Insurance Sector Job Moves and Senior Hires 25.11.2024 -

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Time for the weekly round up of job moves and senior level appointments, so here we go;

ALLIANZ

Allianz UK has today announced that Isabella Von Mesterhazy has been appointed Managing Director for its Specialty business, effective 1 December 2024, subject to regulatory approval. This appointment follows the decision by incumbent MD for Specialty Kieran O’Keeffe to retire at the end of the year.

In this role Bella will lead the specialty business, which comprises Petplan, Petplan Equine and LV= Pet, and will report directly to Colm Holmes, CEO Allianz UK, as a member of the Allianz UK Executive Committee. Allianz’s combined pet businesses make it the UK’s largest pet insurer.

Allianz Specialty is an important arm of the UK business and has achieved consistently strong performance figures throughout 2024 and in previous years. Established over 48 years ago, Petplan is the UK’s number one pet insurer, insuring over 1.3 million pets and supporting 1,200 animal charities.

ACADEMY

Nick Mountifield has been appointed Managing Director of Academy Insurance Services. He replaces Richard Beaven, who has retired from Academy for health reasons.

Mountifield is currently Group Chief Operating Officer, and joined Academy in June this year. His new role is effective immediately and he reports to Group CEO Martin Tyler.

Commenting on Beaven’s decision to step down, Tyler said:

“I will be eternally grateful for all that Richard brought to the Group. He was one of the founders after Academy took its current form following an MBO in 2023, with a significant investment by private equity investor Blixt.”

“Richard is a well-known and much respected figure in the UK insurance industry and we wish him and his family the best for the future.”

WOODGATE AND CLARK

Woodgate & Clark, one of the U.K.’s leading loss adjusters has appointed claims professional Richard Wilson as Director of Specialist Services. A Chartered Loss Adjuster, Wilson brings 30 years’ experience to the role. He will lead an expert team focused on supporting claims for heritage and church property, charities, education, private clients, complex household, subsidence and environmental losses.

Wilson has worked for Woodgate & Clark for two years, latterly as Head of Specialist Services, North. He spent five years with Quadra Claims which was acquired by Woodgate & Clark in 2021, and prior to this spent 15 years with a leading UK insurer. He will leverage his proven expertise and passion for customer service excellence in managing high net worth and large complex losses for building and contents claims while finding innovative solutions to help deliver sustainable outcomes.

FOIL

Howard Dean, Partner at Keoghs, has been elected President of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL) for 2025, taking over from Pete Allchorne, Partner at DAC Beachcroft. Howard currently sits on both FOIL’s Costs and CPR & Protocols SFTs.

Howard has been involved in Civil Justice Reform for over 25 with a particular focus on the impact of civil procedure rules, litigation funding and the digitisation of civil claims.

Howard’s appointment comes as the insurance industry face challenging times ahead: with a Labour government now in power, the industry must quickly adapt to the legal and economic changes introduced under its leadership. This, combined with ongoing geopolitical, financial and environmental factors such as the continuation of crises in Ukraine and the Middle East, ESG considerations and inflation, will have a direct impact on the nature, volume and frequency of claims. FOIL will continue acting as a sounding board and providing a voice of reason to its members and their clients as they respond to these pressures.

Keepit, the global leader in SaaS data protection, is pleased to announce the appointment of Fahad Qureshi as the new Vice President of Sales for America and ANZ. In his new role, Qureshi will spearhead Keepit’s growth across these crucial regions, bringing his deep sales expertise and strategic vision to accelerate Keepit’s footprint in the Americas and beyond.

Qureshi joins Keepit from Lumafield, where he served as Head of Sales. Prior to Lumafield, he was at Qumulo, a leader in file data management for hybrid and multi-cloud environments, where he dedicated nearly eight years to growing the company’s enterprise presence. With additional experience from key roles at Maginatics and GroupLogic, Qureshi brings over 15 years of industry knowledge, including a track record in building scalable, cloud-based data solutions and driving revenue growth across the globe.

The addition of Qureshi underscores Keepit’s commitment to strengthening its presence in America and ANZ, regions that hold a significant strategic focus for the company. Qureshi’s goal is clear: To build on Keepit’s success and establish the Americas as a leading market for Keepit’s cloud-native data protection solutions. His approach is centered on creating a partner-first organization, expanding Keepit’s team, and delivering reliable, scalable data security to enterprises across industries.

ACORD

ACORD Solutions Group, a leading provider of next-generation digital solutions for the global insurance industry, has appointed James Pring as the company’s Director of Business Development. Pring will lead strategic direction for the company’s core business development and market positioning.

For the past eight years, Pring has led the sales division at Ebix Europe, where he was instrumental in driving growth and expanding the company’s market presence. Pring has been a key player in modernising the London Insurance Market, helping brokers and carriers seamlessly adopt ACORD Standard messaging. His recent achievements include leading the successful market launch of innovative solutions like PlacingHub and ExposureHub, both of which have set new benchmarks for efficiency in insurance operations.

Pring is also an active member of the Ruschlikon Marketing Group, where he contributes to bridging the gap between traditional insurance practices and modern technology.

VOULT

Voult, an innovator in the insurance sector, announces the appointment of Richard Boyd as Managing Director. Boyd, formerly Head of Digital Claims at Lloyd’s of London, brings extensive leadership experience and a track record of driving industry innovation. His appointment signals Voult’s ambitious plans to modernize the insurance value chain and expand its presence in global markets.

Boyd’s leadership will guide Voult’s mission to address long-standing inefficiencies in insurance processes, particularly in the Delegated Authority (DA) space. While Voult is already revolutionizing claims bordereaux (BDX) processing with AI-powered validation and automation, the platform’s broader vision includes delivering a comprehensive DA solution by Q1 2025 and supporting end-to-end insurance workflows.

RSA LUXEMBOURG S.A.

RSA Luxembourg S.A. (RSAL) announces that following a successful two-year term as CEO Luxembourg, Lynn O’Leary will return to the U.S. to oversee Intact’s Specialty Lines business as President, U.S. in Q1 2025.

“Lynn led the transformation of our Europe business to be a focused specialty lines market,” said T. Michael Miller, CEO, Global Specialty Lines, Intact. “In that time, Lynn and the team renewed key trading relationships and delivered new specialty verticals to brokers and customers, centered around the expertise of our local teams. I would like to thank Lynn for her leadership and look forward to her continued contribution to our global specialty lines objectives in the U.S.”

Nadia Cote will succeed Lynn O’Leary as CEO Europe upon receipt of regulatory approvals and will also have management responsibility for our Specialty Lines UK business. Ms. Cote has led an exemplary 25+ year insurance career focused on commercial and specialty lines. She has held senior leadership positions in France, in the UK and across Continental Europe after starting her career in Canada.

“We welcome Nadia to Intact and our Global Specialty Lines group,” said Mr. Miller. “Nadia is a well-known industry leader, and we are pleased to have her lead our Europe and UK Specialty Lines groups. She brings established and long-standing relationships with key trading partners whereby we can create regional and global opportunities for customers and continued growth. She will lead our teams and continue to expand our solutions and capabilities, highlight our expertise in underwriting, risk control and claims, while outperforming on profitability in the UK and Europe.”

Louis Marcotte, who recently announced he will step down as CFO for Intact Financial Corporation (TSX:IFC) and will become IFC Vice Chair, will serve as Interim CEO Europe for a short period to assist with the leadership transition between Ms. O’Leary and Ms. Cote.

FPSB

Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB), the standards-setting body for the global financial planning profession, is pleased to announce new leadership.

On 1 April 2025, FPSB Board Member Andrea Middel, CFP, will ascend to the role of chairperson of the FPSB Board for a one-year term, succeeding Ana Cláudia Akie Utumi, CFP. In addition, FPSB Board member Caroline Dabu will step up as 2025 Board chairperson-elect for a one-year term.

As the FPSB Board Chairperson, Middel will lead the global standards-setting body for the financial planning profession and owner of the international CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER certification program, representing more than 223,700 CFP professionals worldwide. With more than 30 years of experience, Middel is a founding partner of DURF Financieel Planners in the Netherlands and joined the FPSB Board in 2019.

BMS

BMS Group (BMS), the independent specialist insurance and reinsurance broker, announces the appointment of Ryan Phillips as director & African practice leader. Based in London, Phillips will join BMS in March 2025, and will report to Paul Galvin, director. Phillips’ geographical remit will encompass the entire African continent. He will collaborate closely with the wider BMS team, which primarily serves clients based in South Africa, to expand the regional footprint.

This appointment marks Phillips’ return to BMS, where he had spent the first 12 years of his career across a variety of roles in broking and marketing. In his time away from BMS, Phillips has garnered a wealth of experience in the insurance industry over the course of 13 years. Most recently, he was Group CEO at the Lloyd’s broker Afro Asian Insurance Services (AAIS), where he oversaw operations for seven global offices, including Zambia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ghana, and Tanzania. During his tenure, Phillips led AAIS through a successful period of growth that saw the company’s revenue increase by 300%. Prior to this role, Phillips was Chief Operating Officer at Matrix Insurance brokers, which was acquired by Howden in 2020.

EBIX EUROPE

Pioneering London Market technology specialist Ebix Europe is pleased to announce long-standing technology expert Jeff Ward as its new Sales Director.

Jeff brings a wealth of experience to the role, and was most recently an independent London market technology consultant. Formerly Head of Ebix Europe between 2012 and 2016, Jeff took his first steps in the technology sector of the London Market in 1989, remaining a key commentator and expert advisor to its technology journey ever since.