Brown & Brown has named Linda Downs, CPCU, as the new senior executive vice president. She will be responsible for oversight of certain of the company's retail operations in Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

According to Brown & Brown, Ms Downs will continue to be responsible for retail operations in Delaware and South Carolina, programs operations in Florida and Missouri, and Halcyon Underwriters, a wholesale brokerage division operation in Orlando, Florida. She will also continue to oversee certain corporate matters, including the corporate benefits department and its leadership schools.

Ms Downs has been with Brown & Brown since 1980, when she founded and commenced service as profit center leader of the Orlando, Florida retail office, where she worked until 1998. She served as one of the regional executive vice presidents since 2001, and she was promoted to executive vice president for leadership development in January 2006. She currently serves as director and as president or in another executive officer capacity for several of our subsidiaries.

Powell Brown, president and CEO of Brown & Brown, said: “Linda’s promotion positions us to continue to sharpen the focus of the offices for which she is assuming responsibility, and the leaders in those offices. Her depth of experience and proven abilities in retail sales and management, and in leadership development, will be invaluable to the development of these operations.”