It’s time for another job moves and senior appointments round up, so let’s get into it;
FRODA
Froda continues its growth and expansion journey. After bringing in several heavyweight names in the past year, the company is now welcoming Roger Forsberg as the new CTO. Roger has over 25 years of experience from leading tech roles at Avanza, Klarna, and Pricerunner. He starts his new role December 4th, 2023.
Roger Forsberg has extensive experience from building and leading tech departments at scaleup companies. He joins Froda from a position as Engineering Director at Klarna, where he oversaw the integration of Pricerunner. He has previously served as CTO at Avanza and Pricerunner.
DWS
DWS has announced the appointment of Paolo Gazzola as Head of Insurance Advisory for EMEA (ex. Germany and Austria), based in Milan. A seasoned expert in insurance and pensions solutions, Gazzola brings more than a decade of in-depth experience in the EMEA insurance and fixed income market to DWS. Gazzola was most recently Executive Director and Investment Specialist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management where he partnered with EMEA insurance and pension fund clients to promote strategic opportunities across fixed income.
Prior to this, Gazzola held similar positions at BlackRock and PIMCO, working as a product strategist and salesperson, respectively. He also served as a Credit Analyst at Fitch Ratings for five years and held roles at UBS Investment Bank and Actinvest.
In his role, Gazzola will lead DWS’s insurance advisory and solutions business in the region, working closely with existing and prospective clients, with DWS’s investment platform and with its structured solutions and LDI teams.
ACADEMY INSURANCE
Multi-specialist broker Academy Insurance has recruited William Magee to the newly created position of M&A director. Magee, who began his new role earlier this month, reports to CFO Andrew Creedon and joins Academy from Jensten Group, where he performed a similar role.
Andrew Creedon said that Magee will be responsible for spearheading the group’s M&A strategy. The PE-backed broker has set itself up as a buy and build specialist, and the strong acquisitions pipeline requires the oversight of a full time M&A director.
“We have a number of acquisitions in our sights, with high expectations of landing two deals before Christmas. The appetite for deals in the UK broking sector remains very high and we need Will’s experience of broking M&A to lead business development and execution.”
LIBERTY MUTUAL
Liberty Mutual Reinsurance (LM Re), part of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has announced the appointment of Dionne Chisolm as Senior Underwriting Executive, effective immediately. Chisolm is based in Stamford and reports to Susan Burke, Standard Casualty Treaty Manager US.
As part of the US Standard Casualty Team, Chisolm will work to develop and manage a complex portfolio of assumed casualty treaty reinsurance business. She will manage all aspects of underwriting, new and renewal business and will serve as a technical resource on underwriting and reinsurance issues.
“We are very pleased to welcome Dionne to Liberty,” said Susan Burke. “Her extensive experience, high level insurance expertise and strong technical underwriting background will be a great asset to us, our clients and our brokers.”
Chisolm joins from Swiss Re America, Armonk, where she was Vice President, Senior Treaty Underwriter (Market Underwriter and Products Underwriter). She has more than 30 years of professional experience in the insurance and reinsurance industry. For 20 of those years, Chisolm was a treaty reinsurance underwriter where she produced, managed, and maintained a portfolio of property and casualty business.
BEAT CAPITAL
Beat Capital Partners (“Beat”), a long duration investor specialising in the insurance industry, announces that Andrew Cunningham, former deputy active underwriter, has assumed the role of active underwriter of Syndicates 4242 and 1416, effective immediately. Based in London, Cunningham will report to Tim Shelley, Partner. Cunningham takes the reins from Tom Milligan who held the position since late 2018. Milligan will remain with Syndicate 4242 investor Beat Capital Partners in an underwriting oversight role, alongside Shelley and Zahid Lalji, Principal.
A qualified actuary and experienced underwriter, Cunningham brings more than three decades’ worth of experience to the position. Acting as deputy active underwriter since 2019, Cunningham previously held senior positions in both broking and underwriting businesses, including underwriting, actuarial and leadership roles at Brit and at Hampden Risk Partners.
Shelley said: “The last five years have been a period of transformation. From a monoline cat play to a diversified business, Syndicate 4242’s journey has been significant and Andrew has played a key role in that. Following two consecutive years of strong results, the next chapter is about building on this success and realising our long-term ambitions for both syndicates; to actively curate a diverse portfolio of lower-volatility risk, run by proven underwriting talent offering superior returns to capital providers.
“With his leadership capabilities, stature in the market and long track record, Andrew’s promotion is the natural next step in our evolution.”
MARKERSTUDY
Markerstudy Group has appointed Joe Barnard as Director of Group Sales & Business Development in a newly created role.
Joe, formerly division head of Lloyd’s and London market at Clegg Gifford, is tasked with establishing synergies between Group brands and conducting strategic planning. He will be developing current relationships with brokers, key clients and partners, as well as ensuring new opportunities are maximised to drive new income.
Commenting on the appointment, Chief Executive Kevin Spencer said: “I would like to congratulate Joe on his new role. Within a diverse Group, it’s critical we maximise the potential of the combined organisation. Working with our partners to cultivate mutually beneficial relationships is a key area for us, alongside ensuring the new products we bring to market continue to fulfil customer needs.”
“I’m really excited by the opportunity to help shape the Group’s sales strategy and drive its development,” said Joe. “My initial focus will be to increase the coordination between our brands and bring an holistic offer to market.”
Allianz Trade has appointed Peter Evola as Commercial Director for the UK & Ireland with effect from 1 December, subject to regulatory process.
Peter joined Allianz Trade 12 years ago and has worked for the UK and Ireland, Northern Europe Region, and at group head office in Paris. He has gained promotion to roles with increasing responsibility and scope, including Senior Commercial Underwriter, Head of Group Commercial Office, Northern Europe Regional Head of Commercial Underwriting and, most recently, as UK Head of Broker Distribution.
In his new role, Peter will be concentrating on leading the team to drive profitable growth and offer a valuable contribution as a member of the UK and Ireland management team. He will report to CEO Sarah Murrow and is based in the Canary Wharf London office. Peter succeeds Steve Stennett, who is leaving Allianz Trade.
Sarah Murrow, CEO at Allianz Trade UK and Ireland, said: “Peter’s understanding of the market, the needs of our brokers and clients, our business and services and solutions we offer is invaluable and make him the perfect candidate for this role.”
Be the first to comment