Top re/insurance executive moves of 2022

As 2022 draws to a close, we look back on a year in which there were some major leadership shake-ups and big personnel moves at some of the largest insurers, reinsurers and brokers. In the past 12 months many experienced leaders launched their own startups and insurtechs and moved to scoop up some of the top talent from the market.

While the year brought in a new wave of challenges for talent acquisition and retention, many businesses sought new leadership and increased hiring to redress the struggles and slippage seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. The hiring was broadly strategic, albeit tipping towards insurance carriers from agencies and brokers, hunting for niche skillsets in areas that require deep expertise.

Marsh CEO Dan Glaser said: “When we hire, it’s not ‘what is your book of business?’. It’s ‘what is your capacity, what do you specialise in?’ … not just somebody who can pull in an account or two.”

The industry shifted towards greater inclusivity, diversity and equal opportunity, embracing flexible working and increasing the number of women in key positions.

These are Intelligent Insurer’s top picks for the most notable executive moves in the industry.

Neil Robertson: One of the first big moves of the year came from speciality re/insurer Canopius in what it described as the “right time for a new leadership”. Robertson, who joined less than a year ago, moved to become CEO replacing Michael Watson, who had been at the helm for 20 years.

Peter Horrobin: The Ascot Bermuda executive joined new managing general agent Banyan Risk in the role of co-founder and co-CEO to support industry veteran Tim Usher-Jones (formerly of Chubb) in raising its profile in the market.

Jason Windsor & Charlotte Jones: Aviva’s chief financial officer (CFO) Windsor resigned after serving the insurer for around 11 years and over an “important period of transformation” to take up the same role for the same salary at one of the UK’s largest housebuilding companies, Persimmon. Aviva, on the other hand, found its new CFO in a “highly experienced” RSA executive. Jones was previously CFO of RSA Insurance and interim CEO of the RSA UK and International business.

Lou Smith: After having crafted Lloyd’s of London’s data-enabled, digital insurance marketplace as chief digital officer, Smith took up a new job at broker WTW to help accelerate its digital trading capability.

Kevin Fisher: Industry executive and Guy Carpenter’s former CEO of global specialties made a comeback after retiring from Marsh McLennan’s broking business after nearly 26 years. Fisher has been “very impressed by IQUW’s market entry” and has taken up the position of president at the property and specialty re/insurer.

Piotr Nowakowski: Reinsurer Peak Re named a new chief for its global P&C underwriting business, tapping the CUO of rival Echo Re who worked for 16 years at SCOR in key leadership roles. Nowakowski now works with CEO Franz Hahn.

Ian Parker: Catalina nabbed the 25-year industry veteran who previously led Lloyd’s’ specialist motor insurer ERS as its new CEO succeeding Bruce Hemphill, with a renewed focus on Lloyd’s following a year-long “strategic review” of the business.

Nicolas Aubert: The 30-year industry veteran, who formerly held major positions at AIG and WTW, moved to France to head up Howden’s operations in a key market as part of its expansion in Europe.

Tom Clementi & Julian Enoizi: London market veteran and former MS Amlin Underwriting boss Clementi joined Pool Re in April, replacing Julian Enoizi as CEO of UK’s terrorism mutual reinsurer. Enoizi later resurfaced at broker Guy Carpenter as global head of public sector.

Colin Forrest: Broker Aon plucked quite a few senior leaders from rival WTW, and vice versa. One of them was its global CEO within Aon Reinsurance Solutions, Colin Forrest, to lead the strategy and development of the insurance consulting team.

Kevin O’Donnell: RenaissanceRe’s top officer accepted the role of chair at ClimateWise, a global industry collaboration, to further its environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) strategy.

Jonathan Butcher: Rokstone persuaded the Lloyd’s and London market veteran, who has 35 years of experience, to join its board. The executive, formerly CEO of Novae Syndicates before its sale to AXIS, is said to have turned down a “fair share of offers in the past to take up non-executive director roles”.

Pavlos Spyropoulos: Lloyd’s Asia CEO switched to Tokio Marine Kiln as regional managing director for Asia. Spyropoulos relocated to Singapore in 2014 to assume responsibility for Lloyd’s Asia’s market development. Since then, he has had a variety of senior roles including head of market development for Lloyd’s in Asia-Pacific and is also an executive committee member of the Singapore Reinsurers’ Association.

Dan Malloy, Sid Sankaran & Scott Egan: SiriusPoint saw a number of top leadership roles change hands in a short space of time with surprise exits and shake-ups throughout the year. First, Malloy, the former CEO of Third Point Re, exited the Bermudian carrier and accepted the position of strategic advisor at a Bermuda-based company called Mesa’s Edge.

Malloy made a short comeback following the shock exit of Sankaran, the chairman and CEO of SiriusPoint at the time, until the re/insurer found its new permanent CEO in RSA’s Egan. Egan formerly served as CFO and latterly as CEO of RSA’s UK and International business, and held a number of positions at Aviva, Zurich Financial Services, Brit Insurance and Towergate Broking.

Soon after, SiriusPoint replaced David Junius as CFO with Guy Carpenter’s Steve Yendall, who was managing director at Guy Carpenter, Canada and North America, and previously CFO and COO at RSA Canada Group. Junius left the Bermudian carrier to join Cowbell.

Vincent Tizzio: AXIS Capital brought in a veteran of specialty lines from The Hartford to replace its insurance segment chief Peter Wilson. Tizzio joined AXIS Capital from a post as EVP and head of global specialty at The Hartford and, prior to that, as CEO of US-based Navigators Management Company.

Matthew Wilken: MS Amlin’s head of reinsurance switched to Hiscox as CUO of reinsurance and ILS. Wilken spent his early career at Kiln Reinsurance before joining Argo Re as CUO of short tail and later became president, then moving to Ariel Re as active underwriter S1910 and deputy global head of reinsurance.

Thierry Derez: The Covéa deal triggered top leadership changes at PartnerRe with Derez, CEO of Covéa Group, becoming chairman of the Bermudian’s board of directors.

Nicholas Walsh: Sompo brought in the AIG veteran to boost its global growth platform. Walsh joined the board of directors at Sompo International after having dominated AIG’s P&C business over the course of a 42-year tenure.

Justin Crawford: The former Dual Underwriting, OneBeacon and Chubb senior executive with extensive environmental expertise and experience in the market, launched his own specialist environmental managing general underwriter Magnolia Grove Insurance Services. Magnolia offers coverage to SMEs in the US on E&S lines.

Madhu Tadikonda: The ex-AIG exec secured the top job at cyber managing general underwriter Corvus to expand its strategic partnership with SiriusPoint and R&Q Accredited. Prior to joining Corvus, he served as global chief underwriting officer at AIG, and before that led data science efforts for AIG’s commercial insurance. He also co-founded Archipelago.

Terry Ledbetter and Luke Ledbetter: Markel’s State National founder and CEO launched a new fronting insurer, called Kestrel Group, with capital partners including AmTrust Financial Services.

Heather Clarkson: Clarkson, Ed Broking’s executive director, specialty, became the first woman to hold the deputy chair role at The London and International Insurance Brokers’ Association (LIIBA), the representative body for Lloyd’s brokers.

Meanwhile, the world’s largest reinsurer Munich Re appointed two women leaders in the latest shake-up of its all-male management board. Clarisse Kopff and Mari-Lizette Malherbe joined Munich Re as new members of the board of management.

Kade Spears & Caroline Coulson: The former SCOR leaders formed a new MGA, Pernix Specialty, with the backing and financial strength of re/insurer Fidelis.

David Presley: The Swiss Re executive with almost 20 years of legacy-market experience, responsible for the origination of all US legacy deals at the firm, moved to Compre to build out its business in North America.

John McNally: This insurance industry veteran, formerly of AIG, Beazley and JLT, launched a new global specialty MGU Palisade Insurance Partners, leaving his job at NFP where he led its Merger & Acquisition Risk Solutions Group focused on transaction insurance.

Luigi Boglione: WTW’s fac executive of over 20 years started a new job at international broking group Howden. He joined Howden in March as managing director in the broker’s international facultative reinsurance division in London.

Josh Everdell: TigerRisk tapped “one of the most experienced and capable professionals in the casualty world” from RenaissanceRe in a bid to capture major growth opportunities in the sector.

Nicolas Berg: SCOR hired the 15-year AIG veteran to serve as its new US property and casualty (P&C) CEO, replacing John Jenkins.

David Marock: The former Charles Taylor group CEO joined a UK-based insurtech working with industry players such as Howden and Munich Re to help “unlock the full potential of parametric insurance”. He also accepted a role at flood forecasting insurtech Previsico.

Mary O’Connor: Howden poached a ‘Big Four’ firm CEO to build a capital advisory “powerhouse”. Prior to becoming CEO of HowdenCAP, O’Connor was acting CEO at KPMG.

Charlie Fry: AIG lured back its former global head of reinsurance less than two years after he left the group to become CEO of a Bermuda-based specialist reinsurance and retrocession investment company. Fry rejoined AIG as executive vice president, reinsurance purchasing and risk capital optimisation, at the end of July.

Martin Reith: The founder and former CEO of Ascot Underwriting, who served as CEO of XL Capital Insurance, Neon Underwriting and held various non-executive roles within Lloyd’s, has taken up an exciting role at Artificial Labs, having been impressed with its algorithmic underwriting tech.

Daniel Glaser & John Doyle: Marsh McLennan president and CEO Glaser is leaving the company after a decade of leading through “a period of extraordinary growth and change”. The reins of the global insurance broker have been passed on to its chief operating officer and a former long-time AIG veteran John Doyle.

Nick Gillett: The 20-year Aon veteran is anticipated to start in his new role in January 2023. He has been named new CEO of BMS International.