Asia Capital Re (ACR) has named former XL Catlin executive Bobby Heerasing as deputy CEO, the company has announced.

The news comes as the reinsurer’s previously announced $1bn all-cash sale to Chinese provincial government-owned entity Shenzhen Qianhai Financial Holdings and co-investor Shenzhen Investment Holdings nears completion.

Heerasing has spent the bulk of his career at Catlin and subsequently XL Catlin across a range of roles and has largely been based in Singapore since 2002.

He most recently served as regional underwriting and distribution director for the Asia Pacific region for XL Catlin. Prior to the merger, he spent nine years as Catlin's chief underwriting officer for Asia Pacific.

Meanwhile, the company noted that group chief executive Hans-Peter Gerhardt has indicated his intent to return to Europe in the “near future”, adding that Heerasing will assume the group’s top leadership roles in acting capacity upon Gerhardt’s departure.

Commenting on the appointment, chairman of the board Hsieh Fu Hua said: “Mr Heerasing’s extensive underwriting and management experience as well as successful track record, particularly in Asia, make him an excellent fit for ACR.”

“Both the Board and ACR’s new owners have full confidence that he will be a strong leader for ACR through its ownership transition as well as in the group’s continued evolution into a leading Asian risk solutions provider,” he added.

Last month, Chinese regulator National Development and Reform Commission approved ACR’s $1bn sale, providing a key step forward towards completing the deal.