AXIS Re hires senior exec from XL Catlin for Europe and MENA role

AXIS Re, a subsidiary of Bermuda-based AXIS Capital Holdings, has appointed Michael Leahey as vice president and deputy head of catastrophe underwriting for Europe, Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and Israel to further expand its business in these regions.

Leahey joins AXIS Re from XL Catlin, where he was a senior property underwriter and market manager for the Nordics region and senior property underwriter for the DACH region. He began his reinsurance career at PartnerRe, where he held a succession of property catastrophe underwriting roles.

In his new role, Leahey will be based out of the company’s Zurich office, and will report to executive vice president of AXIS Re Andrew Bisset.

In addition to underwriting property catastrophe reinsurance business in those regions, Leahey will also be tasked to further expand the coordination between AXIS Re's european underwriting and catastrophe modeling teams.

"Michael’s appointment is an important step as we continue to enhance the services and expertise we provide our clients in the property cat treaty reinsurance space," Bisset commented. "He brings extensive experience in property cat underwriting, portfolio analysis and pricing, all of which will enable AXIS Re to further deliver upon our promise of providing robust and agile solutions that help our clients effectively manage their risks."

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