Executive Changes
Sompo International Holdings Ltd. Names Successor to Retiring Executive Chairman John Charman

Sompo International Holdings Ltd. has named James Shea to succeed John Charman as executive chairman of the board of directors, Sompo International Holdings, and chief executive officer of overseas insurance and reinsurance business, Sompo Holdings Inc.

In addition, Shea will be appointed CEO of Sompo International Holdings. All appointments are subject to regulatory approvals.

Shea will transition to his new role on Sept. 1. Charman will retire in April 2022, at the end of his current contract, after eight years with the company and more than 50 years in the industry, according to a company statement.

Shea has more than 25 years of global insurance experience, most recently serving as the CEO of commercial insurance for Zurich Insurance Group as well as a member of the company's executive committee based in Zurich, Switzerland.

Earlier in his career Shea spent nearly 20 years at American International Group in a variety of underwriting and leadership roles in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Singapore, according to the company.

—Staff Report

Hippo Makes New C-Suite Appointments

Hippo, a homeowners insurance group, has named Rich Primerano as chief risk officer, Tim Bienek as chief insurance strategy officer, Mike Stienstra as chief actuary and Chris Donahue as chief underwriting officer.

Primerano will be responsible for overseeing the company's capital, reinsurance, and select portfolio management practices to enhance overall operational efficiency. He joins Hippo from Weston Insurance, where he was chief operating officer, chief financial officer and treasurer. Primerano has held financial leadership and operating roles at insurance and reinsurance companies including RenRe North America, Trenwick Re and Centauri Specialty Insurance. He is a certified public accountant who began his career at Deloitte &Touche, where he was senior manager, according to the company.

Bienek will lead the development and execution of major insurance growth and profitability initiatives. Before joining Hippo, he was chief executive officer of Tower Hill Insurance Group, Florida's third-largest homeowners insurance company. He previously worked as COO of Praetorian Financial Group, CFO of Affirmative Insurance Group, president of Hallmark Financial Group and COO of Benfield Blanch, according to a company statement.

Stienstra will lead continuous risk evaluation and pricing, leveraging Hippo's technology solutions to continuously optimize coverage for its customers. Before joining Hippo, he worked for Chubb as senior vice president, where he led the personal risk services actuarial team. Before that, Stienstra was vice president, actuarial at Ace Insurance and assistant vice president, actuarial at QBE North America, the company said.

Donahue will lead technical underwriting, insurance product and portfolio management, and underwriting analytics. He joins Hippo from American International Group, where he was global chief underwriting officer for personal lines and head of portfolio management, managing underwriting authorities, general underwriting practice and appetite as well as global catastrophe management. He has served as chief underwriting officer for Chubb Personal Risk Services and Ace Private Risk Services and has held positions at AM Best and Prudential, according to a company statement.

Euler Hermes Names CEO for Northern Europe Region

Euler Hermes has appointed Milo Bogaerts to succeed Fabrice Desnos as chief executive officer of the Northern Europe Region.

Desnos has been appointed a member of the group board of management in charge of credit intelligence, claims, collection and reinsurance. He succeeds Frédéric Bizière, who left to pursue new challenges within the Allianz Group, according to a company statement.

Desnos joined the company in 1996 and became CEO of the Northern Europe Region in 2016, the company said.

Bogaerts first joined Euler Hermes as an account manager from 1998 to 2007 and then became the director for Interpolis Credit Insurance. He joined Euler Hermes again in 2012 as CEO for the Netherlands, then as market management, commercial and distribution director for Northern Europe. He has been CEO for Euler Hermes U.K. &Ireland since 2017.

In addition, Holger Schäfer succeeded Anil Berry as CEO of Euler Hermes' World Agency.

Berry has been appointed a member of the group board of management in charge of market management, commercial and distribution, succeeding Michele Pignotti, who left the company to pursue new challenges within Solunion, a joint venture between Euler Hermes and Mapfre, according to a company statement.

Berry joined Euler Hermes in 1997, holding risk underwriting, account management and broker distribution positions in the United Kingdom. He became CEO of the Gulf countries business, then head of distribution in the Asia-Pacific region before taking on the role of CEO of the Euler Hermes multinationals business, the company said.

Schäfer has more than 36 years of experience in the Allianz Group. He joined Euler Hermes as the head of the Asia-Pacific region in 2016, according to the company.

Paul Flanagan succeeded Schäfer as CEO of the APAC region. Flanagan joined Euler Hermes 30 years ago, working at the time for trade indemnity, in the finance team. In 2010, Flanagan became regional risk director for Northern Europe, and in 2016, CEO for Poland, according to a company statement.

Assurant Appoints Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Assurant Inc. has named Alecia Bailey as global head of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Bailey is responsible for defining and executing Assurant's global DEI strategy and programs, the company said.

She joined Assurant in 2013 as a director of operations, driving quality and compliance initiatives within the company's global housing business. She was then promoted to an expanded role as vice president of Assurant's global housing operations. During her tenure, she has been an advocate for and promoter of talent. She led the design and implementation of the company's Upward Program, which provides unique management training to diverse talent within the business, according to a company statement.

Aviva Singlife Holdings Names Executive Director-Group Chief Executive Officer

Aviva Singlife Holdings PTE. Ltd has appointed Pearlyn Phau Yee Meng as executive director and group chief executive officer, effective Aug. 18.

Upon Phau's appointment, Nishit Majmudar, CEO of Aviva Singapore, will step down from his executive and board roles and become a senior adviser to the board. Walter de Oude, who had acted as group CEO before Phau's appointment, will continue his role on the board as deputy chairman, Aviva Singlife Holdings, according to the company.

Phau will take on additional roles as executive director and CEO of both of the group's two Singapore licensed insurers, Singlife and Aviva Singapore, subject to regulatory approval. The scheme of transfer, which will combine the two entities, has been approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It is now subject to the approval of Singapore courts and is expected to be completed later this year, the company said.

Phau, a veteran in the financial services industry, has held various senior leadership roles within DBS Group, both in Singapore and Hong Kong. She is currently the group head of consumer products, marketing and ecosystem partnerships with oversight across the product lines in the region and a mandate to scale growth exponentially via strategic partnerships, according to the company.

Westland Insurance Group Names Chief Financial Officer

Westland Insurance Group Ltd., an independent property/casualty insurance broker in Canada, has appointed Allan Copping to succeed Neal Stratton as chief financial officer.

Stratton left Westland to pursue other opportunities. As CFO, Copping will be responsible for accounting, treasury management, finance, planning and forecasting, tax, mergers and acquisition support, and financial and management reporting as Westland Insurance continues to grow its national network, the company said.

He has more than 30 years of experience as a CFO, chief operations officer and chief executive officer in public accounting, real estate investment, management, and development, as well as parking management services, according to a company statement.

Gallagher Re Appoints Successor to CEO

Global reinsurance broker Gallagher Re has named Tom Wakefield to succeed Simon Behagg as chief executive officer, subject to regulatory approval.

Behagg will transition to the new role of managing director of Gallagher Re.

In his new role, Wakefield will be responsible for leading the ongoing expansion of Gallagher's reinsurance operations and will work closely with Behagg and the wider senior management team to continue to drive the business's growth agenda. He will also join Gallagher's U.K. executive team, according to a company statement.

Wakefield joins Gallagher from 17 years at Aon, where he was chief operating officer for the global re marine, specialty and composite business. He led the broker's book of marine composite reinsurance business and was U.K. growth leader for reinsurance solutions.

Chubb Names Deputy Chief Financial Officer

Chubb Ltd. has appointed Mark Hammond, currently treasurer of Chubb Group, to the additional newly created role of deputy chief financial officer.

Hammond transitioned to his new role July 1, when, as previously announced, Peter Enns, executive vice president, finance, Chubb Group, succeeded Philip Bancroft as CFO upon his retirement. In his new role, Hammond will assist Enns on operational and strategic matters, according to a company statement.

Hammond has more than 30 years of experience in insurance and public accounting. He has served as treasurer since 2019. Previously, he was executive vice president and CFO for the company's Europe and Eurasia and Africa regions. From 2012 to 2016, when the company was named Ace, he was CFO, European group. Hammond joined the company's combined insurance business in Chicago in 2009, where he served as executive vice president and CFO.

Peak Re Appoints CEO for Switzerland Subsidiary

Peak Reinsurance Co. Ltd., a global reinsurer based in Hong Kong, has named Matteo Cussigh to succeed Jacques Burri as chief executive officer for Peak Reinsurance AG and head of marketing and production, Europe, Peak Re.

In his new role, Cussigh will be responsible for the continued growth of Peak Re's European portfolio and further strengthening the relationships with clients in Europe. While Burri has retired, along with Emmanuel Thommen, former senior vice president at Peak Re AG, both will continue to support Peak Re in an advisory capacity, according to a company statement.

Cussigh has 20 years of experience in the reinsurance industry, including extensive experience in both traditional reinsurance and alternative risk solutions. Before joining Peak Re AG in 2020, Cussigh spent 10 years at NewRe, most recently as head of origination and analytics, capital partners. Previously, Cussigh worked for Aon and Swiss Re, according to the company.

Scor Appoints CEO for Canada Operations

Scor has named Olivier Gay to succeed Paul Christoff as chief executive officer of Scor Canada Reinsurance Co.

Gay also will continue to serve as chief underwriting officer for Scor Canada. In this expanded role, Gay will oversee all facets of the Canadian operations, according to a company statement.

Gay joined Scor in 2010 and was most recently named chief underwriting officer for Scor Canada Reinsurance. He has served as deputy chief financial officer for the Scor Asia-Pacific region, based in Singapore, as well as head of capital management and financial analysis and chief accounting officer in the Paris office for Scor Global P&C, according to the company.

ABI Director General to Step Down

Huw Evans, director general of the Association of British Insurers, will step down at the end of 2021 and will join KPMG as a partner in its insurance and long-term savings practice in January 2022.

Evans has held his post since February 2015. The search for a new director general is expected to begin shortly, according to the ABI.