Job Moves and Senior Appointments News 10.02.25 -

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The latest senior appointments news across the insurance sector;

CHUBB

Chubb has announced the appointment of Seth Gillston as Executive Vice President, Head of Global Casualty for Major Accounts in North America. Seth will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Chubb Global Casualty business unit, which provides domestic casualty insurance coverage offerings and service solutions to large national and multinational companies.

In addition, he will lead all strategies around production, product development and management, and profit and loss performance. Seth will be based in New York City and report to Matt Merna, Senior Vice President, Chubb Group and Division President, North America Major Accounts. Seth succeeds Lou Capparelli, who will now serve as Chairman of Global Casualty.

WESTFIELD SPECIALTY

Westfield Specialty International has continued the multi-line build-out of its business with the hire of Harry Brantingham as an underwriter in the general liability team. Harry will be based in London and report to Paul Davidson, Class Underwriter, General Liability.

Ross MacDonald, Divisional Director, Casualty and Portfolio, at Westfield Specialty International said: “There is no doubt that the theme of 2025 for Westfield Specialty is growth, with recent hires across the business displaying our appetite to expand our underwriting capacity in both new and established books of business.

“Westfield Specialty is a business with both strong foundations and an eye towards the future – underpinned by a solid base through our ‘mutual’ approach yet committed to long-term secure growth through the injection of people, capital, and products.”

Harry Brantingham joins Westfield Specialty from AXA XL, where he spent almost seven years across various underwriting roles.

DESCARTES

Descartes announces the appointment of Blanca Berruguete as Head of EMEA Distribution and Client Management, with special focus in
Europe. From Descartes’ Madrid office, Blanca is responsible for EMEA business development and client services, and leads the European commercial team. She reports to Descartes’ co-founder and Chief Insurance Officer Sébastien Piguet.

During her 25 years serving clients and brokers in the commercial insurance sector, Blanca has developed a keen focus on building value for clients by listening to their needs. Most recently she was Global Industry Solutions Director for Construction at Allianz Commercial, working closely with underwriters and key account executives to build industry specific expertise and best practices.

She previously served in leadership roles in broking and underwriting, both in London and Madrid, at firms including Generali, the Corporation of Lloyd’s of London, AIG, Zurich Insurance, as well as Heath Lambert and AJ Gallagher. She is an executive committee member of the International Engineering Insurance Association, IMIA.

IGNITE SPECIALTY

Ignite Specialty Risk, a leading provider of litigation risk insurance, has appointed Matthew Evans as Litigation Portfolio Manager. He will be responsible for managing cases across the Ignite portfolio from inception to trial, liaising closely with Ignite’s claims administrators. He will be based in London and report to Jamie Molloy, head of ATE and co-founder of Ignite Specialty Risk.

Matthew has appeared twice in the Legal 500, notably being described as an ‘outstanding litigator’ in the 2020 edition. He joins Ignite Specialty Risk from RPC, where he spent nearly nine years as a Senior Associate and latterly Of Counsel in Commercial and Financial Disputes, developing particular expertise in complex litigation strategy and risk assessment. He started his career as a trainee and subsequently a litigation associate in the London and Brussels offices of Latham & Watkins.

LOCKTON

Lockton, the world’s largest independent insurance broker, has appointed Mark Jones as its new International Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective immediately.

Mark has over two decades of financial leadership experience in the global insurance brokerage sector. He joins Lockton from Marsh, where he was CFO for Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB) and CFO for Marsh Specialty and Global Placement. His responsibilities included driving strategic initiatives and enhancing reporting capabilities.

As International CFO, Mark will actively contribute to Lockton’s growth strategy across four regions: Europe, MENA, Asia Pacific, and Latin America. He will focus on investment opportunities and oversee strong financial management to support client priorities and new products and services.

CII

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has announced the appointment of two new Executive Directors. From early March, Adam Harper will take on the role of Executive Director, Strategy, Advocacy & Professional Standards, and Holly Porter (ABOVE) will take on the role of Executive Director, Markets & Opportunities.

Adam and Holly bring a wealth of experience from extensive careers across a range of sectors. Adam will join the CII from his role as Director of Professional Standards and Policy at the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), where he leads the development and enhancement of their professional standards regulatory framework. As an Executive Leadership Team member, Adam has contributed to the development of AAT’s strategic vision, plans and policies and has experience of co-ordinating corporate strategies and business plans.

Holly joins from BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, which supports technology and digital professionals across different sectors in the UK and internationally. Holly currently leads the professional membership community and registrations portfolio as Managing Director and was formerly Membership Director. She works closely with organisations, members and the volunteer network, which has over 100 regional and special interest groups. Her focus has been to help members drive their professional development and shape the future of technology as part of the BCS membership community.

PRICE FORBES

Price Forbes Re is pleased to announce the appointment of Isidora Alemparte in the newly created role of Wordings Director.

Based in London, Isidora will report to Paul Owen, Chief Analytics Officer, and will lead the strategy, delivery, and integration of Price Forbes Re’s contract management.

Isidora joins from McGill and Partners, where she was a Partner responsible for building and managing contract management for the London Treaty Team. Prior to this, Isidora held specialist roles with Liberty, Aspen, and XL Catlin, and began her career as a lawyer in Chile, focusing on corporate and insurance matters. She holds an LL.M focusing on Insurance Law from University College London and currently serves as Vice Chair of the Reinsurance Wordings Specialist Forum (REWEF).

ALLIANZ TRADE

Allianz Trade announces changes in its regional leadership teams.

James Daly (61), CEO of Allianz Trade in Americas, will retire on June 30, 2025, after 22 years at Allianz Trade. He has held numerous leadership roles within Allianz Trade, joining the group in 2003 as Commercial Director of Allianz Trade in the UK & Ireland. He spent 3 years heading the Commercial teams across Northern Europe, before his appointment as Group Commercial and Distribution Director in 2012. He moved to the United States in 2013 as Commercial Director of Allianz Trade in Americas and was nominated CEO of this region in 2015.

Sarah Murrow (43) will succeed James Daly as CEO of Allianz Trade in Americas, effective July 1, 2025. She first joined Allianz Trade in North America in 2004 and held Client Service, Commercial Underwriting and Strategic Account Manager positions. She then assumed the Regional Head of Broker Management role in 2011.

SCOR

SCOR are pleased to announce the appointment of Holger Schaefer as Global Head of Casualty & EIL, within SCOR Business Solutions, as of 1st March 2025. Holger will be based in Cologne and will report to Claire McDonald, CEO of SCOR Business Solutions. He replaces Daniel Carerras, who took on the role of Chief Underwriting Officer, Casualty, across both Insurance and Reinsurance in 2024.

Previously, Holger spent 35 years with the Allianz Group and held various Senior Management positions in Underwriting and Sales & Distribution. He worked for over 15 years on the Underwriting Casualty side and was the Head of Casualty for AGCS Germany. He built the first Sales Team in AGCS Germany with Key Account and Broker Relationship Management and was later asked to roll this Concept out in his role as Global Head of Sales & Distribution. He then worked as CEO for AGCS Pacific, based in Sydney, and in his last assignment as Regional CEO APAC for Allianz Trade, based in Hong Kong.

MARKERSTUDY

Former Markerstudy CIO, Dan Fiehn, returns to the group after a break of 3 ½ years to the new role of CTO, reporting to Keith Barber, Chief Operating Officer. Adam Miller CIO, and Tara Walker CTO Markerstudy Distribution, will support him in the go-forward structure.

With over 35 years’ experience driving innovation and growth within the insurance industry, Dan is passionate about delivering transformative solutions and, during his time at Markerstudy, was instrumental in creating an identity for the IT division, branded MPowered, along with leading the seamless migration and integration of Co-op Insurance.

Keith Barber comments: “As we look forward to the next chapter in our growth journey, I am delighted to welcome Dan back. His appointment will further strengthen our senior leadership team and ensure we continue to be at the forefront of technology; enhancing operational efficiency and fostering strategic innovation.”

ALLIANZ COMMERCIAL

Allianz Commercial has announced the appointment of Mitch Bennett as the new Head of Claims for Large-corp & Specialty in the UK region, effective 14 February 2025.

In this role, Mitch will be responsible for leading the Claims services for large corporate and specialty customers and ensuring continued high quality standards, building on Allianz Commercial’s reputation as an industry leader in Claims.

He will report into Phuong Ly, the newly appointed Managing Director for Allianz Commercial in the UK , with an additional reporting line to Allianz Commercial’s Chief Claims Officer, Thomas Sepp.

CARROW INSURANCE

Newly launched MGA Carrow Insurance has appointed Matt Davis as its Business Development Underwriter. Matt will be based in Dublin and report directly to CEO, Ronan Conboy.

Matt Davis is a distinguished underwriting professional with over three decades of expertise in the insurance industry, spanning MGAs and direct insurers. Most recently serving as Head of Underwriting at Euro Insurances DAC, he successfully developed and executed comprehensive underwriting strategies across a diverse portfolio encompassing 14 product lines throughout 20 European countries.

Matt’s substantial hands-on experience in specialised insurance markets and proven track record of success make him an authoritative voice in the field.