Berkshire swoops for AIG, Chubb, Zurich talent in Dubai

Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company (BHSI) has expanded its leadership team in Dubai with the appointment of AIG, Chubb, AXA, QBE, Allianz and Zurich executives to fill key product line and service posts.

Aisling Malone has been appointed as head of executive & professional lines. Malone was previously head of professional liability cyber MENA and senior underwriter at AIG MEA. Malone is joined by senior underwriter Joe Saab.

Emir Erdur has been named head of casualty. He was previously casualty leader and regional underwriter of casualty for the MEA region at QBE Insurance (Europe). Erdur is joined by senior underwriting manager Mohammed Hannoun.

Carlos Beltran has joined as head of commercial property. Beltran was previously regional vice president, P&C underwriting at Chubb Latin America.

Meenakshi Srinath has joined as head of marine. Prior to BHSI, she was head of marine (Gulf and KSA) at AXA Insurance Gulf.

Furthermore, Kapil Palathinkal has become the head of energy and construction. He was most recently the energy & engineered risk manager for the Arabian Hub at AIG. Palathinkal is joined by senior underwriter Anuradha Sekar.

Pruthviraj More joins as senior risk engineer from Allianz Global Corporate Specialty where he was a property loss control engineer.

Finally, John Lewis has been named head of claims. He was previously head of claims at Zurich Insurance DIFC Dubai.

BHSI earlier announced the appointment of Alessandro Cerase as senior executive officer (SEO) and Neeraj Yadvendu as deputy SEO and head of third-party lines for the Middle East, both based on Dubai. Cerase also leads first party lines for BHSI’s broader Asia Middle East region, which includes BHSI’s other regional hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore as well as BHSI operations in Malaysia and Macau.

“Building a strong foundation of servicing capabilities and local knowledge and expertise is critical to BHSI’s long term plans in the Middle East,” said Marc Breuil, president of BHSI, Asia Middle East. “Since DIFC BHSI commenced operations in February, we have established a strong and dynamic team to bring DIFC BHSI’s unmatched financial strength and capital to the Middle East.”

Cerase commented: “Our new teammates in Dubai embody the excellent capabilities and strong character that is so valued by BHSI and by our customers. They will lead our efforts to bring BHSI’s long-term focus, multi-line underwriting and service excellence to customers throughout the Middle East. We are pleased to welcome them aboard.”

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