AXA XL appoints Andrew Diesel to casualty risk consultancy role
AXA XL Insurance announced the appointment of Andrew Diesel as Casualty Risk Consultant – Fleet in the Americas. Based in Dallas, TX, Andrew will provide technical support to AXA XL’s underwriters and clients primarily in the U.S. and Canada. Andrew will be responsible for executing value-added engagements with clients, including in partnership with our growing ecosystem tech partners, as well as working with our underwriters to better support these clients.
Commenting on the appointment, Jonathan Salter, Global Head of Risk Consulting, said: “As we continue to expand our Risk Consulting capabilities, it is incredibly important we invest in the areas that impact our clients. The challenges facing fleets of all sizes in the Americas over the last several years are well known in the industry, and as a prior fleet manager, Andrew is intimately aware of the unique risks in this space. This technical insight, coupled with his experience in client consulting services with major insurance brokers, makes Andrew an ideal partner for clients and underwriters alike.”
Richard Burggraf, Head of Portfolio Strategy, Data & Analytics, and Technology for U.S. Risk Management at AXA XL said: “Clients are proactively seeking innovative solutions to meet the challenges of their evolving operational and risk landscape. Andrew’s experience in developing risk control offerings as both a fleet specialist and broker will complement our expanding suite of risk consulting services for our clients.”
Andrew has nearly 10 years’ experience in fleet management and consulting. He previously served as a Senior Risk Control Consultant at Gallagher, where he had responsibility for implementing the National Risk Control Strategy and led the National Fleet and Transportation working group.
Appointment of Kerry Ching as Chief Executive Officer of Amundi in Hong Kong
Amundi, the leading European asset manager, announces the appointment of Kerry Ching as Chief Executive Officer of Amundi in Hong Kong.
Kerry CHING, Chief Executive Officer, Amundi Hong Kong
Kerry Ching has over two decades of experiences in financial industry across different markets in Asia, accumulating deep knowledge of the fund management market and business development. Her most recent role prior to joining Amundi was Managing Director at AMP Capital Asia Limited where she was responsible for business development.
Before this, Kerry held a number of leadership roles in various global asset managers from 1999 – 2012. She was Country Head at FIL Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited, Managing Director at UBS Global Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited and Chief Executive Officer at Invesco Hong Kong Limited.
Kerry received a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, an MBA from The University of Western Ontario and a Master of Engineering in e-Commerce from The University of Hong Kong. She is also a CFA and a CAIA charter holder, a CFP and a Canadian CPA.
Guy Carpenter appoints EMEA Head of Strategic Risk and Capital Life Solutions
Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, a leading global risk and reinsurance specialist and a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), announced the appointment of Luca Tres as Head of Strategic Risk and Capital Life Solutions, EMEA, effective June 1, 2021.
Mr. Tres will be responsible for driving continued growth in the development and delivery of non-traditional life solutions to clients throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa. Working closely with Guy Carpenter’s network of offices across the region, he will assist companies holistically in the evaluation and execution of transactions designed to best achieve their short and long-term capital, risk and financial objectives.
Based in Milan, Mr. Tres will report to Massimo Reina, CEO, Europe, Guy Carpenter. Mr. Tres is highly experienced in the development of structured insurance and financial solutions. Most recently he was a Partner at Securis Investment Partners, where he led the life origination and structuring area globally. Prior to this, he was Vice President – Structured Insurance & Bank Solutions Europe at Deutsche Bank.
Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Reina said: “The ability to develop capital and risk solutions that match companies with the most effective risk counterparties is key to helping our clients achieve their strategic goals. Luca is a leader in this highly specialized field and will build on the considerable success of our European team, further elevating the level of service and scope of transactions we offer to companies across the region.”
Pacific Life Re Announces the Appointment of Andrew Murphy as Head of Inforce Management, Europe
Pacific Life Re is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Murphy as its new Head of Inforce Management in the Europe Business Unit.
The newly created role, based in London, combines the Europe Corporate Actuarial and Operations teams under Andrew’s leadership.
Andrew has worked in the wider insurance industry for 17 years, joining Pacific Life Re in 2012, where he has worked across several areas of the business – Sales and Marketing, Pricing and most recently, Operations. Andrew takes up this role immediately and will work with Pacific Life Re senior leadership as the business unit transitions into its new structure.
Vincent Lepez, Managing Director, Europe, commented: “I am delighted that Andrew will be taking on this new role and look forward to working with him further to enhance the capabilities of our teams. I believe there should be stronger connectivity between the teams processing data from cedants and the teams using that inforce data for actuarial modelling, all trending towards one source of data and one common set of processes. Andrew is an invaluable member of the Pacific Life Re team and I am happy that we can build on his experience and expertise as we scale our business.”
Andrew Murphy, Head of Inforce Management, Pacific Life Re, added: “I am extremely proud to be taking on this new opportunity at Pacific Life Re. I believe that placing an even greater focus on data insights, technical analysis and our client relationships will be key to sustaining further growth and solidifying our position as a market leader.”
Ocean Safety appoint Southern Commercial Sales Manager
Ocean Safety have made a key new appointment at their Southampton office. The specialists in the worldwide supply, distribution, service and hire of marine safety equipment have appointed Matt Gruar as Southern Commercial Sales Manager.
Matt will support the company’s customers within the shipping, commercial fishing, superyacht, ferry and shipbuilding sectors in the busy south of England region. He will work closely with existing customers in the area while developing new business opportunities, providing Ocean Safety’s high level of customer support and consultancy to tailor bespoke safety specifications and fulfil personalised solutions. The vast product portfolio at Ocean Safety includes man-overboard recovery equipment, SOLAS and non-SOLAS liferafts and lifejackets, and lifesaving equipment for dockside areas.
Matt joins Ocean Safety from Bainbridge International where he was responsible for commercial and industrial customers. With over 13 years’ experience in the marine industry he brings a demonstrable track record in sales and account management.
Ocean Safety’s Sales Director Mark Acaster comments, “I am delighted to welcome Matt to Ocean Safety. He joins us at a pivotal time for the business as we come out of the difficult national lockdown. His enthusiasm and drive will be vital to our success this year and he will be a huge asset to our sales team.”
Brit to Appoint RSA’s Wilkinson as Group CFO
Brit Ltd. announced the appointment of Gavin Wilkinson as group chief financial officer. Wilkinson will start his new role in May 2021 and will also join the executive committee and board of Brit.
A proven and highly experienced finance leader, Wilkinson joins Brit from RSA where he is currently CFO, Scandinavia. During his 10 years at RSA, he has held a number of senior finance roles including CFO of RSA UK & International, CFO of RSA Ireland and group performance & capital director. Wilkinson started his career at Deloitte, where he qualified as an accountant, working within its financial services practice.
Wilkinson’s appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
Gavin Wilkinson
Ki’s CEO Mark Allan will step down from his role as Brit CFO once Wilkinson has started his role. (Ki is the first fully digital and algorithmically driven Lloyd’s of London syndicate, launched this year in collaboration with Brit Ltd. and Google Cloud.)
“Gavin was the stand-out candidate for the group CFO role, and we are delighted that he will be joining Brit. He brings a strong technical skillset, deep expertise in leading finance functions within non-life insurance and an impressive track-record of driving performance throughout his career,” said Matthew Wilson, group CEO.
“Critically, Gavin has demonstrated himself as a key strategic partner to boards and management teams. His energy and dynamism strongly resonated with the culture we have created at Brit and I look forward to working closely with Gavin in his new role.”
Appointment of Group Chief Transformation Officer (CTO)
“Eurobank Ergasias Services and Holdings S.A.” (Eurobank Holdings) and its subsidiary “Eurobank S.A.” (Bank or Eurobank) inform the investment community that, the Bank having successfully completed its economic transformation and the cleansing of its balance sheet, the cycle of its business transformation is opened, planning the Eurobank of the future. The transformation of the Bank will have a significant positive effect on both the indicators of customer experience and the indicators of dynamic change and adaptability of the Bank to the ever-changing conditions.
In this context, Mr. Andreas Athanasopoulos is appointed as Group Chief Transformation Officer (CTO) of the Bank, with the responsibility of coordinating the aforementioned strategic planning. The Retail Banking and Digital Banking General Divisions will also fall under the responsibility of Mr. Athanasopoulos.
Mr. Athanasopoulos is also expected to be appointed as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Executive Member of the Board of Directors (BoD) of the Bank as well as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Executive Member of Eurobank Holdings’ BoD, after the completion of the relevant approval procedure by the competent bodies for which the investment community will be informed with a subsequent announcement.
Mr. Athanasopoulos has extensive experience of more than 20 years in the banking and wider financial sector. From 2018 until today, he was Group Chief Customer Officer and CEO of financial services at DixonsCarphone, a position of high responsibility, at the Group’s headquarters in London. From 2013 to 2018, he was CEO of KOTSOVOLOS – DixonsCarphone Greece, where he implemented an extremely successful transformation of the company’s operation that brought it from losses of many millions to significant profitability, while achieving excellent results in customer satisfaction. From 2008 to 2013, he was the General Manager of Retail Banking at the National Bank of Greece, while from 2003 to 2008, he was Deputy General Manager at Eurobank, at the General Division of Small Business Banking, contributing to the expansion of the Bank’s operating model at Group level in Greece and abroad.
Mr. Athanasopoulos holds a degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of Patras, an MSc in Statistics and Operational Research from the University of Essex, a PhD in Industrial and Business Studies from the University of Warwick, and a Post-Doc in Decisions Sciences from the London Business School, while he has multiple awards from educational institutions and businesses.
Appointment of Nilufer von Bismarck OBE as a non-executive director of Legal & General Group Plc
The Board of Legal & General Group Plc (the “Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Nilufer von Bismarck OBE as an independent non-executive director of the Company with effect from 1 May 2021.
Nilufer is currently Head of the Financial Institutions Group and the Equity Capital Markets practice at Slaughter and May and has spent a large part of her 34-year career working with major international financial institutions. As well as a deep and extensive understanding of the financial services sector, Nilufer also has considerable experience across a range of other industries and sectors, including real estate, green infrastructure and fintech. Nilufer’s appointment will bring further expertise to the Board as the Company’s exposure to these industries and sectors increases.
The Company, as part of a continued focus on achieving best practice in governance, is also streamlining executive representation on the Board of the Company to ensure that there is always a substantial majority of independent non-executive directors. Accordingly, from today, only the Group Chief Executive and Group Chief Financial Officer will sit as executive directors on the Board of the Company. Kerrigan Procter, Chief Executive LGC, and Michelle Scrimgeour, Chief Executive LGIM, who were hitherto also executive directors of the Company, will otherwise continue in their executive roles.
There are no details or disclosures required under LR 9.6.13R of the Financial Conduct Authority’s Listing Rules.
“I am delighted to welcome Nilufer to the Group Board. Nilufer’s many years of experience in the financial services sector will supplement the skills and experience of the Board and I look forward to working with her.”
Sir John Kingman, Group Chairman
Yang Ming Announces Appointment of Patrick Tu as President & COO
Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation (Yang Ming) held its 352nd Board Meeting on November 12th, 2020 to approve the appointment of Patrick Tu, currently Chief Strategy Officer & Executive Vice President, as President & Chief Operation Officer of the company.
The newly appointed president, Patrick Tu joined Yang Ming in 1992. He held a variety of positions with successive responsibility within the Company. He has extensive experiences in the departments of commercial and strategy development, with broad expertise of business development and liner planning. Previously, Mr. Tu served as Managing Director of Yang Ming Line (Hong Kong) Ltd. and stationed in Shanghai and Ningbo, China for years, which has helped him build up the ability of exploring market opportunities on the frontline. With his vast industrial experiences, he was promoted to Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President earlier this year.
While the upward trend appears to continue in the global shipping industry for the second half of 2020, it is expected that with the complementary strengths of finance and shipping from Chairman Cheng and President Tu, Yang Ming will be able to build a stronger workforce and achieve higher business growth in the future.
Performance Shipping Inc. Announces Appointment Of New Chief Executive Officer And Chief Financial Officer
Performance Shipping Inc., a global shipping company specializing in the ownership of tankers, today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Andreas Michalopoulos to the position of Chief Executive Officer following the retirement of Mr. Symeon Palios from that position. The Board also has appointed Mr. Anthony Argyropoulos to the position of Chief Financial Officer of the Company, succeeding Mr. Michalopoulos in that capacity. Mr. Palios will remain Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Mr. Michalopoulos has served as the Company’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer since 2019 and as its Chief Financial Officer since the Company’s formation in 2010. Mr. Argyropoulos’ biography is set forth below.
Commenting on the appointments, Mr. Palios stated:
“Today’s announcement of changes to the Company’s senior management reflects the continuation of our process of establishing a fully independent tanker company. Over the past ten years, Mr. Michalopoulos has demonstrated his leadership capabilities as a member of senior management. Mr. Argyropoulos brings decades of experience in global shipping finance and capital markets that is well known within the industry. I have every confidence that together, Mr. Michalopoulos and Mr. Argyropoulos are uniquely qualified to work side by side with this Board to continue to grow Performance Shipping and create shareholder value.”
Mr. Michalopoulos further commented:
“On behalf of the entire Board I express our gratitude to Mr. Palios for his instrumental role in the formation of this Company and its leadership over the past ten years. Despite the challenging global economic conditions, the Company’s strong financial position today, marked by low net leverage and a strong balance sheet, is owed largely to Mr. Palios’s disciplined approach to growth over the past decade. I look forward to continuing to work with him as Chairman of the Board in the years to come.”
Anthony Argyropoulos is the founder of Oceanaut Capital MIKE (dba Seaborne Capital Advisors), an Athens Greece based financial advisory firm focused on the shipping and maritime industries. Prior to Seaborne Capital Advisors, Mr. Argyropoulos was a Partner at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. until September 2011, where he was responsible for the investment banking group’s activities in the maritime sector. Through early 2004, he was a Senior Vice President with Jefferies & Company, Inc. where he was instrumental in developing their maritime investment banking practice. Mr. Argyropoulos graduated from Deree College, Athens, with a B.A. in Economics and from Bentley College, Waltham, Mass. with an M.B.A. in Finance. He is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society of collegiate schools of business. He is a frequent speaker in global shipping events, contributor to several publications and recipient of a number of awards…