DENVER - The $2.8 billion SunCorp has created a risk management department and has named Jo-Nell Herndon as VP of Risk Management, overseeing credit risk and interest risk teams. The move is related to SunCorp's $5 million loss in its investment portfolio that resulted in net income of $12,005 in 2004, compared to $4.8 million in 2002. Standard & Poors announced that it would not affect the corporate's A1+ short term debt rating, noting in its release that "SunCorp has taken numerous steps to strengthen its risk management and investment policies." The hiring of Herndon is one of them. SunCorp President/CEO Eric Kenealy said she will report directly to him. According to SunCorp, the new Risk Management department is an effort to become a leader in credit and interest rate analysis. It will conduct in-depth research on all investments and expand SunCorp's risk analysis. "The Risk Management department will ensure good investment decisions are made, allowing SunCorp to continue our emphasis on the safety of investments," said Kenealy. Herndon received her Bachelor's degree from Lake Forest College in Chicago in both International Relations and Economics, and her Master's in Business Administration from Boston College. In other personnel moves at SunCorp, the corporate has added Charlie Roberts as Senior Vice President of Information Technology. He will be responsible for the management of the Network Operations Group and the Enterprise Solutions Group at SunCorp. Charlie brings over 25 years of technical experience, including four years experience at Travis Credit Union, where he served as the VP of Information Technology. Also, Maureen Fabbri has been promoted from Electronic Payment Systems Manager to VP of Operations at SunCorp. The Electronic Payment Services department handles all payments going out electronically, including ACH, wires, Western Union, cash ordering, and E-Quality (Online) Bill Pay. She has been with SunCorp for almost four years. Prior to coming to SunCorp, she worked for EasCorp, where she spent 12 years as Accounting Supervisor, CIS Analyst and Vice President of Accounting.