The latest senior appointments news from the insurance sector for you;
IFoA;
The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) is delighted to announce that Paul Sweeting has been confirmed as the next President-elect of the IFoA. Paul will assume the role of President-elect on 24 July at the IFoA Annual General Meeting when Kartina Tahir Thomson becomes President. Under the IFoA’s new governance reforms, agreed by Council in December 2023, Paul will be the first President to serve a two-year term from summer 2025.
Paul Sweeting is a senior advisor at the Hassana Investment Company, and an Honorary Professor of Actuarial Science at the University of Kent. He is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, for whom he has acted as a volunteer for many years. He also helped design and write the textbook for the profession’s Enterprise Risk Management subject.
MNK RE
MNK Re, the leading independent broker of worldwide specialist risks into Lloyd’s, has announced the appointment of leading market expert Giles Ham as Associate Director – Surety. The move will enable MNK Re to expand its international presence in the sector, facilitating coverage for difficult and hard-to-place risks worldwide.
Ham is a surety broker with over 30 years of experience in the market and brings a proven track record of providing bond solutions for companies, either directly or through a sub-broker. He has worked on a number of major civil infrastructure projects, including the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, and the Ted Williams Tunnel in Boston, Massachusetts.
As a well-known practitioner in the international market, having worked with brokers across the world, Ham will use his experience and contacts to build MNK Re’s client base. This includes overseas clients looking to access specialist London capacity.
S-RM
As part of the company’s continued global expansion, and in answer to strong regional client demand and proliferating regional risks, S-RM has announced the expansion of its Cyber Security Practice to APAC. Among several key hires are the recent appointments of Mark Farley, as APAC Head of Proactive Services, and Kyle Schwaeble, who will lead Incident Response regionally.
With offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, S-RM will support new and existing clients across the region with a full service offering, including cyber advisory, offensive security and incident response.
Farley, who is based in Singapore, joins S-RM from Kroll, where he led the offensive security team in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) before moving to APAC. Prior to this, he served in PWC’s Cyber Security team. He started his career as a software engineer and information assurance researcher with the UK Government. Over the last 15 years, Farley has led a variety of complex cyber security assessments, and been involved in providing incident management and strategic support to guide clients through major cyber incidents.
ASCOT
Ascot Group today announced that Michael Watkins has been appointed to the newly created role of Head of Bermuda Insurance, pending immigration approval. Jason Pugi has been named Head of Bermuda Excess Casualty.
In this new role, Mike, supported by the Bermuda platform’s talented segment leaders, will be a critical asset to the strategic development, refinement, and expansion of Ascot’s offerings, while providing enhanced structure and cohesion to the greater Bermuda insurance team. He will be tasked with driving the company’s mission to be a perfect partner for a less-than-perfect world by delivering specialty insurance offerings to solve clients’ evolving risks in Bermuda.
INSHUR
INSHUR, the multi award-winning global embedded insurance provider to the on-demand economy, today announces the appointment of Clayton Carol as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The first to occupy the role at INSHUR, Clay brings a wealth of experience and expertise in financial management and strategic leadership to the company following a milestone year of growth and maturity.
2023 saw INSHUR drive nearly 4x growth, supported by its acquisition of California-based specialty insurer American Business Insurance Services (ABI) in April, which significantly expanded INSHUR’s presence across the US and enhanced its offering for both drivers and platform partners globally. This has positioned INSHUR as the leader in on-demand economy insurance, with over 160,000 active customers around the world.
Clay will play a pivotal role in focusing on the company’s financial strategies and aligning resources to deliver on its ambitious vision and growth objectives, including the company’s expansion across the US, as well as further fundraising efforts following last year’s $26m raise. His proven track record of financial leadership and extensive experience in the fintech sector position him as a valuable addition to INSHUR’s executive team.
ARDONAGH NETHERLANDS
Ardonagh Netherlands, the Dutch arm of one of the world’s leading independent broking groups, is pleased to announce the appointment of its in-country management team to lead the growth of local brokers Léons Group, Klap Verzekeringsmakelaar and Classicus Private Insurance.
Sunny Léons, currently CEO of Leons Group, will transition into the role of Chief Executive Officer at Ardonagh Netherlands reporting into Ardonagh Global Partners Executive Chairman Conor Brennan.
A pioneer in the insurance sector, Sunny has skilfully guided the Leons Group to grow a cohesive and renowned international operating insurance broker over the past 43 years before joining forces with The Ardonagh Group from the inception of their entrance into the Netherlands in October 2022.
Dov Rychter, currently Commercial Director of Léons Group, will take on the role of Managing Director of Leons. His extensive industry knowledge and experience establishing longstanding client relationships position him well, together with his management team, to lead Léons’ expansion and elevate the presence of the 73-year-old firm in the global insurance landscape.
Jorg Roodbeen, CEO of Klap acquired by Ardonagh in June 2023, has been appointed Chief Acquisitions Officer, responsible for driving the M&A process in the Netherlands.
ECCLESIASTICAL
Ecclesiastical Insurance has appointed Adam Wright as its new Property Underwriting Director for the UK
Adam joins from Aviva, where he has been Property Underwriting Manager for the past six years. He replaces Paul Messer, who has moved to a new Group role supporting underwriting capability across Ecclesiastical’s insurance businesses. Adam brings over 30 years of underwriting experience to the specialist insurer. He has worked in the London market for nearly twenty years, both in Lloyd’s with Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and MS Amlin, and the company market with Aviva and RSA. Prior to this he spent ten years in the regional market with RSA.
Adam joins Ecclesiastical during an ambitious growth phase. The specialist insurer is aiming to double the size of its business over the next few years as part of its mission to give more to good causes. Last year the insurer made a successful launch into the Leisure sector and has plans to move into new sectors this year.
ALLIANZ COMMERCIAL
Allianz Commercial has appointed Faith Kitchen to the position of head of client relationship management for mid-market. Faith has more than 25 years’ experience in the insurance industry. She joins Allianz from Ecclesiastical where she most recently held the position of customer segment director. Prior to this, she spent 16 years at Zurich in a variety of roles across underwriting, product design and client relationship management.
In her new role, Faith will be responsible for building out the central discipline for mid-market case management. Working in close partnership with the large corporate teams, she will enable the delivery of superior client-led risk-managed solutions for customers.
CANOPIUS
Canopius, a global specialty lines (re)insurer, announced that it has strengthened its senior leadership team in Bermuda with the appointment of Jesse DeCouto as Chief Underwriting Officer and Tonia Morgan as Chief Financial Officer of Canopius Reinsurance Limited. Tonia takes up her new role on July 1st, succeeding Teresa Gallant, while Jesse joins on September 1st, in a newly created role.
Jesse DeCouto joins the business as Chief Underwriting Officer in Bermuda. Starting his career as a pricing actuary in 2000, he brings nearly 25 years of experience in the industry and was most recently Global Chief Underwriting Officer for Validus Reinsurance. Jesse will also serve as Canopius’ Global Product Leader for Reinsurance, overseeing the governance, performance and standards of reinsurance underwriting teams across the business.
QUADRASSIST
Quadrassist, the building repair network for Woodgate & Clark, one of the U.K’s leading specialist loss adjusters, has launched a full-service surveying solution designed to speed property repairs, elevate the claims experience, and reduce costs by co-ordinating all parties involved in a repair and providing one contact point for the customer. The service launches as the U.K. looks on track to break another weather-related record, with 11 storms already recorded in the current storm season. The ABIhas recently confirmed that weather damage insurance claims were the worst on record in 2023.
The Quadrassist Surveying Service covers the whole of the U.K. and is led by highly skilled project manager and building surveyor, John Ward in the newly created role of Head of Surveying Services, bringing close to two decades of experience in the insurance sector.
As Head of Surveying Services, John’s remit is to provide Project Management, Defect Diagnosis, Health and Safety Assessment and Validation of Costs for property repairs. Communication is key to the service, with John and his team ensuring all parties, not least the insured, are kept informed of progress of the repair to a home or commercial property with any issues addressed quickly.
ARGENTA
Argenta Syndicate Management Limited (“ASML”), a subsidiary of Argenta Holdings Limited, announces the appointment of Miriam Goddard to its board as a non-executive director, effective immediately.
Miriam Goddard is a seasoned leader with a strong track record in the global (re)insurance industry. She has held several underwriting and leadership roles, most recently as director of underwriting for specialty casualty, and joint active underwriter at W/R/B Underwriting’s Syndicate 1967. Her previous roles include head of professions at Hiscox and underwriting roles at Jubilee Managing Agency and Brockbank Managing Agency. She began her underwriting career writing US and international professional risks for AIG.
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