D&O MGA Rising Edge appoints AXA XL exec as chair

Rising Edge, a directors’ and officers’ (D&O) Managing General Agent (MGA) in the UK, has appointed an experienced former AXA XL executive as non-executive chair.

Kelly Lyles has extensive experience in the D&O market. She was one of the first people to market and underwrite D&O liability for European companies. Most recently she served as chief executive, Client and Country Management, at AXA XL.

During her career, Lyles has held a number of senior roles in underwriting and general management. Between 2014 and 2018, she served in several senior positions at XL and later XL Catlin, including chief regional officer, insurance, deputy chair of the insurance leadership team, and chief executive of global professional insurance operations.

Before joining XL Group in 2014, she served as head of specialty lines for Europe and EMEA at AIG, having served as AIG’s country manager in France between 2010 and 2013.

“I am delighted to join the Board of Rising Edge,” said Lyles. “I decided to join the Board as I was extremely impressed with Philippe and Yoel’s business model, focussing on client and broker services and based on a data-led underwriting approach.

“Rising Edge is a breath of fresh air in a D&O insurance market that not only requires experienced capacity, but also needs to reinvent itself to bring value to clients through relevant insight. For brokers, it will also bring a consistent and disciplined underwriting approach – all backed by a flawless operational model - even in a pandemic and post-Brexit environment.”

Philippe Gouraud, CEO at Rising Edge, added: “I am pleased to be able to continue working with Kelly. Over the past 20 years, Kelly and I have worked together in various companies and we have always had a shared focus on clients and brokers and the principles of fairness and consistency of service – both of which are key pillars of Rising Edge’s engagement model. Kelly’s appointment is another major step towards the full launch we have announced for the first half of 2021.”

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