JLT Specialty Insurance Services Inc. (JLT Specialty USA), a US subsidiary of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc. (JLT), one of the world’s leading Specialty-focused providers of insurance, reinsurance and employee benefits related advice, brokerage and associated services, today announced the addition of an environmental team. This group will provide environmental brokerage and advisory services aligned to JLT Specialty USA’s key Specialty areas, most notably energy, construction, environmental professional, finance and aerospace.

The environmental team comprises of professionals with significant experience running successful environmental-focused risk management and consulting practices. The individuals appointed to this team include:

  • Greg Schilz, Executive Vice President and JLT Specialty USA Environmental Leader;
  • Michael McGinn, Senior Vice President; and
  • Jamin Valdez, Vice President.

The environmental team will be complemented by Cynthia Evanko Olinger, PhD, who joins JLT Specialty USA as Senior Vice President & Construction Professional Liability Leader. In this capacity she works closely with the Environmental Practice as she leads collaboration between the other JLT Specialty USA units.

“We are very excited to announce the formation of this environmental team and are confident that our current and future clients will benefit greatly from their decades of experience and rich knowledge of the space,” said Mike Rice, CEO of JLT Specialty USA. “With regulations like the new EPA standards for indoor air quality, environmental liability is pervasive for any company with a footprint in the U.S. or across the globe.”

Rice continued: “The individuals on the environmental team will integrate seamlessly with our already well-established portfolio of offerings as we constantly strive to provide the most comprehensive insurance solutions for our clients. Greg is an ideal choice as leader, having built his career on structuring innovative environmental risk transfer solutions in property transactions, construction, and litigation involving environmental issues by utilizing environmental insurance. We are absolutely confident that this team will take JLT Specialty USA to a truly exciting place, and I look forward to working closely with each of them.”

Prior to joining JLT Specialty USA, Greg Schilz was a Managing Director at Aon Risk Solutions since 2006, where he was the national sales leader for the Aon Environmental Services Group and managed the West Region Environmental Practice. From 2002 to 2006, Schilz was a Partner at Breitstone & Co. Ltd., and Marsh where he started his career in 1987. He managed the west region for both firms and was responsible, nationwide, for designing and building environmental insurance programs and analyzing environmental loss exposures. Most recently he’s been working with PE firms with innovative solutions to assist in the acquisition and or disposition process. Schilz received a B.S. in Business Administration from San Francisco State University.

Most recently, Michael McGinn was a Business Development Director for ENTRIX (now part of Cardno) in Chicago and led business development efforts targeting litigation, due diligence and expert services targeting outside counsel and companies. Prior to that he was Business Development Director at Navigant Consulting in Chicago where he teamed with the Insurance & Claims and Energy Practices. Previously McGinn was Managing Director at Marsh where he founded their Midwest Environmental Practice and ultimately grew that division in collaboration with other verticals. He then assumed leadership of the Midwest Power & Utility Practice. McGinn received a B.S. in Administration – Finance from Villanova University.

Jamin Valdez comes to JLT Specialty USA having most recently served as Account Executive at Aon Risk Solutions, since 2011. Prior to that he led the Environmental/Pollution unit of D.L.D. Insurance Brokers, Inc., from 2006 to 2011 and from 2004 to 2006 was a Risk Specialist for AIG Environmental. From 1998 to 2004 Valdez worked as an environmental professional, holding positions as SECOR International Inc., (now part of Stantec Inc.), ATC & Associated (now part of Cardno) and Applied Science and Technology, Inc. Valdez holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering Technology from Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

Cynthia Evanko Olinger, PhD, most recently served as a Director with Aon Risk Services since 2004, where she specialized in construction professional and pollution liability exposures and insurance. Previously, she held senior-level consulting roles with companies including Geosyntec Consultants and Risk Enterprise Management, where she performed engineering evaluations and design, project management, and technical and financial analysis of environmental insurance claims. Olinger holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Civil and Environmental Engineering and M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering, both from Carnegie Mellon University, as well as a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This announcement comes as JLT Specialty USA continues its strategy in expanding its US capabilities around key Specialty areas of energy, technology, construction, financial lines, credit, political & security and aerospace.

JLT Specialty USA encourages any potential applicants who are interested in rapidly developing their careers and becoming part of its U.S. Specialty team to contact Andrew Love at 877-355-1232, hiringusa@jltgroup.com or visit www.jlt.com.

About JLT Specialty Insurance Services Inc.

JLT Specialty Insurance Services Inc. is the US platform of the leading Specialty business advisory firm Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group. Our experts have deep industry and product experience serving leading US and global firms.

About Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group plc.

Jardine Lloyd Thompson is one of the world’s leading providers of insurance, reinsurance and employee benefits related advice, brokerage and associated services. JLT’s client proposition is built upon its deep Specialist knowledge, client advocacy, tailored advice and service excellence.

JLT is quoted on the London Stock Exchange and owns offices in 39 territories with more than 10,000 employees. Supported by the JLT International Network, it offers risk management and employee benefit solutions in 140 countries.

www.jlt.com

Note to Editors:

This announcement may contain "forward looking statements" regarding the financial position, business strategy or plans for future operations of the Group. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainty, relating to facts that are beyond the company's ability to control, such as future market conditions. Any such statements in this announcement speak only as at the date of this announcement. The company does not assume any obligation to, and does not intend to, revise or update these forward looking statements except as required pursuant to applicable law.