DENVER - The $2.8 billion SunCorp has created a risk managementdepartment and has named Jo-Nell Herndon as VP of Risk Management,overseeing credit risk and interest risk teams. The move is relatedto SunCorp's $5 million loss in its investment portfolio thatresulted in net income of $12,005 in 2004, compared to $4.8 millionin 2002. Standard & Poors announced that it would not affectthe corporate's A1+ short term debt rating, noting in its releasethat "SunCorp has taken numerous steps to strengthen its riskmanagement and investment policies." The hiring of Herndon is oneof them. SunCorp President/CEO Eric Kenealy said she will reportdirectly to him. According to SunCorp, the new Risk Managementdepartment is an effort to become a leader in credit and interestrate analysis. It will conduct in-depth research on all investmentsand expand SunCorp's risk analysis. "The Risk Management departmentwill ensure good investment decisions are made, allowing SunCorp tocontinue our emphasis on the safety of investments," said Kenealy.Herndon received her Bachelor's degree from Lake Forest College inChicago in both International Relations and Economics, and herMaster's in Business Administration from Boston College. In otherpersonnel moves at SunCorp, the corporate has added Charlie Robertsas Senior Vice President of Information Technology. He will beresponsible for the management of the Network Operations Group andthe Enterprise Solutions Group at SunCorp. Charlie brings over 25years of technical experience, including four years experience atTravis Credit Union, where he served as the VP of InformationTechnology. Also, Maureen Fabbri has been promoted from ElectronicPayment Systems Manager to VP of Operations at SunCorp. TheElectronic Payment Services department handles all payments goingout electronically, including ACH, wires, Western Union, cashordering, and E-Quality (Online) Bill Pay. She has been withSunCorp for almost four years. Prior to coming to SunCorp, sheworked for EasCorp, where she spent 12 years as AccountingSupervisor, CIS Analyst and Vice President of Accounting.