Insurance Executive Moves | Q4 2022

EMEA

Allianz

  • Bettina Dietsche has assumed the position of Chief Human Resources Officer for Allianz Group in November, succeeding Stefan Britz. Bettina Dietsche previously was the Chief Operating & People Officer for Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty.

AON

  • Mindy Simon joins Aon from Conagra Brands as Global Chief Operating Officer. She succeeds James Platt, who has assumed the new role of Chief Digital Officer. 
  • Jane Kielty has been appointed Head of Commercial Risk UK. 
  • James Buam, previous Head of Commercial Risk UK, will take on a new role as Head of Wholesale and Specialty Broking, leading the company’s Global Broking Centre in London. 
  • Paul Shedden joins Aon as Global Analytics Leader for Reinsurance Solutions. He departs Sompo where he was Head of Portfolio Design, Pricing and Analytics – Global Insurance.
  • John Carroll is succeeding Robert De Souza as Reinsurance Solutions CEO Australia and New Zealand. Robert De Souza, who already serves as Chairman for Solutions in APAC will assume the position as President of Reinsurance Solutions APAC.

Aviva   

  • Colin Simpson, departs his interim Group Chief Financial Officer role at Aviva to join John Handcock, the US division of Toronto-based Manulife, as Chief Financial Officer.

AXA  

  • Mark Twite has been named as Chief Executive Officer AXA XL Reinsurance for Bermuda. 
  • Vanessa Leemans is appointed to Head of Cyber, UK & Lloyd’s for AXA XL. She joins from Aon’s Cyber Solutions, where she was Chief Brokering Officer EMEA/UK.

CNP Assurances  

  • Asma Baccar has been appointed to Director of the firm’s Latin American Business Unit. She is succeeding Laurent Jumelle, who is leaving is post for personal reasons.

Hanover Re 

  • Eric Schuler has been appointed to lead Management and Executive Liability. Jon R Martin will assume the role of Vice President, Management and Executive Liability for the company’s field team, succeeding Schuler
  • Greggory Ketay has been appointed to Vice President, Distribution Management, succeeding Martin.

Helvetia Holding 

  • Phillip Gmur, Group CEO, has announced his intention to step down mid 2023 after being with the company for three decades and leading since 2016. His successor is yet to be named.

MS Amlin 

  • Andrew Carrier has been appointed as CEO of MS Amlin Underwriting Limited. He succeeds Johan Slabbert who has been appointed to the newly created role of CEO of MSIG Holdings.

Partner Re

  • David Florian left his role as Head of Global Finance at Partner Re to join Aspida Re as CEO.

Swiss Re  

  • Trent Thomson has been named head of Swiss Re's operations in Australia and New Zealand, promoted from his role as Head of Property & Casualty Australia and New Zealand.

Willis Towers Watson 

  • Mike Liss, currently Head of Corporate Risk and Brokering for North America, plans to retire in spring 2023. Michael Chang will join the firm from Sompo to succeed him, leaving his current role of CEO of Global Risk Solutions International.
  • Adhiraj Maitra leaves his position at Willis Towers Watson’s insurance consulting business as Global Head of ESG & Climate Change to join Canopius Group as Group Head of Sustainability.
  • Evan Freely has joined the firm as Global Head of Financial Solutions. He previously held the position of President, Americas at Berry Palmer & Lyle. 
  • Derric Howard has joined Willis Towers Watson to assume the position of EMEA Head of Commercial Lines Transformation. He previously worked within Zurich Insurance where he headed MGA Underwriting and Portfolio Management. 
  • James Sallada joins the firm as Head of Casualty for North America, from Marsh where he was Northeast Risk Management Placement Leader for Casualty.

Zurich Insurance  

  • Hayley Robinson steps down from her role as Group Chief Underwriting Officer due to family health reasons. Penny Randall Seach will succeed Robinson, a promotion from her current role as Chief Underwriting Officer for EMEA.

 

Americas

AFLAC  

  • Eric Kirsch will retire from his position as Global Chief Investment Officer in March 2023. He will be succeeded by Bradley Dyslin, Deputy Global Chief Investment Officer. Kirsch has worked with Aflac for over a decade.

AIG

  • Joshua Brekenfeld joins AIG as Chief of Staff. He was most recently Director Global Corporate Development at Aspen Insurance.

Allstate Corporation 

  • Christine DeBiase joins the firm as Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. She most recently held the role of Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel at Brighthouse. Her appointment follows the tragic death of Rhonda Ferguson, Chief Legal Officer, of cancer in early 2022.

Aspen    

  • Christian Dunleavy is promoted to Group Chief Underwriting Officer. He previously held the role of Chief Underwriting Officer for Aspen Re. Andrew Rippert is named as Chief Underwriting Officer for the reinsurance segment.

Axis 

  • Jonathan Gray has left his role of President of Specialties at Axis Re, to join Pool Re as Chief Underwriting Officer elect.
  • Mark Baumel, previously Chief Claim Officer for Axis has joined Old Republic General Insurance in the same capacity.
  • Miranda Hunter has joined the firm as Head of Investor Relations. She was most recently Vice President of Operations and Strategic Development at Aeolus Capital Management.
  • Andy Maher has been announced as Head of Cyber and Technology. Previously he was Deputy Chief Underwriting Officer Cyber and Technology.

Chubb   

  • Paul Krump, Vice Chairman, Global Underwriting and Claims will retire on January 1st, 2023. His successor is yet to be announced.
  • Bill Hazelton has been named Head of North America Industry Practices, a newly created role. He continues to report to John Lupica, Vice Chairman of Chubb Group, North America. 
  • Darryl Page has been appointed Chief Culture Office, succeeding Ivy Kusinga
  • Margaret Peloso joins Chubb as Global Climate Officer, a newly created role. She joins from Vinson & Elkins, where she held the role of Lead Sustainability Partner. She will further serve as Executive Director for the Chubb Charitable Foundation.
  • Steve Driscoll is promoted to Head of Financial Lines for Chubb Global Markets. In this newly created role, Driscoll will be reporting to Robert Wilson, Chief Underwriting Officer for Chubb Global Markets.
  • Chris Tuberville is announced as Head of Hull for Chubb Global Markets, reporting to David Kirk, Head of Marine. He succeeds Mark Edmondson, who is acting Product Head for the Hull and Yacht portfolio, and will take the role of Consultant Martine Underwriter when Tuberville is in post. 
  • In APAC, Ben Howell is announced as Head of Consumer Business Activities APAC. He current serves as regional head of Accident Health for the region. 
  • Teresa Black has been named Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of North America Surety. She previously lead Commercial Surety.
  • Michael Mollica has been promoted to Division President for North America Financial Lines. Currently, Mollica is Executive Vice President, Head of Private/Not-For-Profit Management Liability business for the division.
  • Jennifer Riley has been promoted to Executive Vice President, Head of Digital Strategy & Operations for North America Financial Lines. 
  • Jarrod Schlesinger is named as Chief Operating Officer for the North America Financial Lines division.
  • Joining Riley and Schlesinger is Alisa Theberge, as Head of Learning and Development, and Scott Williams as Chief Underwriting Officer for this new division, reporting to Mollica.

CNA Financial  

  • Steven Goldman, of Chubb’s North America Financial Lines, joins CNA Insurance as Senior Vice President, Financial Lines and Healthcare.

CNO Financial Group  

  • Jean Linnenbringer has been promoted to Chief Operations Officer, and Mike Mead appointed to Chief Information Officer. The two executives will be succeeding Bruce Baude, who will be leaving his role as Chief Operations and Technology Officer in December 2022.

Erie Indemnity Co.

  • Gregory Gutting has announced his intention to retire in April 2023 from his current role as Chief Financial Officer. The search for his successor is underway.

Farmers  

  • Jeff Dailey steps down as CEO of Farmers Group, succeeded by Raul Vargas. Dailey will continue as Chairman. Vargas is currently President of Distribution, Life and Financial Services for Farmers Group.

Hartford 

  • Stephen Screen has been promoted from Assistant Vice President Distribution Management to Head of Sales & Distribution.
  • Terence Shields has been appointed to Chief Sustainability Officer, a newly created role, leading ESG across the enterprise. He reports to both the Chief Marking Officer and General Counsel. He is promoted from his prior position of Managing Associate General Counsel.

Lincoln Financial Group 

  • Jim O’Boyle joins as Head of Life and Annuity Operations. Prior to this appointment he spent over two decades at Equitable most recently leading Operations and Servicing for the brand’s core product lines.

Manulife  

  • Patrick Graham has been appointed to CEO for the Hong Kong and Macau branch, effective January 1st. Most recently he worked with Cigna, where he was CEO of the APAC region.
  • Harshal Shah joins the firm’s office in Hong Kong as Chief Marketing & Experience Design Officer for Asia. He joins from AIA group, where he held the position of Director, Distribution Impact Office.

Markel Corp  

  • Due to the retirement of Richard Whitt 3rd, Thomas Gayner (currently co-CEO) will become sole CEO.
  • The firm’s Chief Financial Officer, Jeremy Nobel will be promoted to President, effective January 1st. The search for Nobel’s successor is underway.

Marsh & McLennan

  • Daniel Glaser will be retiring from his role as CEO effective January 1st. His successor will be John Doyle who currently sits on the executive committee as Chief Operating Officer.

MassMutual 

  • Glenton Davis joins the firm as Head of Corporate Strategy. He will be reporting to Chief Financial Officer, Betsy Ward.

New York Life Insurance 

  • Michael McDonnell has been promoted to General Counsel, having previously held the position of Senior Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Chief Insurance Counsel. He succeeds Natalie Lamarque, who transitioned to General Counsel & Secretary role at Principal Financial Group.

Northwestern Mutual Life

  • Abim Kolawole has been promoted to Chief Audit Executive. He joined the company in 2003 and most recently held the position of Vice President Financial Planning Excellence & Strategy. He succeeds Stephanie Lyons, who will become Vice President, Investment Risk and Operations. 
  • Mike Carter will step down from his current role as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Risk Officer to assume the role of Chief of Staff, as well as chair of the company's senior leadership team.
  • Todd Jones, currently controller, will assume the position of Chief Financial Officer. The Chief Risk Officer position will be assumed by Debora Schulz. She will be reporting to Jones.
  • Ryan Heinemann, currently Vice President Corporate Counsel, will succeed Chris Gawart as General Counsel. Gawart is retiring after 12 years at the company.
  • Souheil Badran leaves his role as Chief Operating Officer at Northwestern Mutual to join US Bank in the same capacity.

Pacific Life  

  • Mary Beth Eckert joins Pacific Life as Vice President, Chief Information & Digital Officer. She was most recently working with USAA as Chief Information Officer, Corporate and Insurance Services. She succeeds Mike Shadler, who is preparing for retirement.

Prudential Financial 

  • Scott Sleyster will retire from his role as Vice President, Head of International Business after a 35 year career with Prudential. Andy Sulivan, currently Head of US Business, will succeed him. 
  • Caroline Feeney, currently Head of US Retirement & Insurance, is promoted to Sullivan's prior position.

Selective Insurance Group 

  • Rohit Mull joins Selective Insurance as Chief Marketing & Innovation Officer. He joins from Thrivent, where he was Chief Marketing Officer.

USAA

  • Jason Klein, currently Senior Vice President, General Counsel will assume the role of Chief Corporate Governance Officer in conjunction with his current responsibilities. He succeeds Amy Cook, the current Chief Corporate Officer, who intends to retire in 2023. 
  • Tara Lewling, who joined USAA earlier in 2022 to lead ESG has incorporated diversity, inclusion and sustainability into her role to become Chief Diversity and Sustainability Officer. 
  • Bryan Gingrich steps down from his role as Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.

Voya Financial 

  • Donald Templin has joined Voya as Chief Financial Officer from Marathon Petroleum, where he served in the same capacity. He succeeds Mike Smith who stepped down in November 2022.
  • Matthew Toms has been promoted to the newly created role of Global Chief Investment Officer, for Voya's Asset Management business, from his prior role as Head of Public Fixed Income Investments.
  • Rob Grubka, currently CEO, Health Solutions has assumed the newly created role of CEO Workplace Solutions

 

Asia Pacific

China Life Insurance Company

  • Following the resignation of Xiumei Huang from her position as Vice President, Finance, Hu Jin will succeed her. 
  • Ruan Qi has been appointed as Chief Risk Officer.

New China Life Insurance Company 

  • Quan Li is promoted to head of the company, coming from the Asset Management division where he was most recently CEO Asset Management.

Ping An 

  • Yao Jason Bo steps down from his role as Chief Financial Officer, instead focusing on his role as Co-CEO. Zhang Zhichun will succeed him as Chief Financial Officer. She previously served as General Manager of the Planning Department.

QBE    

  • Robert (Rob) Stone, previously Interim Chief Financial Officer for QBE Europe has been named Chief Financial Officer for QBE’s International division.

Sompo 

  • Glen Max Bronstein joins Sompo as Head of Claims, from Navigators (part of The Hartford Group), where he was Head of Global Specialty Claims. 
  • Larry Doyle joins Sompo as Chief Operating Officer, Global Markets. He joins from AIG, where he held the position of Global Operations Executive. 
  • Ralph Brand joins Sompo from Zurich Insurance as President, Continental Europe. He was previously Global Head of Casualty, Financial Lines & Cyber for Zurich Insurance. 
  • Ron Willet joins Sompo in the newly created role of Executive Vice President, Field Management for North America. He was most recently working for AIG, as North America Retail Distribution Leader. 
  • Stefano Chiurlo is named as Head of Accident & Health, Europe, based in Milan for Sompo. He joins from Generali Group, where he acted as Group Head of Health & Accident.


 

Contact

Dr. Matthias Oberholzer
Russell Reynolds Associates
Stampfenbachstrasse 5 | 8001 Zurich | Switzerland
Tel: +41-44-447-30-30
Direct: +41-44-447-30-34
Mobile: +41-79-473-72-68
matthias.oberholzer@russellreynolds.com 

 

Dr. Corrado Menghini
Russell Reynolds Associates
Stampfenbachstrasse 5 | 8001 Zurich | Switzerland
Tel: +41-44-447-30-30
Direct: +41-44-447-30-33
Mobile: +41-79-261-92-42
corrado.menghini@russellreynolds.com