The Hartford has named finance executive James M. Yanosy as its next chief risk officer, in a leadership reshuffle that will also see its claims chief take on operational responsibilities and two senior executives leave the business at year-end.
Yanosy, currently CFO for Business Insurance, Employee Benefits, Claims and centralised services, will report directly to chairman and CEO Christopher Swift. The appointments will take effect from 2 November, alongside a separate decision to place the insurer’s Data and Artificial Intelligence function within its Technology organisation under CIO Shekar Pannala.
Chief claims officer Stephen Deane will also assume responsibility for Operations, reporting to president A. Morris “Mo” Tooker. Pannala will continue reporting to Swift.
The reorganisation will result in the departures of Prateek Chhabra, the outgoing chief risk officer, and Jeffery Hawkins, who currently serves as chief data, AI and operations officer. Both are expected to leave at the end of the year.
Yanosy has worked across The Hartford’s finance function since 2003 and has held his current CFO responsibilities since 2019. His experience includes financial reporting, expense management and technology risk management, as well as finance leadership across several of the insurer’s business units.
Before joining The Hartford, Yanosy was director of financial reporting at American Skandia and spent a decade at Arthur Andersen, where he reached senior manager as an auditor. He is a certified public accountant and holds a business administration degree from the University of Connecticut.
Pannala took on the CIO position in March 2025 after joining The Hartford in 2023 to lead technology for its Property & Casualty businesses. His previous positions include global CIO at Chubb, chief technology officer at S&P Global and executive vice president and divisional CIO for asset servicing technology at BNY Mellon.
Deane returned to The Hartford in November 2023 following three years at Liberty Mutual Insurance, where he led claims for Global Risk Solutions in North America. He previously spent more than 16 years at The Hartford in leadership positions, including senior vice president of Group Benefits and Workers’ Compensation claims. Earlier in his career, he practised law at Robinson & Cole and led a claims team at Travelers.
The Hartford chairman and CEO Christopher Swift said, “These leadership changes reflect our commitment to continually evolving our organization to better serve customers, accelerate innovation and position The Hartford for long-term success. We are simplifying execution, sharpening accountability, and increasing our ability to respond to a rapidly changing business environment while building on the strong foundation and performance track-record for which we are known.”
The Hartford president A. Morris “Mo” Tooker said, “These changes reflect our continued focus on making it easier to do business with The Hartford, positioning us for opportunities ahead while maintaining our excellence in managing risk. Closer alignment between Operations and Claims will create greater connectivity across the customer experience, helping us respond with speed, empathy and consistency when it matters most. By bringing our data and AI capabilities together under the leadership of our chief information officer, we can more effectively embed advanced analytics and emerging technologies into the way we serve customers and support distribution partners.”
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