Executives.

Delta Dental plans Appoints President-CEO for 3 States.

Thomas J. Fleszar has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the affiliated Delta Dental Plans of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

He succeeds C. Richard Seitz, who has retired.

Fleszar joined Delta Dental in 1997 as executive vice )resident and was promoted in 1999 to executive vice president and chief operating officer. Before that, he co-founded a dental practice in southeastern Michigan and was its president and one of its practicing periodontists for 20 years.

St. Paul Cos. Names Yessman To Be Executive VP of Claims. (Executives)

St. Paul Cos. has appointed Timothy M. Yessman to the position of executive vice president of claims.

Yessman will be responsible for the property-liability insurer's claim-related activities, including operations, staff attorneys, claim risk services and other claim services.

Yessman has 17 years of claim experience, all with the Travelers Property Casualty Co. Most recently, he was senior vice president of Travelers' special liability group, a specialty-claim operation responsible for claims in such areas as toxic tort, environmental, asbestos, surety, malpractice and excess and surplus lines.

He began his career as a multilines claim adjuster and held a variety of positions, including counsel in the law department handling complex coverage and bad-faith litigation.

NAMIC's Vice President Retires

Pamela J. Alien, vice president of federal affairs of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies retired Jan. 1. Allen has led he federal affairs department for the past decade.

The current director of federal affairs, Monte N. Ward, will succeed her.

Allen began her legislative work with NAMIC and the insurance industry in 1981 at Collier, Shannon, Bill & Scott, where she was director of legislative services. By 1983, she was working with NAMIC on all federal legislative issues affecting the property/casualty insurance industry. Allen became NAMIC's vice president of federal affairs in 1992.

Griswell Elected as Chairman Of Principal Financial Group

Principal Financial Group President and Chief Executive Officer J. Barry Griswell has been elected chairman of the board, effective Jan. 1. He succeeds retiring chairman David J. Drury, who has held the board position since 1995.

Griswell joined the company in 1988 as agency vice president. He became senior vice president in 1991 and executive vice president in 1996. He was appointed president in 1998 and named CEO in 1999.

Drury joined Principal Financial in 1966 and rose through a variety of positions, including chief actuary and head of the investment department.

Le Mans Re Appoints CEO

Le Mans Re, the reinsurer formed by XL Capital Ltd. and MMA Group in 1999, has appointed James H. Veghte as chief executive officer.

Veghte will retain his position as executive vice president and general manager of the London branch office of XL Re Ltd., the reinsurance subsidiary of XL Capital Ltd.

Veghte, 45, an American, spent 13 years with the Win-terthur Insurance Group in New York. In 1994 he joined Mid Ocean Re in Bermuda, which was purchased by XL Capital in 1998. He moved to London in 1999 as executive vice president and general manager of Nac Re International. Veghte participated in the launch of Le Mans Re in 1999 and has been a member of the underwriting committee and the Le Mans Re board of directors.

Past NAIC President Takes Over Standards Association. (Executives)

Brian K. Atchinson was appointed executive director of the Insurance Marketplace Standards Association, succeeding Paul J. Mason, who served from 1999 to 2001.

Atchinson, who brings regulatory, insurance industry and private-sector experience, will oversee the association's operations, including implementing its new strategic plan. That plan includes gaining greater acceptance of the value of association membership from the regulatory community.

Atchinson was the Maine superintendent of insurance from 1992 to 1997 and served as president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in 1996. He joined Maine's regulatory ranks in 1989 as general legal counsel to the Maine State Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, which oversees the state's Bureau of Insurance. Immediately prior to his post at IMSA,Atchinson served as vice president and managing counsel in the law department of UnumProvident, Portland, Maine.

He also spent 15 years in the private sector, where he specialized in legal and marketing work, first for a health-care facilities company and later for international soccer and baseball concerns, including Olympic committees.