It’s July already. Winter is coming n all that. Here are the latest senior appointments news for you;
BSPOKE
The Bspoke Group has announced the appointment of Adrian Ewington as Managing Director of Bspoke Private Clients, the mid and high net worth specialist MGA. The newly expanded Private Clients Team will be led by ex-Home & Legacy director Adrian Ewington and Jonathan Kitchen, in the roles of Managing Director and Underwriting Director, respectively.
Adrian will be joined by other well-known members of the Home & Legacy unit, including Nicole Russell, Oonagh Berry, Chris Tysoe and Chris Coakley. To support their growth aspirations, the Team are actively recruiting the further expertise of mid and high net worth specialist underwriters, with several new appointments intended by the end of the year.
BMS GROUP
BMS Group, the independent specialist insurance and reinsurance broker, has appointed Ali Trauttmansdorff as Group chief people officer, effective immediately. Trauttmansdorff, who will be based in London, will report to Nick Cook, BMS Group CEO, and join BMS’s executive committee.
Trauttmansdorff brings vast global experience to BMS, in particular in the US, having served as chief human resources officer of a US publicly listed global wealth and alternatives manager, as well as holding senior and global HR positions at Goldman Sachs and Rothschild & Co. In her role she will be focused on supporting the Group’s M&A ambitions by ensuring that BMS has robust onboarding, integration and talent management processes as it brings new colleagues into the business. Additionally, Trauttmansdorff will lead the attraction of new talent and its development, enhancing wellbeing and reward strategies, and will focus heavily on DE&I. BMS’s focus on culture and belonging fostering diversity of thought and providing high quality employee experiences and advancement will be a key feature of her work.
CIGNA HEALTHCARE
Cigna Healthcare, International Health has appointed Neil Kirby as Chief Executive Officer of its Global Individual Health (GIH) business. Reporting directly to Jason Sadler, President, International Health, Neil will spearhead the global expansion of this critical business segment.
Neil joins Cigna Healthcare with extensive expertise in global health insurance, having previously held the role of Global Marketing and Sales Director for Bupa Global, with direct responsibility for the global consumer segment and portfolio growth. He has over 25 years’ experience in sales and marketing and has led the global product portfolios across international telecommunications and insurance organisations.
OPTIO GROUP
Optio Group, a leading specialty MGA, is pleased to announce the appointment of Deepak Soni as chief executive officer.
Soni joins Optio Group from AXA, where he served as commercial director of AXA Insurance Co. for the past nine years, playing a pivotal role in executing AXA’s UK commercial strategy and growing the business. Throughout his tenure at AXA, Soni held multiple senior positions, overseeing its SME, direct-to-consumer, delegated authority, and specialty lines businesses. Prior to joining AXA in 2015, he spent nine years at Hiscox in various senior roles, including head of Hiscox Direct Commercial, following an early career as a broker at Aon for three years.
XPT GROUP
XPT Group announced the appointment of Dana Bjornson as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Bjornson comes on board at a pivotal time with a focus on continuing XPT’s momentum, leading the business’ financial strategy and driving sustainable growth.
Bjornson began his career at KPMG as an auditor, and he has since held various leadership roles in the insurance (both life and P&C), mortgage, and investment banking sectors. His extensive background includes 28 years of experience at the CFO level, with 22 of those years at George K. Baum & Company, a privately held investment banking firm specializing in public finance. He most recently served as CFO at Mylo, a privately held digital insurance agency.
Commenting on his new appointment, Dana Bjornson said, “XPT Group is led by industry veterans, and filled with talent across all industries they serve. I look forward to leveraging my 40+ years of experience in finance to contribute to the company’s continued success, seize opportunities and achieve our ambitious goals.”
INSURX
InsurX, the independent digital risk exchange, has added four new staff members in recent weeks. They will take up expanded space on Lloyd’s fourth floor, within the Lloyd’s Lab, where InsurX personnel operate alongside other leading InsurTech innovators.
• David Dickson joins as Divisional Director. David has 12 years’ broking and Lloyd’s experience, most recently at the successful insurTech Superscript, where he was a Director and Head of Broking.
• Nick Ierodiaconou joins as Head of Product. With a background in architecture and 10 years in digital product, Nick was previously a leader at startups including Opendesk and the insurTech unicorn Zego.
• Callum Linington joins as Principal Engineer. Callum has extensive experience spanning fintech, startups and large enterprises, and excels at driving innovation across diverse technology stacks and cloud platforms.
• Kit Shirley joins as a Commercial Associate. Kit spent three years supporting Paul Brand and Theo Butt in the CEO Office at Convex Insurance.
SOMPO
Sompo, a leading global provider of commercial and consumer property and casualty (re)insurance, today announced the appointment of Allan Murley as Head of Distribution, Insurance for the United Kingdom (UK).
In his new role Mr Murley will be responsible for overseeing the coordination, development and delivery of Sompo’s UK distribution activities across the London Market and regionally. He will be based in London and the appointment is effective in Q4.
LOGPOINT
Logpoint is announcing that Gitte Hemmingsen has joined the company as SVP People & Culture. Hemmingsen will be responsible for overseeing and supporting an engaged and competent workforce and attracting key cybersecurity talent as Logpoint grows. She will join the executive management team and report to the company’s newly appointed CEO, Mikkel Drucker.
HAMPDEN GROUP
Hampden Group, a leading provider of specialist insurance, investment and financial support services, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lord Strathclyde as chair of the group’s ultimate holding company Hampden Holdings.
Strathclyde will take on the role from Hampden founder Tim Oliver. Oliver will remain on the board as founder and life president, having grown and overseen the development of the group over the past 50 years.
The appointment of Strathclyde demonstrates the group’s planned board succession with a long-term outlook to the group’s oversight and success. Strathclyde has extensive experience of working with family-owned businesses and is also chairman of Hampden subsidiary, Hampden Agencies, the largest provider of members’ agency services in the Lloyd’s market. He is therefore well placed to offer his support and guidance to the Hampden Group board.
LUMERA
The Board of the insurtech company Lumera has appointed Jonas Alfredson CEO. He is currently Lumera’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and has been acting CEO since February 2024. He will assume the position on July 1.
Jonas Alfredson joined Lumera in early 2023, bringing CFO experience from privately held and listed tech enterprises, including Outpost24 and Episerver. Jonas will work closely with Magnus Gammelgård, Chief Operating Officer and deputy CEO, to implement Lumera’s strategy with the vision to become the leading SaaS provider for the European Life and Pensions industry. Magnus joined Lumera in 2018, became part of the executive team in 2019, and has been central in driving Lumera’s expansion during this period.
KEOGHS
Keoghs has appointed Matthias Kuznik as a partner in London as the firm continues to grow its London Market offering.
Matthias has nearly 15 years’ experience as an insurance lawyer in the City of London. He has wide expertise in coverage and defence work, specialising in Financial Institutions (FI), Director and Officers (D&O), and Warranty & Indemnity (W&I) insurance as well as cyber and professional indemnity insurance. Matthias has frequently worked on international cases involving multiple jurisdictions and parties around the world and his experience includes advice following notification and, where necessary, dispute resolution in both English and German speaking territories.
BARNETT WADDINGHAM
Barnett Waddingham (BW), a leading independent professional services consultancy, has strengthened its Insurance & Longevity Consulting (ILC) and Investment Consulting (IC) teams. The senior appointments have been made to reflect recent success in winning new clients.
The family office advisory service will provide a new way for families to think about their strategies, helping clarify their objectives, and to then implement cost-efficient ways to invest the assets.
Simon Clark (ABOVE) was recently appointed as Head of Family Office. Simon’s role includes developing the services to support family wealth. Simon has worked with families globally, assisting them with their investment requirements from conventional asset management, through to project finance and corporate finance.
Meanwhile, Matthew Gold (BELOW) has been named as Head of Charity & Endowment Investment, leading the firm’s strategic thinking on investment consulting proposition to charities, endowments, and foundations.
MARSH MCLENNAN
Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people, today announced the appointment of Sarah Triggs as Marsh McLennan UK Healthcare Industry Leader. Based in London, Ms. Triggs is expected to join the business in Q3 2024 and will report to Charles Beresford-Davies, Marsh McLennan UK Industries Leader.
In this newly created role, Ms. Triggs will lead a new collaborative effort to deliver the extensive resources and comprehensive solutions from Marsh McLennan’s businesses – including Marsh and Mercer – for clients across both the public and private healthcare sectors.
ASCOT GROUP
Ascot Group Limited, the Bermuda based global specialty insurance company (“Ascot Group”), has announced that Michael Sevi has joined the firm as Ascot Group General Counsel, reporting to Group Chief Executive Officer and President Jonathan Zaffino. Additionally, Ascot Group is pleased to announce that John Gill has been promoted to the position of U.S. General Counsel, with immediate effect.
Michael Sevi joins Ascot with an impressive legal background spanning private practice, government service, and the re/insurance industry. In his previous role as the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Guy Carpenter, Marsh McLennan’s industry-leading reinsurance brokerage, Sevi led a multi-disciplined legal and compliance team across six countries, managing complex cross-border litigation, M&A activities, and a myriad of corporate governance activities, while also serving as a member of the Guy Carpenter Executive Committee.
John Gill has been promoted to U.S. General Counsel. Gill joined Ascot in 2021 and has demonstrated exceptional expertise in legal, business, and compliance during his tenure, including most recently as U.S. Associate General Counsel, SVP, Regulatory & Compliance. Gill has extensive experience working as legal, regulatory, and compliance counsel for large commercial insurance companies including Aspen, Berkley, and Beazley.
QBE
International insurer QBE has appointed Simon Højmark as Europe product manager for Cyber and Dr Patrick Seul as Europe product manager for Management Liability and Financial Institutions.
Part of QBE’s strategy to foster cross-national expertise, the two promotions effective 1 July will see them report to Naintara Agarwal, director of Underwriting and Portfolio Management for Europe.
Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, Simon Højmark started with QBE 13 years ago as finance controller before becoming assistant underwriter and then underwriter for Casualty and Financial Lines. In 2015, he launched QBE’s cyber offering in the Nordic region and in 2020, he took up the position of Financial Lines portfolio manager for the Nordic region. In addition to this, Simon has served as cyber subject matter expert for Continental Europe and latterly as European technical manager for Cyber.
Dr Patrick Seul has a 14-year career in insurance, most recently as portfolio manager Financial & Specialty Markets for Germany and Austria at QBE. His first role was as a D&O (Directors’ and Officers’ liability) underwriter with Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) in Munich, Germany.
Staying in the Bavarian capital, he moved to Aon, as a D&O broker and eventually advanced to broking manager for South Germany. He then joined AIG, overseeing D&O Commercial/Crime for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In 2019, Patrick brought his expertise to QBE, where he recently worked as Financial Lines portfolio manager and served as European technical manager for D&O and Financial Institutions.
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