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W. R. Berkley Corporation Appoints Senior Executives

WRB | May 25, 2016

W. R. Berkley Corporation Appoints Senior Executives

W. R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE: WRB) today announced the appointments of two senior executives. Richard M. Baio has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer. Andrea C. Kanefsky has been named vice president – corporate controller. Ms. Kanefsky succeeds Clement P. Patafio, who oversees the Company’s financial shared services team and related data management. The appointments are effective immediately.

Mr. Baio most recently served as the Company’s vice president and treasurer. He succeeds Eugene G. Ballard, executive vice president, who will continue to have oversight responsibility of the finance, actuarial and data management departments. Mr. Baio will be responsible for the financial and treasury functions of the Company and report to Mr. Ballard. He has over 25 years of experience in the insurance and financial services industry, having served prior to joining the Company as a director in Merrill Lynch & Co.'s financial institutions investment banking group and as a partner in Ernst & Young's insurance practice. Mr. Baio earned a B.S. in accounting from Clarkson University and an M.S. in taxation from University of Hartford.

Ms. Kanefsky joined the Company’s operating unit, Clermont Specialty Managers, as senior vice president and chief financial officer in 2013, having previously served as the chief financial officer of a specialty property casualty insurance company. In her new role as the Company’s corporate controller, she is responsible for financial reporting and related accounting activities and reports to Mr. Baio. She has over 30 years of experience in the property casualty insurance industry and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in accounting and business management from Bucknell University.

For further information about W. R. Berkley Corporation, please visit www.wrberkley.com.

Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that is among the largest commercial lines writers in the United States and operates worldwide in two segments of the property casualty insurance business: Insurance and Reinsurance.