Zurich appoints Penny Seach as Group Chief Underwriting Officer
Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) has appointed Penny Seach, currently Chief Underwriting Officer EMEA, to the role of Group Chief Underwriting Officer, effective January 1, 2023. Ms. Seach will report to Sierra Signorelli, CEO Commercial Insurance. Hayley Robinson, who has held this role since June 2021, has decided to step down at the end of the year for family health reasons.
“Penny is a very experienced and capable successor for this important role, which is also a testament to our strong internal talent pool,” said Ms. Signorelli. “She has successfully led the EMEA underwriting business, strengthened the team and further advanced alignment with the Group’s strategy and governance. I am very confident that Penny will continue to successfully drive underwriting performance and ensure consistency across markets.”
Ms. Seach has more than 25 years of insurance experience with various multinational insurance companies. She joined Zurich in 2017 and has a strong track record of leading large diverse teams across geographies and disciplines.
Ms. Robinson will continue in her role through the end of the year, working alongside Ms. Seach to ensure a seamless transition.
“I would like to thank Hayley for her immense contribution to Zurich and the underwriting businesses since she joined the Group in 2018,” Ms. Signorelli added. “She has been a tremendous asset to the Commercial Insurance team and a highly valued and respected colleague. I was saddened to hear of Hayley’s personal circumstances and her decision to step down from her role. I wish her and her family the very best for the future.”
Zurich appoints Hayley Robinson as Group Chief Underwriting Officer
Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) has appointed Hayley Robinson, currently UK Chief Underwriting Officer, to the role of Group Chief Underwriting Officer. Ms. Robinson will report to Sierra Signorelli, who was recently named Chief Executive Officer for Commercial Insurance.
“Hayley brings tremendous vision, experience and leadership to this key role,” said Ms. Signorelli. “As Chief Underwriting Officer for the UK, Hayley has successfully advanced the UK underwriting function while building a strong team around her. With her industry knowledge, passion and commitment, Hayley was the ideal candidate to lead Group Underwriting and drive our underwriting strategy, objectives and performance to position Zurich for long-term success. Hayley’s promotion highlights the skill and capability of our internal talent and underlines Zurich’s commitment to talent development and leadership growth across the Group.”
As Group Chief Underwriting Officer, Ms. Robinson will oversee the underwriting function across the Group and ensure underwriters are well-positioned to make appropriate risk selection decisions. Ms. Robinson will assume the new role on June 1, and will be based in Zurich, Switzerland.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for me to progress my journey with Zurich and help to drive forward the global underwriting strategy,” said Ms. Robinson. “Having spent most of my career in underwriting, it is a huge privilege to be able to play a role in shaping the underwriting community of the future.”
Before joining Zurich in 2018, Ms. Robinson held various management roles in underwriting at RSA and Aviva. In a career spanning more than three decades, Ms. Robinson has acquired a wealth of experience of insurance markets across the globe, including a focus on the UK, Europe, emerging markets and the United states. Fluent in Spanish, Ms. Robinson holds a bachelor’s degree from Southampton University.
Swiss Re appoints Thierry Léger as Group Chief Underwriting Officer, announces changes to Life Capital Business Unit
Swiss Re announced the appointment of Thierry Léger as the Group Chief Underwriting Officer, effective 1 September 2020. He succeeds Edi Schmid, who has decided to step down from the Group Executive Committee for personal reasons and take on an advisory role.
Swiss Re’s Chairman Walter B. Kielholz said: “On behalf of the Board of Directors I would like to thank Edi Schmid for his dedication and an enormous contribution to Swiss Re over nearly three decades. We are grateful that he will continue to share his expertise and knowledge with the Group in an advisory capacity. We are also pleased that Thierry Léger has accepted this new challenge after achieving many milestones during his time at the Life Capital Business Unit. His expertise in underwriting, technology, data and innovative solutions will be a big asset in furthering the development of Swiss Re’s leading position in underwriting.“
Edi Schmid has been the Group Chief Underwriting Officer and member of the Group Executive Committee since July 2017. He joined Swiss Re in 1991 and has since held a number of important roles, such as Head Property & Specialty Reinsurance, Head Property & Casualty Risk and Actuarial Management, and Chief Risk Officer Corporate Solutions.
Thierry Léger has been leading the Life Capital Business Unit, which combines Swiss Re’s ReAssure, elipsLife and iptiQ businesses, since its creation in January 2016. He joined Swiss Re as an engineering underwriter in P&C in 1997, before moving to Swiss Re New Markets in 2001, providing non-traditional solutions to insurance clients. Between 2003 and 2005 he was a member of the executive team in France. From 2006, Thierry Léger assumed increasing responsibility for Swiss Re’s largest clients, developing risk and capital solutions, and ultimately becoming the Head of the Globals Division in 2010 and a member of the then existing Group Management Board. In 2013, he assumed the role of the Head of Life & Health Products Reinsurance.
Following the completion of the sale of ReAssure to Phoenix Group Holdings plc, which is expected for the third quarter of 2020, the Life Capital Business Unit will be disbanded. This process is expected to be concluded by the end of December 2020. Effective 1 September 2020, the CEO Life Capital will no longer be a member of the Group Executive Committee.
Subject to applicable regulatory approvals, elipsLife, which provides life and health insurance solutions and services for corporate clients, will move to Corporate Solutions at the end of September 2020, allowing it to better leverage this Business Unit’s relationships with corporates and brokers. Swiss Re’s white-labelling digital insurance platform iptiQ will become a standalone division reporting to the Group CEO, effective 1 January 2021, enabling a greater focus on this business. Swiss Re continues to assess the further streamlining of the legal entity structure of the Group.
Swiss Re’s Group Chief Executive Officer Christian Mumenthaler said: “The changes announced today will position Swiss Re well for the next chapter of the Group’s strategic development. Having grown dynamically over the past years, iptiQ is on track to becoming a leading player in its field. And being part of Corporate Solutions will open further growth opportunities for elipsLife. In underwriting, we will continue to evolve our capabilities through cutting-edge research, access to more and better data and advanced analytics.“