Miller expands European footprint in Switzerland

Re/insurance broker  Miller has expanded its business operations in Switzerland as part of its wider growth strategy in Europe.

The broker has established a new office in Geneva, and hired a business development specialist to further expand its credit and political risk (CPRI) book of business.

Laurent Hepner (pictured) will relocate to Geneva from September 2021 onwards, and will have a particular focus on supporting commodities and trade finance clients in accessing bespoke CPRI solutions. He will report to Miller’s head of CPRI (Europe) Arnaud Froideval.

Hepner joins Miller following a role as sales lead with Komgo, where he was tasked with promoting digital transformation solutions to the Commodities Trade Finance industry. Prior to that, he worked with multiple banks, including 10 years spent with BNP Paribas, where he headed the collateral management teams in Paris and Hong Kong, responsible for the co-ordination and monitoring of transactional and structured financing. In 2012, he joined Mercuria Geneva as a structured trade finance manager, and contributed to redesigning insurance programmes in the CPRI workspace.

Miller said his hiring follows the recent joining of experienced business development specialist Safi Mebarki to its Paris office.

Froideval said: “We’re excited to have Laurent joining us. He brings with him over 25 years’ experience in International Trade, Energy and Commodities Finance. His career has seen him successfully work in banks, as well as large trading houses and start-ups. I’m confident clients will benefit from his proven expertise in transaction structuring, collateral and risk management. On top of this, Laurent’s digitisation expertise gained whilst at Komgo will enable him to play a key role in helping to develop innovative CPRI solutions for our clients. His understanding of digital transformation in Finance will also be a great asset to his new team.

" Miller already provides best-in-class service to clients in the trade finance space in London and Paris, and Laurent’s hiring will enable Miller to expand its operations in Geneva.”

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