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Christine Higgins has been named vice president of underwriting at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut. Over the past 19 years, Higgins has held a variety of increasingly responsible positions within the health benefits analysis, and major and commercial accounts underwriting, and sales departments. Most recently, she served as director of sales for Anthem’s public sector sales teams. Higgins has been a leader with Anthem’s employee ‘culture teams,’ which provide volunteer and financial support to a number of worthy not-for-profit agencies and causes in the community.Â
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USI Consulting Group in Glastonbury has hired Erica Swett as vice president of retirement services, based in Dallas. Prior to joining USI Consulting Group, Swett spent 10 years at Prudential Retirement, most recently as vice president, regional sales director, where she was responsible for new business development and client relations in the south region. She will also be servicing USI Consulting Group’s Houston, Austin and New Orleans. USI Consulting Group is a provider of defined contribution and defined benefit plan consulting and administration services, along with health and welfare administration and investment advisory services. It is the parent company of both USI Securities, Inc. and USI Advisors, Inc. and a wholly-owned subsidiary of USI Holdings Corp.
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Alfred J. Palmeri has joined Northwestern Mutual, The Zuzolo Financial Group of West Hartford, as chief marketing officer. Palmeri comes to Northwestern Mutual from a 23 year career with MassMutual Financial Group, where he was regional marketing director. Also, Jodi Culbertson has been named director of internship development at Zuzolo. Culbertson was an assistant coach for women’s basketball at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The Zuzolo Financial Group serves Connecticut and Massachusetts through seven locations. It has more than 109,000 policies, with a face value of more than $19 billion in insurance, in force.
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Carol Walters has been promoted to business manager at Andrea Obston Marketing Communications LLC in Bloomfield. Walters, an office manager with the firm since 2007, will plan, develop and implement systems to improve the operating quality and fiscal efficiency of the firm. Also, Katrina Lennon, an MBA student at Quinnipiac University, has been hired as account coordinator. She brings five years of public relations, marketing communications and social media experience to the firm.
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Christopher Abely has joined ABCO Wealth Management LLC in East Haven as a member. Abely brings more than 25 years of experience in the financial services industry and will lead the financial adviser team in business development, client relations and new markets. Abely has worked for the past ten years as a senior vice president managing insurance and business investments at CUNA Mutual Group. Previously, he was the owner and president of Member Services Corp. He holds the CFA designation.
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Realized Solutions, a Plainville-based custom solutions developer and network support provider, has added Josh H. Rappaport as director of sales. Most recently, he served as business development manager for Walker Systems Support and as vice president of sales for Founders Technology Group. He also has owned a Manhattan Bagel franchise.
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Lisa Miceli Feliciano has joined the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford as communication specialist based at the organization’s main headquarters in Asylum Hill. She’ll develop, direct and handle all strategic public/media relations and marketing initiatives to benefit the 10 club sites. Feliciano’s award-winning communications career in both non-profit and for-profit project work has spanned more than 25 years at agencies and companies beginning in New York and throughout Connecticut. As public and media relations specialist at the Connecticut Historical Society Museum in Hartford, she helped launch the $3.5 million History Is All Around Us exhibit at the Old State House and completed a major re-branding of both institutions under the CHS Museum umbrella.
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Bracewell & Giuliani LLP has added David A. Spotts, formerly of Global Markets Consulting, to its broker-dealer and market regulation group. He joins as counsel in the firm’s Hartford and New York offices. Spotts provides comprehensive regulatory advice on compliance with federal, state and self-regulatory organization rules and regulations to clients in the financial services industry. He has previous industry experience as a chief compliance officer and assistant general counsel with Fidelity Investments as well as having worked at both the SEC and the NASD.
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Kostin, Ruffkess & Company LLC, a Farmington-based certified public accounting and business advisory firm, has appointed John J. Turgeon as member of the firm. Turgeon has over 27 years of professional experience in human resource management, organizational change and professional recruitment. He holds both the certified public accountant and human capital strategist designations. As leader of the firmˆ’s Human Capital Consulting Group, he offers an array of services to clients, including executive coaching, personal development planning, leadership meeting facilitation, and professional recruitment assistance. Turgeon also assists with the daily management of the firm and its strategic planning initiatives, as well as taking a leadership role in the firm’s recruitment efforts and the professional development of its people. With 180 employees and offices in Farmington and New London, as well as Springfield, Mass., Kostin, Ruffkess serves public and private middle-market companies, not-for-profit organizations, municipalities, and individuals.
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