Zurich shakes up key leadership in North America

Zurich Insurance Group has unveiled a series of key leadership changes in North America, adding to the executive bench strength, in a move it hopes will further position the company to deliver “consistently strong” and profitable performance, while expanding its reach and distribution capabilities.

The changes will see Jason Meador, who has been at Zurich since 2013 and currently serves as head of captives at Zurich North America, move to its crop insurance business Rural Community Insurance Services (RCIS) as head of RCIS.

Meador will be responsible for the direction and strategic planning of Zurich's crop insurance business, including the expansion of precision agriculture and other advanced technology, and for ensuring strong relationships with key stakeholders in the agriculture industry. He will work closely with Zurich's Government & Regulatory Relations team in Washington, D.C., on issues and advocacy related to the federally funded crop insurance programme.

In his role, Meador will replace Mike Day who is set to retire from the company after nearly 40 years in crop insurance.

Succeeding Meador as head of captives, Dawn Hiestand will be responsible for the overall strategy and operational management of Zurich North America's group captives insurance business, which includes member-owned, agency and fronted captives. She will report to head of US national accounts Paul Horgan.

Since joining Zurich in 2000, Hiestand has held leadership positions in claims, operational transformation and underwriting.

Furthermore, former Marsh recruit Alban Laloum has been selected for the role of chief customer officer for Zurich North America. Laloum will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for the expanded customer office, which now will encompass distribution in addition to marketing and customer experience functions, to expand Zurich's reach and deepen distribution relationships. This will include building on digital and technical capabilities and enhancing end-to-end servicing across the customer journey.

Laloum has been with Zurich since 2013, joining as global broker relationship leader after leading Marsh's Multinational Practice globally for three years. His 26 years of experience as a broker include roles leading Marsh's international practice for the Midwest region and its risk management and client executive practice.

Finally, Kelly Kinzer has officially been named head of construction after serving in an interim role following the departure of Karen Reutter. She will be accountable for delivering underwriting results, sales execution, talent management strategies and innovative products and services, such as the Zurich Construction Weather Parametric solution that she helped launch in 2021.

Kinzer started her career at Zurich before moving to roles at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty then Marsh & McLennan, where she was senior vice president. She then spent four years at Willis Towers Watson, where she progressed to executive vice president and head of construction broking for North America before rejoining Zurich in 2019.

"These newly named leaders illustrate the outstanding talent and great bench strength we have here at Zurich North America," said Zurich North America CEO Kristof Terryn (pictured). "They will continue to keep the focus on truly knowing our customers — their challenges and their goals — and ensure we deliver the differentiated solutions and excellent service they have come to expect from Zurich."

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