It’s time for another round-up of senior appointments news from across the insurance, insurtech and legal sector. Here we go;
CLEARWATER ANALYTICS
Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN), a leading worldwide provider of investment management, accounting, reporting, and analytics solutions, has appointed George Hindmarsh as Head of Sales and Business Development for Asia-Pacific.
George joins Clearwater from Citigroup, where he held senior roles in securities services across London, Edinburgh, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Most recently, he was responsible for Japan, Asia North and Australia strategic client sales, focusing on custody, middle office, fund accounting, and execution services. He brings 25 years of experience to Clearwater, including senior positions at Northern Trust and HSBC.
PREMIUM CREDIT
As Premium Credit continues to expand its team and capability for 2025, the business is delighted to announce the appointment of Andrea Wells as Head of Regions and Networks, reporting directly to Owen Thomas, Chief Sales Officer.
Premium Credit transacts c.£5bn per year with its insurance partners and continues to see significant growth. Supporting around 1,500 relationships, Premium Credit partners with all parts of the insurance market from Brokers to Insurers, MGAs and Affinity brands.
Andrea is a strategic leader with over 30 years of experience in the insurance and insuretech industry and has held a number of senior roles across Trading, Underwriting, Sales & Distribution Leadership, Relationship Management and Strategy for leading Insurers including RSA and NFUM.
CFC
CFC has announced two senior promotions to unite its global cyber and proactive teams.
James Burns is promoted to Global Head of Cyber. Having joined CFC over 12 years ago, he has been at the forefront of the development of CFC’s cyber proposition and has led the business’s cyber strategy for the past two years.
In this newly created role, Burns will be responsible for CFC’s cyber strategy, underwriting and sales teams around the world.
Jason Hart is promoted to Managing Director, Proactive & Global Security Services. A renowned thought leader in cyber security with over two decades of experience in creating and developing information security offerings and services, Hart joined CFC as Head of Proactive Cyber a year ago.
WESTFIELD SPECIALTY
Westfield Specialty International has expanded its marine team with the hire of Ben Beaumont as a cargo underwriter. Ben will be based in London and report to Matt Jenkins, Class Underwriter, Cargo.
Spectrum.Life, a global partner in digital whole-of-health solutions, has announced the appointment of Andrew Macadam as Vice President of Customer Operations. Macadam brings a wealth of experience from his previous roles, including Global Managing Director at Microsoft for Startups, to lead key operational and customer-focused initiatives at Spectrum.Life.
In his new role, Macadam will oversee client delivery, marketing and non-clinical operations, while driving the company’s business systems, tendering processes, and project management frameworks. He will also play a pivotal role in transforming Spectrum.Life’s end-to-end product lifecycle, reinforcing its position as a leading global provider of innovative mental health and wellbeing solutions.
APPLY DIGITAL
Apply Digital, the global digital transformation consultancy, has hired Digitas’ Sarah Hackett as its first senior vice president (SVP) of growth, EMEA. With a remit to accelerate Apply Digital’s expansion in EMEA. Hackett is responsible for amplifying reach through new business opportunities, client expansion, strategic marketing, channel partnerships, and streamlining sales operations.
COWBELL
Cowbell, a leading provider of cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is pleased to announce the appointment of James Porter as Lead Underwriter for the UK’s middle market segment. In his new role, Porter will lead a team to deliver tailored cyber insurance solutions that address the unique needs of UK businesses.
“We are thrilled to welcome James to the team. His industry reputation and experience in cyber and technology insurance will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our middle market offering,” said Simon Hughes, SVP, Global Distribution, at Cowbell. “James’s expertise will help as we continue building a team with deep market knowledge, ensuring that Cowbell remains a trusted partner to businesses navigating complex cyber risks.”
CHUBB
Chubb recently announced the appointment of Andy Houston as Head of UK Commercial Insurance, effective February 2025.
He will lead and grow the newly established Commercial Insurance Division, which will serve a wide spectrum of clients encompassing all sizes of middle market companies. Solutions include single products, multi-line packages, industry practices offerings, as well as multinational capabilities.
Mark Roberts, Division President, Chubb UKISA said, “Andy brings a wealth of commercial insurance experience and deep knowledge of Chubb and our clients. I’m delighted he’s joining the team and look forward to working with him as we develop our new Commercial Insurance business, providing comprehensive insurance solutions for a wider range of clients across the middle market.”
HDI GLOBAL
HDI Global UK and Ireland has announced the appointment of Dan Sammons as Captives Manager with effect from 3 February 2025. Sammons joins HDI from AIG, where he held a variety of roles across the Alternative Risk Transfer and Captive Underwriting units, most recently as Head of Alternative Risk Solutions UK.
In this newly created role at HDI, Sammons brings extensive experience in International Programmes, Captives and Alternative Risk Transfer to further enhance the firm’s proposition to deliver strategic long-term growth.
Sammons will report to Oliver Davies, Chief Distribution Officer, HDI Global UK and Ireland. “Captives is a core part of HDI’s extensive value proposition,” commented Davies. “I am thrilled to welcome Dan to HDI to lead our Captives growth strategy across the UK and Ireland and further cement HDI’s position as a global leader in Captives and Alternative Risk Transfer.”
ASPRAY
Aspray is proud to announce that Director Hayley McSherry will serve as a judge at the prestigious 2025 Insurance Broker Awards. These highly anticipated awards celebrate innovation, excellence, and outstanding achievement within the insurance sector, and Hayley’s appointment further underscores her respected standing within the industry.
Hayley McSherry joined Aspray in 2012 as a claim’s handler, where her expertise and dedication in managing property damage insurance claims quickly became evident. Over the years, she has expanded her knowledge and skills, achieving professional qualifications through the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters (CILA). These accomplishments have cemented her reputation as a highly accomplished professional within the property claims sector.
IGNITE SPECIALTY RISK
Ignite Specialty Risk, a leading provider of litigation risk insurance, has announced the appointment of Ankit Patel as U.S. Head of Intellectual Property (IP) Underwriting. With more than a decade of experience, Patel is an insurance expert specializing in contingent legal risks and IP.
Fletchers Group has announced the promotion of four senior colleagues who will become Managing Directors (MD).
The promotions recognise the critical contribution that each of them has made to the Group and reflects Fletchers’ need to expand their leadership capacity as it continues its rapid growth.
The new MDs are:
Caroline Morris will become MD of Serious Injury Law.
Caroline joined Fletchers in May 2017 and is recognised as one of the leading catastrophic injury lawyers in the country. She has overseen the expansion of the Serious Injury practice to a team of over 150 over the last two years, including the acquisition of Serious Injury Law in February 2024. She will now take responsibility for leading all the Personal Injury teams in the Group.
Peter Rigby will become MD of Clinical Negligence.
Peter began his legal career with Fletchers 15 years ago as a well-respected Serious Injury lawyer before taking on the leadership of the Clinical Negligence practice. He has overseen the shift of the practice towards multi-track and catastrophic cases and built the largest Clinical Negligence team in the UK that will represent one in four of the cases that will start proceedings this year.
Georgia Briscoe will become MD of Medical Law Services (MLS).
Georgia joined Fletchers as a leading Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury lawyer and became a Director of our Clinical Negligence practice before taking on responsibility for transforming Fletchers operations in 2021. One of her recommendations was to launch MLS, Fletchers’ specialist medico-legal company, which she has led since its inception in May 2024. MLS has already become the largest pagination operator in the sector with around 180 colleagues and a rapidly expanding set of products.
Charlene Mann, Director of Transformation, will become MD of New Acquisitions and Scott Rees & Co.
Charlene joined Fletchers in 2022 as Director of Transformation, following a career leading change in multiple businesses, most recently the Co-Operative Group. During her time with Fletchers, she has overseen a dramatic transformation of the Group, including six acquisitions, four new offices, the introduction of Partners and Associates, and over £5m of investment in new technology. Following the announcement of Fletchers agreement to acquire Scott Rees & Co, Charlene will now step into the lead the new acquisition when the deal completes next month and carry forward that role to future acquisitions made by the Group.
The newly promoted Managing Directors will join Peter Haden, Alex Lynch, Adrian Denson, Alex Kenny and Zoe Holland MBE as part of the Executive Committee, the senior leadership team running the group.
CANOPIUS GROUP
Canopius Group, a leading global specialty and P&C (re)insurer, is pleased to announce the appointment of Hitesh Patel as the new Chair of Canopius Managing Agents (CMA), effective April 1st, 2025, subject to regulatory approval. Hitesh will be succeeding Paul Meader, who will be stepping down after many years of distinguished service.
CMA manages Canopius’ Lloyd’s syndicate 4444, which in 2025 became the single largest syndicate in the London market, with a capacity of £2.55bn.
Hitesh brings a wealth of Board experience to his new role. He is currently on the Board of Enstar Group Limited and has previously served as a Non-Executive Director for both Aviva Life and Aviva UK. Hitesh also currently serves as a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of Capital Home Loans, Landmark Mortgages and Augusta Ventures.
ARGENTA
Argenta announces the appointment of Karen Collier as Construction & Engineering Underwriter, effective immediately. Based in London, Karen will report directly to Phil Hancock, Unit Head of Construction and Engineering.
Karen brings with her a wealth of expertise, boasting over 10 years’ experience in the insurance industry with a focus on Construction, Engineering, and Liability underwriting. Most recently, Karen served as Assistant Underwriter at Axis Capital. Karen’s career has spanned multiple roles, including Claims Manager at Independent Broking Solutions, Assistant Underwriter at Brit Insurance and Underwriting Assistant at Montpelier. She has also contributed to operational excellence through her involvement in training, process improvement, and developing risk management solutions.
CARBON UNDERWRITING
Carbon Underwriting Limited (Carbon), the specialist independent managing general underwriter and Lloyd’s syndicate, is proud to announce its expansion into International Healthcare with the appointment of Martin Leeks as Head of International Medical Malpractice.
With over 35 years of underwriting experience in the international Casualty and Medical Malpractice market – most recently at Everest Group – and a proven track record of building and developing profitable portfolios in the past, Martin brings significant expertise to Carbon. His leadership will drive the company’s ambitious plans to deliver exceptional underwriting solutions in the international healthcare sector.
ATEC
Atec, the fast-growing niche lines insurance group, has appointed Luke Dexter to the newly created role of Principal Data Scientist. Luke will lead the advancement of Atec’s data science capabilities, building on the group’s (Ceta, Arkel Underwriting, and stable of established consumer brands) reputation for delivering customer and data centric approaches to omni-channel niche and non-standard insurance distribution.
Luke Joins Atec from Covea where he spent 3+ years in senior data science and pricing development roles. Prior to that he was lead data scientist at Aviva. He is skilled at developing teams, tools, and culture to drive the biggest value from data. Atec has vast experience of drawing insights from data, by appointing a Data Scientist, a move unusual for a business of Atec’s size, it is demonstrating its bold ambitions to take this strategy a step further and place the Group at the cutting edge of value-led data-driven insurance solutions.
ENVELOP RISK
Envelop Risk (“Envelop”), the data-driven cyber reinsurance and analytics specialist, today announces it has promoted Graeme Bell to group chief operating officer and Simon Welton to the role of EVP – underwriting performance and strategic partnerships.
Bell joined as a non-executive director in 2020, moving to an executive position as group chief legal officer in 2021 at the same time as Envelop’s $130m Series B fundraise from SoftBank. Alongside that he has served as interim COO since 2023 and is also a director of both Envelop’s US broker, DataStream Cyber Insurance and its Bermuda Class 3A reinsurer, Augmented Re. Prior to joining Envelop Risk he was a corporate M&A partner in several US and UK law firms specialising in private equity and venture capital.
He retains his position as chief legal officer and, as COO, oversees Envelop’s operations, working closely with the rest of the executive team to drive operational efficiency and support Envelop’s growth aspirations.
EVOLIN BROKING
Evolin Broking Limited (“Evolin”), a leading independent London market wholesale insurance broker, announces the launch of its new construction division, with the appointment of Steve Downing as head of construction, effective immediately. Downing will be based in London and report to managing director, Chris Baulf.
Downing will be responsible for building out the construction offering, which will include construction all risks, erection all risks, builders risk, delay in start up and third party liability, complementing the existing construction liability offering. He will also be heavily focused on finding market leading talent to support product development and distribution.
Downing brings more than three decades of industry experience to the role. He has held a variety of senior positions in the sector, including terms as a senior vice president at Lockton and a director at Willis. Downing’s most recent role was at Miller Insurance Services, where he held the position of account executive.
ALLIANZ COMMERCIAL
Allianz Commercial has announced that Phuong Ly will be appointed Commercial Managing Director UK, effective 3 April 2025, subject to regulatory approval.
In this role he will be leading all of Allianz’s commercial insurance business in the UK spanning digital, mid-market and large-corporate, as well as the engineering inspection, legal protection and fleet business. He will report to Colm Holmes, CEO Allianz Holdings UK, and to Dirk Vogler, Chief Regions Officer International, Allianz Commercial. Until his arrival, Nick Hobbs and Luke Baker will continue to provide interim leadership for the Allianz Commercial UK business.
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