John Dowd was named regional managing director at Wells Fargo Wealth Management Group for the Northeast Region, including New Jersey and New York.

John Dowd

Dowd will oversee wealth management in the region, including private banking, credit, bank brokerage, trust, investment management, planning and insurance services.

In other news:

*Angela Kyle was hired as senior view president and head of New York Life’s individual annuity department and Sue Eriksen as chief technology officer and senior vice president of the corporate information department. Both will work in New York, N.Y.

* Anne MacDonald joined the New York, N.Y.-based Travelers Companies as executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

* Ronald J. Duswalt of Old Castle Financial Advisors, based in Uniondale, N.Y., was honored with Hornor, Townsend & Kent’s (HTK) Blue Chip Award, given to someone who best exemplifies the principles of HTK and its owner, Penn Mutual.

*Thomas Direnzo of Fulton, N.Y., and George Denniston of Newark, N.Y., two Allstate insurance agents, received the Agency Hands in the Community Award for participating in community service.

* Gary Stoneberg, owner of the Allstate Insurance agency based in Endwell, N.Y., received its Regional Champion award for his success in customer satisfaction and retention and business growth.