Back to Knowledge
Ec News Header Image
Share this Article

EC News (30 April 2020)

  • Publish Date: Posted almost 4 years ago
  • Author:by Alan Jarque

Round-up of the weekly news and developments from the global (re)insurance market with stories from Beazley, Arch Insurance International, Chartered Insurance Institute and more.

Beazley expands global M&A team

Specialist insurer Beazley had expanded its mergers & acquisitions (M&A) team with the appointment of five new underwriters.

Beazley has said the expansion hopes to better service key markets and explore new opportunities.

Lorrain Lloyd-Thomas and Cameron McCoy join the London office. Lloyd-Thomas comes to Beazley from Marsh where she spent 14 years and most recently served as a managing director in Marsh’s UK private equity and M&A practice. Prior to this, she led the transactional risk team for Marsh in the UK.

McCoy will be responsible for the underwriting of UK and international M&A risks. Prior to joining Beazley, McCoy worked as an M&A underwriter at AIG.

In the US, Melanie Walker has joined the firm in Atlanta to increase capacity for US domestic risks. She previously served as an associate with Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP focusing on M&A.

Additionally, Tim Allen has moved from London to Denver as the team looks to build its offering across the US mid-market.

Kirsten Windle-Wehrle has joined the company to increase Beazley’s capacity for the DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) region, for both primary and excess risks. She is based in Munich where she underwrites M&A transaction liability business on a global basis. She joins Beazley from Frankfurt-based commercial law firm Oppenhoff & Partner Rechtsanwälte and Steuerberater, where she was a specialist M&A lawyer.

Meanwhile, as a sign of further commitment to the Asia Pacific region, during the course of 2020 Beazley M&A underwriter Jordan Schwarz will move to Beazley’s Singapore hub from London to support increased demand there and in Australia and New Zealand.

Jordan will work with Jade Cummings in Singapore who joined Beazley last November from McAfee, LLC, where she served as a legal counsel.

Tim Allen, Beazley’s global head of M&A, said: “We have seen increased interest in protecting transactions through insurance and we are expanding the team to meet this rising demand. We are especially pleased some of the top professionals in our business have decided to join Beazley.”

Adding: “Over the course of four years, we have grown from a team of three underwriters to the current level of 14 M&A professionals. With this expansion, we will have greater expertise and capacity for our clients.

Arch promotes two senior leaders at Syndicate 2012

Arch Insurance International, part of Arch Capital Group Ltd has announced the promotion of James Croome to active underwriter and Marie Biggas to deputy active underwriter at Arch Syndicate 2012.

Both new roles are in addition to their existing underwriting management roles at Arch Insurance International.

Croome will be responsible for leading all activities relating to Syndicate 2012, including performance management, strategic planning and liaising with Lloyd’s.

He brings more than 15 years industry experience to the role and prior to this promotion he was vice president, Fine Art & Specie and will continue those responsibilities. He joined Arch in 2014 and previously served at QBE.

Biggas will work together with Croome to deliver on Syndicate 12’s strategic goals, further strengthen the Syndicate’s market position and look at new opportunities for profitable growth.

Prior to her promotion, Biggas was vice president, Terrorism and Political Violence and will continue to operate in this capacity in her new role. She joined Arch in 2014, having previously held underwriting roles at ACE Group, Chaucer Syndicates, and Amlin.

Lino Leoni, chief underwriting officer (CUO) of Specialty, Energy, Marine and Financial Lines at Arch Insurance International, commented: “We have put in place a very clear growth strategy for Syndicate 2012 to build on the considerable underwriting success achieved to date. Both James and Marie are exceptional underwriters who will drive forward this strategy in their new leadership roles. It is always gratifying to be able to promote those within our team and to be able to do so for these two critical roles is testament to the incredible talent that we have at every level within our organization.”

Hugh Sturgess, chief executive officer, Arch Insurance International, added: “James and Marie are part of a talented underwriting team in our London operations, and I am delighted that they will now be leading one of the two Arch Syndicates. Arch has established ambitious goals for its Lloyd’s businesses, and I am confident that they will succeed despite the current challenging market conditions. James and Marie will also continue to lead their respective underwriting units with further support from their expanding teams.”

CII names first independent chair

The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) has named Helen Phillips as the first independent chair to the board, for an initial three year term effective on 1 July 2020.

This is a role where members voted to create at the annual general meeting in 2019. Until now the president of the CII has also acted as chair of the CII’s board. The chair will be responsible for providing leadership of the board.

CCI said by separating the two roles the president will be able to focus on their ambassadorial role.

In her new role, she will work with the board to set the strategic direction of the CII as the professional body dedicated to building public trust in the insurance and personal finance space.

Phillips is currently independent chair of the Legal Services Board, oversight regulator for the legal services sector, chair of Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and a founding non-executive director of Social Work England.

She was previously the founding chief executive and board member of Natural England and director for Wales of the Environment Agency.

Philips shared: “I’m both honoured and delighted to be appointed as the first independent Chair of the CII. I am looking forward to working with the President, Sian and her team, and the board in the next stage of the CII’s development. I am also looking forward to exploring how my experience of chairing boards in other sectors can be a mutual benefit to the insurance profession.”

Nick turner, president of the CII, said: “The breadth of Helen’s experience in executive and non-executive roles in a range of sectors is impressive. Her skillset and the independence that Helen brings will be of huge value to the CII’s management team and board. I look forward to working with Helen on the strategic direction of the professional body.”

Chubb appoints Guney Celik as regional head of marine for Eurasia & Africa

Global (re)insurer Chubb has announced the appointment of Guney Celik as regional head of marine for Eurasia & Africa, effective immediately.

In his new role he will take responsibility for the ongoing expansion of the firm’s marine presence in the Eurasia & Africa region, working with both underwriting and business development teams. Celik has previously led Chubb’s Marine portfolio in Turkey since 2017.

He will continue to be based in Istanbul, and will report jointly to Emre Bugday, Chubb Turkey country president; Nikolay Dmitriev, regional director, Property and Casualty; and Benoit Chasseguet, regional marine manager, Continental Europe.

Giles Ward, regional president, Eurasia & Africa, Chubb, commented: “I am delighted to appoint Guney to this new role. He has done an excellent job in building Chubb’s Marine presence in Turkey and I am looking forward to seeing him achieve similar results on a regional basis. I am sure this well-deserved appointment will bring greater focus and allow us to accelerate growth in this important area of our business.”

Marsh announces key leadership appointments in UK, US & Asia

Global insurance broker Marsh announced key leadership appointments within Marsh JLT Specialty’s Renewable Energy team.

Oliver Holme joins Marsh in the newly created position of UK and US offshore wind leader, reporting to Hamish Roberts, power leader and Amy Barnes, energy & power leader, US and Canada.

He most recently served as a lead risk and insurance specialist for a Danish utility’s UK and US offshore wind operating assets and developments.

Based in London, Holme is expected to transfer to Boston in early 2021.

Martin Beck has been appointed to the newly created role of Asia offshore wind & renewable energy leader, reporting to Glenn Preece, power & utility leader, Asia.

Based in Singapore, Beck was formerly an offshore wind senior client advisor for Marsh GmbH in Hamburg, Germany.

Additionally, Michael Kolodner has joined March to the newly created role of US renewable energy leader, reporting to Barnes.

He is based in Philadelphia and brings two decades of operation, brokerage, advisory and underwriting experience in clean energy risk and insurance management to the role.

He joins Marsh from Nuclear Electric Insurance Ltd., where he was most recently vice president of underwriting.

Meanwhile, Darren Popham has also mean appointed to the newly created role of UK renewable energy leader, reporting to Roberts.

Based in London, Popham was previously a senior vice president in Marsh JLT Specialty’s Construction Practice where he spent the last decade specialising in placing construction insurance for privately owned power plants on a global basis.

Andrew George, global head of Energy & Power, Marsh JLT Specialty, shared: “Marsh has deep capabilities to serve renewable energy clients as the world’s clean energy transition continues with ever greater contributions from renewable sources such as wind, solar, and offshore wind.”

“Our energy clients increasingly need advisors who can help them navigate evolving risk landscapes and provide strategic solutions. The appointments of Oliver, Martin, Michael, and Darren are pivotal as we look to increase our commitment to this dynamic and fast-growing market.”

Derrick Irby joins Catalina Holdings as group CFO

Insurance legacy space specialist Catalina Holdings has announced the appointment of Derrick Irby as group chief financial officer (CFO), effective 1 May 2020.

Based in Bermuda, Irby will oversee Catalina’s finance function, helping to develop the business across its multiple geographies. He succeeds Chris Fleming who has been with Catalina since its first acquisition of OpRe in 2005.

He brings 22 years’ experience advising and leading the finance activities of (re)insurance companies, including managing financial operations, restructuring (re)insurance and capital markets transactions, strategic investments, mergers and acquisitions and related integration activities.

Irby joins from AXA XL where he most recently served as head of finance P&C insurance and reinsurance. Prior to that, he held increasingly more senior financial and leadership roles in the reinsurance division of XL and its acquired companies.

Chris Fagan, chief executive of Catalina Holdings said: “I am delighted that Derrick has chosen to join Catalina. He has extensive experience as a senior finance professional in insurance and reinsurance, including in the public markets, and will play an important role as we prepare Catalina for its next phase of development.

“I would like to express my thanks to Chris Fleming who has been with Catalina since our acquisition of OpRe. He has made a significant contribution to Catalina’s development and has been an important member of the senior team.”

Irby shared: “I am pleased to join Catalina at this exciting time for the business. I look forward to working with Chris, the management team and the board of directors helping to execute the business’ strategy by capitalising on the significant opportunities present in the legacy space.”