Latest Senior Jobs & Appointments

QUICK ROUND UP OF SENIOR HIRES AND NEW APPOINTMENTS

ZURICH

Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) today announced that it has appointed Ralph Brand as Global Head of Casualty, Financial Lines and Cyber, and Chris Waterman as Global Head of Property, Marine and Technical Lines. With these newly created roles, Zurich further simplifies its Underwriting function by aligning the shorter-tail first party coverages and the longer-tail third party liability coverages.

Ralph Brand joined Zurich in March 2012 as CEO of Zurich Germany. He left in 2016 to start his own business and rejoined Zurich in 2019 as Global Head of Casualty. Previously, he held various leadership roles at AIG and Allianz across Europe and in the United States. Mr. Brand is based in Zurich.

Chris Waterman joined Zurich in July 2016 in Singapore, where he most recently was Head of Commercial Lines Underwriting APAC. Before joining the company, he held various leadership roles at AIG, including Head of Property & Energy in Japan. Mr. Waterman will relocate from Singapore to Zurich.

 MAXIS GLOBAL

MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN), the international employee benefits joint venture between MetLife and AXA, has announced the appointment of Mattieu Rouot as its new Chief Executive Officer, subject to regulatory approval. The appointment follows the decision by Mauro Dugulin to step down from the post of CEO from 1 July 2020, having overseen a transformative period of client growth and network expansion. 

Mattieu takes up his new position having played a key role in shaping MAXIS GBN since 2014, overseeing MAXIS GBN operations from the AXA side. He was instrumental in creating the MAXIS GBN joint venture in 2016 and has served on the supervisory board since its inception. With his fellow board members’ unanimous endorsement to take on the role of CEO, he is working in partnership with Mauro to ensure a seamless transition of leadership. His focus will be on maintaining the ambitious growth trajectory of MAXIS GBN, expanding still further its client base and the scope and scale of local network partners.

CII

Dr Helen Phillips has been appointed as the first independent Chair of the board of the Chartered Insurance Institute. Until now the President of the CII had also acted as Chair of the CII’s board. By separating the two roles the President will be able to focus on their ambassadorial role.

The new independent Chair, a role which members voted to create at the professional body’s annual general meeting in 2019, will be responsible for providing leadership of the board.

The Chair will work with the board to set the strategic direction of the CII as the professional body dedicated to building public trust in the insurance and personal finance profession.

Dr Phillips has been appointed for an initial term of three years starting on 1 July.

NN GROUP

NN Group announces an update of the composition of the Management Board (MB) as of 1 June. Bernhard Kaufmann will join the MB as Chief Risk Officer (CRO) of NN Group. Furthermore, given the growth of activities following recent acquisitions in the Netherlands, our Dutch businesses will be divided into two portfolios with separate responsibilities. Leon van Riet will be appointed to the Management Board as CEO Netherlands Life & Pensions. Tjeerd Bosklopper, already a member of the MB, will assume the role of CEO Netherlands Non-life, Banking & Technology.

WILLIS RE

Charles Rumball, previously head of Specialty Reinsurance at Ariel Re, is to relocate to New York to assume the new role of head of Speciality – North America for Willis Re, the reinsurance division of Willis Towers Watson, the leading global advisory, broking and solutions company (NASDAQ:WLTW).

Rumball, who is currently executive vice president of Willis Re’s Specialty Reinsurance Division in Hamilton, Bermuda, brings considerable experience to his new position, which commenced on 1 April. He has worked as a lead underwriter across the specialty classes, and is broadly experienced in portfolio and divisional P&L management, evaluation of strategic opportunities, and structuring and negotiating group hedging strategies. He joined Ariel Re in 2006 from Guy Carpenter, where he was a reinsurance broker based in London and New York, after beginning his career in 2002.

MARKERSTUDY

Markerstudy Insurance Services Limited (MISL), the UK’s largest MGA, has announced the promotion of Ann Pelaez, Head of Operational Performance, and Steve Smith, MGA – Head of Finance, to the senior management team.

Ann Pelaez, Head of Operational Performance

In a strategic move to strengthen this growing division, Ann will report to Dan Fiehn, Group Chief Operating Officer. Ann has been tasked with a root and branch review, incorporating latest technology and training methods to improve the customer journey and ensure business processes are streamlined and efficient.

Steve Smith, MGA – Head of Finance

A restructure in Group Finance has led to the promotion of Steve Smith to the position of MGA – Head of Finance and an invitation to join the Board’s Senior Management Team. Reporting to Keith Barber, Group Finance Director, Steve’s 16 years’ service with Markerstudy and Chaucer, prior to acquisition in 2015, make him ideally qualified for the role.

Steve will take responsibility for the MGA finance team (including Markerstudy Direct Limited), and is tasked with ensuring no stone is unturned in streamlining business processes and maximising efficiencies.