Job Moves and Senior Hires 23.10.2023

Time once again for a round up of senior appointments, here goes;

CONSILIUM

Consilium, the international (re)insurance broker, part of the Aventum Group, has today announced the appointment of Rukhsana (Roxy) Zeb as the newest Partner in its Professional and Executive Risks Solutions team.  Roxy will utilise her expertise in financial and professional risks to lead service driven growth in the UK, Ireland and other key financial hubs.

Roxy joins Consilium from Marsh where she held the role as Client Development Leader, Financial Institutions, FINPRO, Marsh Specialty. She brings 20+ years’ experience of relationship management and the delivery of strategic advice across the professional and financial risk spectrum, including previous roles at both Aon and Gallagher. As a Partner Roxy will play a key role in the strategic growth of Consilium’s Professional and Executive Risks Solutions team, which manages professional and financial lines, cyber and Fintech insurances globally for direct policyholder clients and retail and wholesale broking partners.  She will drive new business and support existing clients through strong relationships and exceptional service.

INSHUR

 INSHUR, the global insurance provider to the on-demand economy, is delighted to announce the appointment of Lisa Hric as Director of US Markets. With an extensive background in insurance and a strong track record, Hric is tasked with leading INSHUR’s nationwide expansion and further bolstering the profitability of its portfolio.

With a career spanning over two decades in the auto insurance industry spanning both legacy and insurtech insurers, Hric brings a wealth of experience to her new role. Her comprehensive background includes pivotal roles at Farmers, The Hartford, Metromile and Progressive, where she has consistently delivered impressive results.

Prior to joining INSHUR, Hric was the Senior Director of Insurance Product Management at Metromile, where she oversaw the company’s $100 million private passenger auto portfolio. Hric also played a crucial role in integrating the Metromile Insurance Product Management team into the Lemonade structure post-acquisition, which will help inform INSHUR’s ongoing integration efforts with American Business Insurance Solutions (ABI).

ALLIANZ COMMERCIAL

Allianz Commercial has appointed Claudia Valencia as Global Head of Portfolio Solutions, joining on January 8, 2024. Claudia will be based in London, and report jointly to Chief Underwriting Officer Shanil Williams and Global Head of Distribution Jeremy Sharpe. In this newly created role, she will drive Allianz Commercial’s global strategy for Portfolio Solutions including Panels, Facilities, MGAs, Bancassurance and other forms of delegated authority.

Shanil Williams highlights the importance of this new role: “The Commercial and Specialty market continues to grow in this area and therefore the time is right to bring a coherent global strategy across all our business. Claudia has extensive global experience in both Underwriting and Distribution roles, and I am delighted to have her on board.” .

Claudia joins from AIG where she was Latin America Regional Head of Client and Broker Engagement based in New York. Over her career, she has held a variety of internationally based underwriting and market facing leadership roles with AIG, Zurich and other leading insurers in London, Miami, New York and Colombia.

XEMPUS

The Supervisory Board of Xempus appoints Malte Dummel and Martin Bockelmann as Co-CEOs of Xempus. Currently, Malte Dummel is the CFO and COO of Xempus. Martin Bockelmann is the founder of Xempus and currently serves on the Supervisory Board. Together with Louise Buson, Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO), they will form the Executive Board of Xempus AG from 1 November 2023.

“We have accomplished a lot in recent years and developed Xempus into the leading SaaS-platform for pension, life & health insurance distribution in Europe. 45 insurers, 48.000 insurance agents and 240.000 companies use our technology. I am incredibly proud of what we have built together, and I am delighted to continue this success story in my new role as Co-CEO, together with Martin, Louise, and the entire team,” says Malte Dummel, designated Co-CEO of Xempus. “At the same time, we would like to thank Tobias Wann for his contribution, and we are pleased that he will remain close to Xempus as a shareholder.”

LOCKTON

Lockton recently announced the appointment of Andrea Guffanti as Head of Continental Europe, based in London.

He takes up the newly created role with immediate effect. His responsibilities will be to work alongside Lockton Global Partners’ Operations Team, led by Michael Goudime, our London Market Specialty Teams and with our owned operations in Europe to develop a dynamic engagement between all the constituencies. The focus of these groups serves to increase our client reach across the continent; further enhancing client service, through growing strategic relationships and a shared Lockton culture.

Guffanti brings over 25 years’ worth of experience to the role and joins after 17 years at Aon, where, most recently, he held the role of EMEA Chief Commercial Officer (2018-2023). Prior to this, he served as Aon Austria’s Chief Executive Officer (2014-2018), Aon Iberia and Middle East’s Chief Commercial Officer (2011-2014) and Managing Director of the Southern European and Latin American Team (2006-2011). Prior to Aon, Guffanti spent nine years as Executive Director of Global Financial Executive Risk (FINEX) at Willis Towers Watson between 1997 and 2006.

AIG

AIG Life Limited today announced Setul Mehta is joining the UK life insurer in November as Head of Intermediary Distribution. Mr Mehta will report to Nick Austin, Managing Director, Individual Protection at AIG Life.

“I’m excited to welcome Setul to the business. He has a wealth of sales experience and strategic insight in the UK intermediary market, and is a passionate advocate of what we do as an industry and the impact we have on customers’ lives,” said Austin. “His appointment supports our continued drive to grow the protection industry and build stronger relations with financial advisers, who are equally passionate about helping consumers to take action.”

Mr Mehta was most recently Head of Partnership Services at the Openwork Partnership, having spent 18 years with the financial adviser network. He started out at Zurich, then transitioned to Openwork in 2005 and rose through sales, business development and strategic leadership roles over 18 years before taking the role of Head of Partnership Services last year.

ACADEMY INSURANCE

Mark Richardson has been appointed into a new role of partnerships director at Academy, the UK broker that was acquired by Private Equity house Blixt Group earlier this year. Mark, who has been at Academy for 26 years, will join the executive committee and report to CEO Gilles Normand.

Gilles said: “It’s great to be able to promote from within, and Mark was the stand out candidate for this crucial role. He is a well-regarded leader outside Academy, and his expertise will help us focus our attention on our partners network.”

Speaking about his new role, Mark Richardson said: “I’ve been part of Academy for all of my career, and this is the most exciting time for the business that I can remember. I will be responsible for making sure our partners view the brand as a whole, and see their role as contributing to our purpose, rather than simply fulfilling the requirements of a particular policy.”

ETHERNA