Whamond to join HCC

HOUSTON’S HCC Insurance has a new chief financial officer, with mergers and acquisitions (M&A) expert Tobin Whamond primed to take the reins towards the end the year. Whamond, a managing director in Wachovia Capital Markets’ M&A group and head of financial institutions M&A, will work alongside and then replace incumbent, Edward Ellis, who will retire from HCC when his contract expires at the end of the year. Whamond has also been elected an HCC executive vice-president, effective from May 1. Before joining Wachovia (pictured) in 2002, he spent almost nine years with Goldman Sachs, becoming vice-president of its M&A group.