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Hilb’s Management Team

Richard G. Spiro Chief Executive Officer of Hilb Group

Richard G. Spiro

Chief Executive Officer

Ricky Spiro brings over 30 years of experience in the insurance and financial services sectors to the Hilb Group. From 2008 to 2016, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Chubb Corporation (Chubb), which was one of the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurers. Before joining Chubb, Ricky was an investment banker specializing in advising the insurance industry on mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and equity and debt financings. Ricky was a Managing Director in the financial institutions investment banking group at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (Citigroup) where he worked from 1999 to 2008. He held a variety of positions in Citigroup’s financial institutions group, including Head of North America and Head of Insurance Investment Banking. He began his investment banking career at The First Boston Corporation in 1986 where he was a Managing Director in the financial institutions group. He graduated from Princeton University with an A.B. degree in Economics. Ricky was also a member of the Board of Overseers of the School of Risk Management at St John’s University.

Richard G. Spiro

Chief Executive Officer

(804) 414-6509
rspiro@hilbgroup.com

R. Judson Elliott, Jr. EVP – Mergers & Acquisitions

R. Judson Elliott, Jr.

EVP – Mergers & Acquisitions

Jud Elliott was one of the founding members of the Hilb Group leadership team in 2009. Jud has over 30 years of industry experience, primarily in the employee benefits space. He began his career in 1983 as a group sales representative with The Travelers. He subsequently held senior leadership roles on both the insurance carrier side and the brokerage side of the industry, including Vice President, Major Accounts for BCBS of Georgia and South Region Head of Employee Benefits for Marsh. Jud is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where he earned a BA degree as well as a MBA from the Terry College of Business.

R. Judson Elliott, Jr.

EVP, Mergers & Acquisitions

(804) 414-6506
jelliott@hilbgroup.com

Jason S. Angus Chief Operating Officer

Jason S. Angus

Chief Operating Officer

Jason Angus was the founder, and President of Venture Specialty Insurance and in 2011, Venture was acquired by the Hilb Group. After acquiring Venture Specialty Insurance in September 2011, the Hilb Group appointed Jason Angus as its Chief Marketing Officer. In 2014, Jason was named to Business Insurance Magazine’s 40 under 40 brokers. In 2017, Jason was appointed as the EVP and Chief Growth Officer. Jason is currently responsible for business operations across the Hilb Group’s office locations nationwide as Chief Operating Officer. Jason earned a BA from Hampden-Sydney College and a MBA from the Mason School of Business at The College of William & Mary.

Jason S. Angus

Chief Operating Officer

(000) 000-000
info@hilbgroup.com

Robert W. Blanton, Jr. Chief Financial Officer

Robert W. Blanton, Jr.

SVP, Finance & Accounting
Rob joined the Hilb Group with over 25 years of accounting experience. From 1990 to 2006, he held various positions at Hilb Rogal & Hobbs (HRH Insurance), the last eight as Vice President & Controller. Rob also worked as Chief Financial Officer of Southern Title Insurance Corporation, a regional title insurance underwriter, before holding various positions at Genworth Financial, the latest as Director of Business Initiatives and Forecasting. Rob graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University with an accounting degree. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.
Robert W. Blanton, Jr.
SVP, Finance & Accounting

(000) 000-000
info@hilbgroup.com

William C. Widhelm

SVP, Internal Audit

Bill joined the Hilb Group with over 20 plus years as an accounting professional. From 1994 to 2008, he held various positions at Hilb Rogal & Hobbs (HRH Insurance) but served a majority of that time as its Vice President and Director of Internal Audit. Bill also worked as Chief Financial Officer of the Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity before becoming a Senior Advisory Consultant at VACO Resources serving several diverse clients. Bill is a graduate of Auburn University. He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

William C. Widhelm

SVP, Internal Audit

(000) 000-000
info@hilbgroup.com

Rob Patton VP – Human Resources Hilb Group

Rob Patton

SVP – Human Resources

Rob joined the Hilb Group with over 18 years of human resource leadership and management experience. Rob is responsible for the Hilb Group’s human resource team and brings insight on integration, onboarding, hiring, training and overall employee experience with the company. Prior to joining the Hilb Group, Rob served as the Senior Human Resources Director for BreakThru Beverage, and held key senior human resource leadership roles at Luck Stone Corporation and Loomis Fargo. Rob graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA with a BS and an MBA.

Rob Patton

SVP, Human Resources

(000) 000-000
info@hilbgroup.com

Bert Hardy Headshot

Bert Hardy

Chief Information Officer

Bert joined the Hilb Group with a strong background in technology, business development, financial and operations. In 1995, he began his career in technology as Director, Southeast Region Consulting – Integrated Technology Solutions at RSM International. Most recently, he was Chief Information Officer & Chief Commercial Officer at Fusion Company. While at Fusion, he led the technology group responsible for the global digital Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C) business for Allianz Partners. He was also responsible for leading the worldwide sales, marketing and account management teams. Bert earned a BS from the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business at the University of Richmond and an MBA from the Richard S. Reynolds School of Business at the University of Richmond.  He is also a Certified Public Accountant.

Bert Hardy

Chief Information Officer

(000) 000-000
info@hilbgroup.com

Anne Nicoll headshot

Anne Nicoll Esq., CPCU

Chief Compliance and Risk Counsel
Anne began her career at Gencorp Insurance Group in 1997. In 2015, Gencorp merged with the Hilb Group and is now known as the Hilb Group of New England. Anne’s roles expanded with this merger and she now serves as corporate general counsel for the Hilb Group. She is responsible for the compliance of the firm’s carrier and government operations. Anne is a past president of the Rhode Island CPCU Society, where she continues to serve as a Director. She has also served as a Director on the Boards of the Gencorp Insurance Charitable Foundation and the Rhode Island CPCU Scholarship Fund. She is a graduate of Rhode Island College and Roger Williams University School of Law and holds the Chartered Property and Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) insurance designation.
Anne Nicoll Esq., CPCU
Chief Compliance and Risk Counsel

(000) 000-000
info@hilbgroup.com

Peter T. Lobred

SVP, Marketing

Peter is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for the Hilb Group. He is responsible for business development, marketing services, and corporate communications across the organization. Prior to joining the Hilb Group, he served in health insurance Marketing and Communications leadership roles within Anthem, Inc., and previously Amerigroup Corporation. His experience includes branding, reputation, and crisis communications; business development and growth; public relations, social, and digital media; and executive and employee communications. Peter earned his BA from the University of Virginia and MA in Public Communications from Syracuse University.

Peter T. Lobred

SVP, Marketing

(000) 000-000
info@hilbgroup.com

Ryan Haverman headshot

Ryan Havermann

SVP – Mergers & Acquisitions

Ryan Havermann is the Vice President of Mergers & Acquisitions for the Hilb Group. He is responsible for sourcing and executing agency acquisitions and facilitating integration work streams. Prior to joining the Hilb Group, Ryan worked for Harris Williams & Co., an international investment bank, providing M&A advisory services to clients in a variety of industries. Ryan began his career as a management consultant in Washington D.C. focused on strategy and business process improvement advisory services. Ryan earned his MBA from the University of Virginia, Darden School of Business, and his BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia.

Ryan Havermann

SVP, Mergers & Acquisitions

(804) 414-6508
rhavermann@hilbgroup.com