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NEWS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Brianne Spellane
Director of Communications
202.662.4303
brianne.spellane@ciab.com

CIAB ANNOUNCES NEW STAFF
FIELDING TO JOIN DC-BASED GROUP AS IN-HOUSE GENERAL COUNSEL

WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 16, 2015 – John P. Fielding is joining The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers as in-house general counsel, as announced today by The Council. Fielding has spent the last nine years as Of Counsel in Steptoe’s Washington office, where he is a member of the Government Affairs & Public Policy Group, focusing on government relations.

“John is an exciting addition to The Council and will be a tremendous internal resource for our member firms,” said Ken A. Crerar, president/CEO of The Council. “His extensive expertise on insurance and financial services legislative and regulatory matters at both the state and federal levels, as well as agent-broker issues and related compliance laws, will allow us to provide comprehensive and timely analysis to our members as they advise their clients on these evolving business issues,” said Crerar.

Fielding has worked extensively on insurance legislation and has been a part of several significant lobbying victories including the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, implementation of the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers licensure mechanism, insurance regulatory reform legislation (SMART and optional federal charter), and surplus lines regulatory reform. He has also worked closely with the offices of the state insurance commissioners on issues such as privacy, state regulations, and terrorism preparedness.

Fielding began his career working on Capitol Hill as a legislative assistant to Senator Kent Conrad. He then worked as senior counsel for financial services at the NAIC and as an attorney with The Scott Group before joining Steptoe. He currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the National Insurance Producer Registry (NIPR).

Scott Sinder and Steptoe & Johnson LLP will continue to serve as The Council’s legal counsel. Sinder will ascend to the role of Chief Legal Officer.

The Council also announced the hiring of Sandy Laycox, Derrick Johnson and Robert Boyce. “Sandy, Derrick and Rob bring a lot of energy and smarts to the table and we are excited to add their tremendous talent to our world-class organization,” said Crerar.

Laycox is associate managing editor for Leader’s Edge magazine. She is working directly with the publication’s Editor-in-Chief, Rick Pullen, and is responsible for supporting all areas of the magazine’s editorial, design and production process. Laycox will also support various Council communications.

Before joining The Council, Laycox served as senior writer/editor for America’s Essential Hospitals, where she co-launched an award-winning digital magazine and wrote a history of the association. She also worked at The History Factory, producing corporate histories and editing best practice case studies in corporate performance. Laycox is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has a master’s degree in creative nonfiction writing from the University of New Orleans.

Johnson, a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), is the director of meetings. His main responsibility is to assist in the planning and execution of The Council’s core meetings and maintain full planning and execution of additional business related meetings. Johnson previously served as the Northeastern U.S. Regional Event Director for the Young Presidents’ Organization. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and is an active member of Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

Boyce is The Council’s industry affairs associate for the strategic resources team. He is responsible for The Council’s Cyber Roundup blog, managing existing and new market indices, assisting with the Claims & Risk Management Working Group and facilitating the sharing of business intelligence with CIAB members.

Prior to joining The Council, Boyce worked on Capitol Hill in the office of Congressman Richard Hudson. Boyce is a graduate of Wake Forest University where he double majored in Politics & International Affairs and Communication.