VOL. 130 | NO. 195 | Wednesday, October 7, 2015
NEWSMAKERS
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Koonce Joins Sedgwick Client Services
By Kate Simone
Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. has added K. Max Koonce II as senior vice president of client services for its casualty retail business unit. Koonce, an attorney by trade, comes to Sedgwick from Wal-Mart Stores Inc., where he was senior director of risk management. He simultaneously served as president of Claims Management Inc., Wal-Mart’s wholly owned third-party administrator.
Hometown: Bentonville, Ark.
Experience: Prior to coming to Sedgwick, I was employed with Wal-Mart as their senior director of risk management, responsible for their domestic property and casualty claims program. I received a BBA degree in economics from Harding University and a J.D. degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
As an attorney I practiced primarily in the area of insurance defense and employment matters. I have served as an administrative law judge with the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission and as a justice on the Arkansas Court of Appeals.
I am licensed to practice law in the state of Arkansas and a member of the American and Arkansas Bar Associations. I am also a member of several local nonprofit boards, national risk management industry boards. I am member of the Bentonville Church of Christ.
Family: I am married to Rebecca and we have two children, Jonathan and Caroline.
Favorite quote: John Wooden definition of success: Peace of mind attained through self-satisfaction knowing that you did the best you were capable of.
Activities you enjoy outside of work: Spending time with my family, church activities for our community/mission work, and hunting.
What attracted you to your company? Sedgwick is a leader in third-party administrative services for property and casualty claims, achieving this status by focusing on innovative solutions, technology advances to enhance efficiency and effectiveness, with an overriding drive to provide the best results possible. Sedgwick presents a great opportunity to work for a company that has great standing as well as one that is not satisfied with the status quo but instead continues to push for improvement in all areas of the business.
What do you most enjoy about your work? Every day is an opportunity to learn, to grow and to develop, while interacting with a great group of people.
Norfolk Southern Corp. has renamed its Memphis yard “Harris Yard” in honor of Deborah Harris Butler, the railroad’s executive vice president planning and chief information officer, who retired Oct. 1. Butler, who is from Memphis, joined Norfolk Southern in 1978 as a customer account auditor. She rose through the ranks and was named EVP planning and chief information officer in 2007.
Kimberly Terrell has joined the Memphis Zoo as director of research and conservation. Over the past two years, Terrell has served as a research associate for the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C., and as an adjunct faculty member with Tulane University’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Glankler Brown PLLC member B. Douglas Earthman has been elected a fellow of the American College of Bond Counsel. Earthman concentrates his practice in transactional work, including municipal bond and other tax-exempt financing transactions, real estate law and secured lending transactions.
Paragon Bank has appointed Audrey Liles as registered sales assistant of its Wealth Solutions team. In this role, Liles provides client services and adviser support and manages operational needs.
Lindy Faulkner has been promoted to retail manager of Eclectic Eye’s Midtown and Collierville stores. Additionally, Faulkner has earned the National Contact Lens Examiners certification. She has been with Eclectic Eye since 2010.
Bill Walker has joined Emmanuel United Methodist Church as director of the Emmanuel United Methodist Kindergarten. Walker brings more than 30 years of educational experience, most recently as an assistant principal in Jackson-Madison County school system. Karen Riker has joined Emmanuel as the associate director of youth and college-aged ministries. Riker has served as a counselor to the youth group for four years.
The Children’s Museum of Memphis has added four members to its board of trustees: Stewart L. Burgess, director of early childhood at St. George’s Independent School; Marti Mashburn and Heather Stemmler, community volunteers and co-chairs of Cirque du CMOM 2016; and Matt Wilson, broker for McVean Trading and Investments LLC and owner/CEO of Memphis Hospitality LLC.
The Children’s Museum of Memphis has announced four trustees have been named officers of the executive committee: Jon Bascom, president; Keith Townsend, vice president; Sarah Watkins, secretary; and Joe Malheiro, treasurer.