Executive Changes
Scor SA’s Board of Directors Names Laurent Rousseau CEO; Denis Kessler Remains Chairman

Scor SA said its board of directors unanimously chose Laurent Rousseau to succeed Denis Kessler as chief executive officer following the board's June 30 general meeting, as Kessler stepped down for personal reasons.

Also at the meeting, the group was to separate the roles of chairman and CEO, one year earlier than planned. The board unanimously voted to keep Kessler as chairman, Scor added.

The board also was to propose that Rousseau be appointed as a director of the group. Kessler's appointment as nonexecutive chairman will help ensure the continuity of the group's strategy, Scor said.

Rousseau, most recently deputy CEO, Scor Global P&C, has held senior positions with Scor for 11 years and has 20 years of experience in the insurance and reinsurance business in London and Paris. He was one of three candidates selected by the board's compensation and nomination committee as part of the chairman and CEO succession planning conducted in 2019 and 2020, Scor said.

Scor said Benoît Ribadeau-Dumas had been appointed deputy CEO Jan. 1, 2021, with a view to becoming CEO following the 2022 general meeting, but the board concluded the conditions weren't right for Ribadeau-Dumas, who had not worked in the insurance or reinsurance sector before joining the group, to become CEO in 2021.

“I would like to thank Benoît Ribadeau-Dumas for all the effort he has made to integrate into the company and the sector,” said Kessler in a statement. “I have every confidence in Laurent Rousseau, a seasoned and recognized (re)insurance professional with whom I have worked for more than 11 years, to ensure Scor's success and to guarantee its long-term development, with the twofold target of profitability and solvency.”

—David Pilla

Assurant Names Successor to Retiring CEO

Assurant Inc. has named Keith Demmings to succeed Alan B. Colberg as president of Assurant, effective immediately, and as chief executive officer and director effective January 2022.

Colberg, who plans to retire at the end of 2021 after seven years as CEO, will work with Demmings to ensure a smooth transition.

Demmings currently leads Assurant's largest business segment, global lifestyle, which includes the company's global operations. Demmings will now have oversight for all of Assurant's housing and lifestyle businesses, which will report directly to him, according to a company statement.

Colberg led a global transformation agenda for Assurant, which included the divestiture of the company's health, employee benefits and prefunded funeral insurance businesses, in favor of focusing on and growing its connected consumer lifestyle businesses. His transformative strategy has delivered sustained double-digit profitable growth, the company said in a statement. In late 2017, Colberg led Assurant's $2.5 billion acquisition of the Warranty Group.

Demmings joined Assurant in Toronto in 1997. Over his 24 years with the company, he assumed increasing levels of responsibility across Assurant's global enterprise, including president, Assurant Canada, leadership of the company's international business and overseeing global lifestyle, which under his leadership has grown significantly to become Assurant's largest business segment, the company said.

MLMIC Names New CEO Schoppmann

MLMIC Insurance Co., a medical professional liability insurer in New York, has named Michael Schoppmann to succeed Edward J. Amsler as CEO and vice chair.

Amsler has been named chairman of the board and will work with Schoppmann on strategic planning. Timothy Krieg has been named to succeed Schoppmann as chief operating officer.

Schoppmann previously served as MLMIC's president and COO and has represented health care providers in New York and nationally. He has been instrumental in the transition of MLMIC from a mutual insurance company to a member of the Berkshire Hathaway family.

Before joining MLMIC in 2016, Schoppmann's legal career spanned 30 years. He was the managing principal partner in the law firm Kern, Augustine, Conroy & Schoppmann, where he spent more than 20 years providing counsel to physicians, dentists and other health care providers, according to the company.

Hippo Names Its First Chief Information Officer

Hippo, a homeowners insurance group, has named Klarissa Marenitch as its first chief information officer.

Marenitch will oversee the critical systems that support the productivity and efficiency of Hippo's fast-growing employee base, including information technology, corporate technology, information security, business and insurance systems, and employee productivity. She most recently was CIO at enterprise firm Anaplan.

Lukasz Strozek, Hippo's vice president of product engineering, will manage Hippo's B2C, B2B, and insurance development teams and work with the product organization to develop new products that support Hippo's customers and partner network.

Hippo also announced the promotions of Dalit Shahar to vice president, engineering operations, and Mike Gordon to vice president, platform engineering.

Tal Hornstein, Hippo's chief security information officer, will be responsible for driving information security strategy and operations and scaling Hippo's information security team, secure cloud infrastructure and development lifecycle, user education, compliance and risk governance, according to a company statement.

Ruben Kogel, Hippo's director of data and analytics, will oversee a center of excellence in data and analytics, and support scaling the company's data science efforts.

Oneglobal Broking Names CEO, Latin America

Oneglobal Broking has named Nicolau Daudt as chief executive officer, Latin America.

Daudt initially will have responsibility for all countries outside of Brazil and will report to Mike Reynolds, Oneglobal's Group CEO.

Daudt's appointment will accelerate the build-out of Oneglobal's (re)insurance capability in key Latin American markets, with a number of client specialists expected to join the team across the region in the coming months, the company said.

Most recently, Daudt was deputy CEO of Marsh Brazil, according to a company statement.

Berkley Re UK Names President and Eventual Successor to CEO

W.R. Berkley Corp. has named Clare Himmer to succeed Richard Fothergill as president of

Berkley Re U.K. Ltd., effective Sept. 1.

Fothergill will continue as Berkley Re U.K.'s chief executive officer with the expectation that, by the end of 2021, Himmer will be appointed CEO and Fothergill will become chairman, according to a company statement.

Himmer has almost 30 years of experience in the reinsurance industry with a focus on the London and international markets across multiple classes of business. She joins from Sirius Point/Third Point Re, where she was marketing director. Prior to that, she was head of international treaty reinsurance at Allied World Assurance.

Fothergill joined Berkley Re U.K. in 2011 to lead the development of the newly formed business. As CEO, he will continue to lead the organization through the transition. Upon assuming the chairman role, he will remain a resource for the Berkley Re U.K. team, as well as engage on special projects and initiatives throughout W.R. Berkley, according to a company statement.

American Equity Underwriters Names CEO

American Equity Underwriters Inc. has named Adele Hapworth to succeed Michael L. Lapeyrouse as chief executive officer.

Lapeyrouse has assumed the role of chairman for AEU. He served as president and CEO of AEU since its 1993 inception and was responsible for founding the American Longshore Mutual Association Ltd. in 1997. As chairman, he will continue to work closely with the AEU executive leadership team on key operational matters and strategic initiatives. He will remain president of ALMA and continue serving on ALMA's board of directors, according to a company statement.

Hapworth joined AEU in 2007 and has served in leadership roles including director of product development, executive vice president, and chief operating officer, according to the company.

In addition, H. Winchester Thurber IV joined the executive leadership team of AEU in the newly created role of chief commercial officer. Thurber joined AEU in 2012 to drive business development initiatives for AEU and brings decades of leadership experience in the maritime industry to this new role, the company said.

Amy Beard Becomes Latest Indiana Insurance Commissioner

Amy Beard, formerly the general counsel for the Indiana Department of Insurance, was named insurance commissioner by Gov. Eric Holcomb and began her new role last month.

In her eight years at the department, Beard has been responsible for review of multimillion-dollar transactions regarding insurance holding companies, ensured the state met all national accreditation standards and served on the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Commission Regulatory Counsel Committee, Holcomb's office said in a statement.

New Chief Executive Officer Named for Hiscox USA

Hiscox Ltd., a specialist global insurer, has named Kevin Kerridge to succeed Steve Langan as chief executive officer of Hiscox USA.

Langan, who ran Hiscox USA for three years, will return to the United Kingdom after working with Kerridge to ensure a smooth transition of the CEO role, according to a company statement.

Kerridge joined Hiscox in 1996 and created Hiscox's first direct online business in the United Kingdom, initially for home insurance and then for commercial clients, according to the company.

In 2009, Kerridge relocated from London to New York to oversee the launch and development of Hiscox's U.S. digital small-business operation, which now serves over 460,000 small-business customers.

Interim Minnesota Commerce Commissioner Gets Permanent Post

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has named Grace Arnold commissioner of the Department of Commerce, which regulates the insurance industry in the state.

Arnold had been serving as an interim commissioner since Sept. 11, 2020, and succeeds Steve Kelley.

Arnold previously served as deputy commissioner of insurance, overseeing solvency, policy form approval, rate review and review of insurance transactions for life insurance, health insurance and property/casualty insurance business conducted in Minnesota.

According to her biography on the department website, Arnold spent nearly a decade at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, where she helped lead the technology turnaround of healthcare.gov and led policy development during the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

CEO Successor Named for Guy Carpenter France

Guy Carpenter and Co. LLC has named Christophe Gaudron to succeed Phillippe Renault as chief executive officer of Guy Carpenter France. Guy Carpenter also named Michel den Boer as managing director, treaty broking, Guy Carpenter Benelux.

Gaudron, to take over on Jan. 1, 2022, will be responsible for overseeing broking activities across the French marketplace while capitalizing on the firm's global capabilities to provide clients with enhanced risk transfer solutions.

Renault will remain chairman, Guy Carpenter Europe. The announcement forms part of Guy Carpenter's long-term succession plan for the region, according to a company statement.

Gaudron has more than 20 years of reinsurance experience and an extensive knowledge of the French market. He joined Guy Carpenter in 2010 and was appointed deputy CEO of Guy Carpenter France in 2014. Previously, he held various managerial positions at Aon Benfield, the company said.

In his new role, den Boer will be responsible for reinforcing the company's market presence and amplifying its focus on providing risk transfer capabilities to its clients. His appointment as managing director forms part of Guy Carpenter's ongoing expansion strategy for the Benelux region. Based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, he will work primarily within the Dutch market, according to a company statement.

Den Boer has more than 30 years of experience and brings knowledge of the Dutch reinsurance market. He joins Guy Carpenter from Willis Re, where he was an executive director and treaty broker within the firm's Continental Europe division, focusing on the Netherlands, the company said.