SAN FRANCISCO, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Four employee benefits consultants joined Lockton this week in its San Jose, California office: Linda Wieck, Senior Vice President and Unit Manager; Charina English, Vice President and Senior Consultant; Shirley Lau, Vice President and Senior Consultant; and Shana Bruno, Assistant Vice President and Associate Consultant.

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Lockton's expanded employee benefits practice increases its depth of expertise in providing advice and consulting to mid- and large-size companies.  The additional associates specialize in serving clients in the technology, school district, municipality and agricultural sectors.  Each of the new consultants will have a lead role in expanding Lockton's presence in the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the western region.

With more than 30 years of health and benefits consulting experience, Linda Wieck has held many key client service and management roles during her career. Immediately prior to joining Lockton, she was Senior Vice President at Aon. Wieck has a B.A. in Management from the University of Redlands in Redlands, California.

Charina English has more than 20 years of employee benefits experience and consults with multistate and multinational clients with an emphasis on the high technology industry. She specializes in program design, health and wellness strategy, health risk management, consumer engagement and education. English has a B.S./B.A. in finance from California State University East Bay and a M.S. in health services administration from University of San Francisco. She is a Certified Employee Benefit Specialist.

Shirley Lau has 24 years of experience in the insurance industry, including employee benefits consulting, health and welfare strategies, design and implementation, financial analysis and carrier negotiation. Lau has a B.A. in economics and a M.S. in applied economics from University of California, Santa Cruz.

Shana Bruno specializes in employee benefits for technology companies and spent most of her career in human resources for various high-tech organizations. She has worked as an employee benefits consultant for the past five years. Bruno has a B.A. in psychology from Mills College and a M.S. in occupational therapy from San Jose State University.

"Linda, Charina, Shirley and Shana bring a wealth of experience in the employee benefits marketplace. Each of them will be an asset to our clients by bringing unique expertise in their work with global technology companies. Our clients will benefit from their innovative approach and deep experience.  We are delighted to have them as part of the Lockton team," remarked Adam McDonough, President & CEO of Lockton's San Francisco and San Jose operations.

Linda Wieck can be reached at 408.200.3631 (W) or lwieck@lockton.com.

About Lockton

More than 3,800 professionals at Lockton provide more than 15,000 clients around the world with insurance, benefits, and risk management services, offering an uncommon level of client service. From its founding in 1966 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, Lockton has grown to become the largest privately held insurance broker in the world and 9th largest overall. Business Insurance recognized Lockton as a “Best Place to Work in Insurance.”  You can learn more at www.lockton.com

SOURCE Lockton