Innovation agency Maddock Douglas in Elmhurst has named Maria Umbach its vice-president of financial services innovation, heading a first-of-its-kind insurance and financial services platform for innovation.
Umbach joins Maddock Douglas with 26 years of financial services experience, most recently as vice-president and chief marketing officer for Guardian Life Insurance Co. of America. Prior to that, she was vice-president of life insurance marketing for Prudential.
"Maria's role is to help companies spark innovation from the inside out by capitalizing on emerging trends, consumer preferences and communications modalities that are reshaping financial services from banking and investments to insurance and financial advice," said Raphael Louis Viton, president of Maddock Douglas.
Lewis Lazare has written the Media Mix column for the Chicago Sun-Times for the past seven and a half years.
