Novarica Boosts Team, Research Council

At a time when many research consulting firms are contracting, Novarica is expanding again, this time adding Ben Stinson, formerly of Celent (an Oliver Wyman/MMC company), as industry relations manager. Stinson will have responsibility for coordinating Novarica's relationships and information exchange with solution providers, industry organizations and insurers who participate in Novarica's research.

Reporting to insurance practice director Matthew Josefowicz, Stinson will be based in the Boston area. This makes the second Celent personnel acquisition for Novarica, having added Chad Hersh to its roster last year. Josefowicz also is a Celent alum, having joined Novarica to establish its insurance practice.

Novarica today also announced the promotion of Tse Wei Lim from researcher to analyst. Josefowicz says that Lim has taken an important role in many Novarica research projects, including vendor market analyses and emerging market studies. In his new role, Lim will take additional responsibility for defining and leading research projects along with Novarica's principals.

Additionally, Novarica announced the growth of its insurance technology Research Council to more than 80 senior IT and operations executives from U.S. insurers, spanning all lines of P&C and life/annuity.

The Research Council is a moderated knowledge-sharing community administered by Novarica that holds monthly virtual meetings and quarterly in-person meetings. The next quarterly meeting will focus on improving business/IT communication.