Allianz reveals replacements as North America specialty head quits

Allianz Group has appointed replacements for regional head of specialty lines in North America John Barnwell who is retiring after more than 20 years with the company.

Henning Haagen will take over as North American regional head of specialty lines at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), and Rich Soja will become the North American regional head of marine.

The company stated that while taking on these new responsibilities, both Haagen and Soja will continue in their current roles as Northeast Zone executive in the US, and global head of inland marine, respectively.

Since joining Allianz in 2008, Haagen has held a range of global leadership positions within the organisation both in Munich and London, before being named global head of aviation in 2015 and eventually relocating to New York. In January of 2017, Haagen was appointed Northeast Zone executive, leading and executing local business strategies, plans and change initiatives for AGCS. As head of specialty, he will now be responsible for the aviation, energy, entertainment and marine segments for the entire North American region, including Canada.

Prior to AGCS, Haagen worked as a senior underwriter for both GE Insurance Solutions and Augsburg Re/Brit Insurance. He began his insurance career at Gerling Insurance and Reinsurance.

Soja joined Allianz in August of this year from Tokio Marine Management, where he served as senior vice president, marine. As the new global head of inland marine for Allianz, he is responsible for the oversight of both the global and North American inland marine strategies with key distribution partners. The inland marine division covers risks in construction, transportation, communication, fine arts, related property and other specialty classes. Now as the regional head of marine for North America, he will oversee the underwriting of both inland and ocean marine classes of business.

Prior to joining Allianz, Soja held several global leadership positions within the marine divisions for Aspen and Chubb Insurance; he began his underwriting career at Crum & Foster.

"John Barnwell’s leadership has been instrumental to the organisation throughout his tenure, and we are most grateful for the dedication and professionalism he shared with us over the years," said Bill Scaldaferri, AGCS North America president and CEO. "While we thank John for his tireless work, I look forward to collaborating with both Henning and Rich in their new capacities to continue to grow and evolve the business."

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