(By Balaseshan) U.S. insurance broker Brown & Brown Inc. (NYSE:BRO) said it has appointed Linda Downs as Chief Operating Officer of the company, and Charles Lydecke as new President of its Retail Division, effective immediately.
Downs would assume responsibility for leadership of internal operations and for oversight of the company's Services Division while continuing to be responsible for oversight of certain retail offices.
Lydecker will commence leadership of the company's Retail Division operations throughout the United States. Both Downs and Lydecker will continue to report to the Chief Executive Officer, Powell Brown.
Brown said these promotions are an important and necessary step as the company moves toward its announced goal of '2B,' that is, the attainment of $2 billion in annual revenue.
Downs began her career with Brown & Brown in 1980 with the establishment of the Orlando, Florida retail office, which she led until 1998.
Downs was promoted to Regional President in January 2011, and prior to that, she held the titles of Senior Executive Vice President (2010-11), Executive Vice President for Leadership Development (2006-10), and Regional Executive Vice President (2001-06), respectively.
Lydecker has been with Brown & Brown since 1990. He has been promoted through several positions over the years and was elected Regional President in January 2011. Prior to that, he served as Regional Executive Vice President since 2002.
BRO is trading up 1.74% at $25.79 on Wednesday. The stock has been trading between $16.77 and $27.32 for the past 52 weeks.