Executives.

Hartford Names General Counsel

Hartford Financial Services Group, Hartford, Conn., has named Neal S. Wolin executive vice president and general counsel. Wolin, the former U.S. Treasury general counsel, succeeds Michael S. Wilder, who has retired.

Wolin joined the U.S. government in 1991 as special assistant to the directors of the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1993, he became deputy legal adviser to the National Security Council in the White House. He joined the Treasury department in 1995 as deputy general counsel and was named general counsel in 1999. Wolin was appointed to the President's Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets in 1999.

Claus to Succeed Roth at USAA 

Michael J.C. Roth has retired as president and chief executive officer of USAA Investment Management Co., a San Antonio-based subsidiary of USAA.

Roth will be succeeded in that post by Christopher W. Claus, previously senior vice president of investment sales and service for USAA Investments. Claus joined USAA Investments in 1994 as vice president of investment sales and service, overseeing the combination of mutual funds and brokerage services. Before joining USAA, Claus was vice president of equity trading and retirement plans at Norwest Investment Services in Minneapolis. Prior to that, he was director of marketing for Norwest Investment Services.

First Union Taps Regional President

First Union Insurance Services Inc., Wayne, N.J., has named Anthony D. Fenton as regional president covering New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

A 25-year veteran in the insurance industry, Fenton will retain his duties as executive vice president and chief operating officer. He succeeds John J. Petillo, who is leaving the company to become president and chief executive officer of the Newark Alliance.

Fenton joined First Union in 1995 from Salt Lake City-based First Security Insurance Agency, where he oversaw all agency sales activities. Prior to that, he owned an insurance and real-estate brokerage company for more than 14 years.

Ace CFO Assumes Another Title

Christopher Z. Marshall, chief financial officer of Ace Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda, has been named assistant to the chairman with responsibility for strategic initiatives. He will continue as CFO until a successor is named. Marshall has had primary responsibility for Ace's financial operations since the formation of the company 15 years ago.

Northwestern Mutual Selects CFO

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., Milwaukee, has appointed Gary "Skip" Poliner senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Poliner will oversee Northwestern Mutual's financial management and reporting operations, including the actuarial, controller's and tax and financial-planning departments. He will help develop business strategies.

He joined Northwestern Mutual in 1977 as an attorney and was promoted to vice president in 1993. Poliner was named managing director of the securities department of Northwestern Investment Management Co. in 1998.

Lincoln National Names Chairman

Lincoln National Corp., Philadelphia, the parent company of the Lincoln Financial Group of companies, has named Jon A. Boscia chairman. The appointment is in recognition of Boscia's "outstanding performance and strong leadership."

Boscia will continue to serve as chief executive officer. The company has no current plans to fill the role of president.

Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corp. and its affiliates.

Frontier Loses 3 Top Executives

Frontier Insurance Group, Rock Hill, N.Y., has once again cut back its management team.

Three executives--Patrick Kenny, executive vice president and chief financial officer; Douglas Moat, executive vice president; and Richard Seyffarth, executive vice president and chief investment officer--have resigned.

"As a result of the reduced level of insurance business and the closing out of statutory year-end process, it is necessary to streamline the executive team," Harry Rhulen, president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.

In September, Frontier Insurance Group Inc.'s leaders agreed to 25% pay cuts as the company works to return to profitability.

Rhulen had an annual salary last year of $533,000, plus a bonus of $60,000, according to an annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Seyffarth's salary was $282,000, plus a $40,000 bonus in 1999.

At that time, Frontier's executive management group was cut to seven members from 11, which would save about $1.2 million annually, the company said. The total staff has been cut to 680 down from 1,600 since January, reflecting asset sales, attrition and job elimination, the company said.

Frontier has been struggling to return to profitability. It blames its poor results on deterioration in underwriting, related mainly to discontinued programs and unusual events. The company saw a loss of about $2.3 million on the sale of Regency Insurance Co. And it posted $7.6 million in losses related to OneStop.com, the company's Internet business.