting and the Associate in Research and Planning designations.

David Rosen (Monroe, NY) to assistant vice president, Line of Business Manager.  Mr. Rosen joined Selective in 2000 as an underwriter in the company's Northeast Region office.  Prior to that, he was Automobile Program Manager with Frontier Insurance Company.  Mr. Rosen earned a B.S. in Economics from the State University of New York at Binghamton in Binghamton, NY and an M.B.A from the College of Insurance in New York, NY.  Mr. Rosen holds the designation of Certified Insurance Counselor.

Zhikun Wu (Hilliard, OH) to assistant vice president, Director of Quantitative Risk Management, ERM & Reinsurance.  Mr. Wu joined Selective in November 2011.  His prior experience included a position as Senior Consultant for Enterprise Risk & Capital Management with Nationwide Insurance.  He earned his B.A. in Finance from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in Shanghai, China and an M.A. in Economics and an M.A. in Statistics from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH.  Mr. Wu is a Fellow of Casualty Actuarial Society and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).  He is also a member of the Casualty Actuarial Society, the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Columbus.

About Selective Insurance Group, Inc.
Selective Insurance Group, Inc. is a holding company for eight property and casualty insurance companies rated "A+" (Superior) by A.M. Best.  Through independent agents, the insurance companies offer primary and alternative market insurance for commercial and personal risks, and flood insurance underwritten by the National Flood Insurance Program.  Selective maintains a website at www.selective.com.

SOURCE Selective Insurance Group, Inc.