AXA XL taps 20-year company vet as CUO global marine liability

Re/insurer  AXA XL has elevated a 20-year company veteran to support its ambitious growth strategy in the marine and energy markets globally.

Paul Rothery (pictured right) has been promoted to global CUO – marine liability & ports, with Mark Appleton (pictured left) becoming head of energy liability, UK & Lloyd’s.

In his new role, Rothery will be responsible for developing  AXA XL’s global portfolio and driving governance, underwriting guidelines and pricing standards across the business. He will also retain his current role as head of marine liability & ports, UK & Lloyd’s. Rothery has been with  AXA XL for 20 years, having joined the company in 2002 as a graduate, before moving into the marine liability underwriting team in 2005. He has since been promoted several times, including to regional product leader for marine liabilities & ports in Europe and Latin America.

Appleton will lead the UK & Lloyd’s energy liability team, responsible for the growth strategy for the book. He began his career in 1995 as an underwriter at the Liverpool and London P&I Club. Following a period working in broking, which started in 2003, he returned to underwriting in 2007. In January 2021, he joined  AXA XL as a senior underwriter.

Peter Welton, CUO of marine, energy & aerospace, UK & Lloyd’s at  AXA XL, said: “When I speak to Energy and Marine clients seeking to mitigate and transfer their current and future liability risks, I’m consistently told they’re looking for an insurance partner with a collaborative and consistent approach across its Energy and Marine liability teams; one that makes it simpler to do business and promotes knowledge-sharing and drives innovation.

“At  AXA XL, we have ambitious growth plans for these markets and having the right teams in place, working in a collaborative manner, is an integral part of our strategy to deliver on those. I’m therefore delighted that Paul and Mark will be taking on these new roles and am confident the commitment and attributes they bring with them will play an important role in helping us to achieve our goals.”

Anne Marie Elder, global chief underwriting officer, marine, at  AXA XL, commented: “Recent events have highlighted the uncertain and volatile nature of marine liability risks and the speed with which they can present themselves. Having the right team in place is essential in order to allow us to help our clients to navigate and quickly respond to new risks and/or exposures they may face.

"I'm therefore delighted that Paul will be taking on this new role. Working with our marine teams in each region, he will help them to stay at the on top of our clients' changing risk profiles in addition to driving consistency of our practices, products and pricing across our Marine liabilities business worldwide.”

Did you get value from this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.