People Moves: Willis Re’s Johns and Aon’s O’Donoghue to Carpenter; Garzon Succeeds Laidlaw at McLarens’ LatAm Business

Guy Carpenter & Co., the reinsurance business of Marsh McLennan, announced the appointments of James Johns as managing director, effective Aug. 12, 2021, and Joshua O’Donoghue as senior vice president, effective Nov. 8, 2021, within its Non-Marine Specialty division.

In his new role, Johns will operate as a leading broker and account executive specializing in providing property risk and catastrophe reinsurance solutions for a broad range of direct and facultative clients. Based in London, he will report to Stephen Firmin, managing director, Non-Marine Specialty, Guy Carpenter.

O’Donoghue will be a senior broker and account executive, focusing on property retrocession, as well as direct and facultative reinsurance placements. Based in London, he will report to Roland Morse, managing director, Non-Marine Specialty, Guy Carpenter.

Johns joins from Willis Re where he was an executive director specializing in London market property reinsurance. During his 30-year career, spanning both broking and underwriting, he was also global head of Property at both Talbot Syndicate and Marsh UK, where he worked for 22 years.

O’Donoghue joins from Aon where he was a non-marine retrocession broker and prior to this was a U.S. property reinsurance broker at Willis Re. He has considerable expertise in the production and placement of property-specific business having worked across a wide range of client companies in London and Bermuda.

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McLarens, the Atlanta-based insurance services provider, has appointed Leonardo (Leo) Garzon as its new managing director for Latin America, effective immediately. Garzon will take the lead on strategic growth, client services and business development in the region, overseeing a network of 16 offices and affiliates operating across North, Central and South America.

He succeeds Howard Laidlaw, who after 14 years with McLarens is retiring from the industry.

Operating from McLarens’ Miami, Fla. office, Garzon will serve clients throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America. A native of Colombia, he is a recognized leader within the region, holding 25 years of experience in forensic engineering, construction vulnerabilities, and pre-loss and post-loss consulting. His experience in the provision of risk and loss adjusting services includes advising on high value disputes within the energy, oil, transportation, commercial and residential property sectors.

Joining from J.S. Held, Garzon previously served in executive roles with Desimone Consulting Engineers, LIU, and Thornton Tomasetti. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from National University of Colombia and a master’s degree in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics from Columbia University in New York City.

After becoming a loss adjuster in 1974, Laidlaw, a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters, spent his career managing complex claim assignments. His experience extends to various lines of business, including management of CAT teams, and has spanned across 34 countries, with the last 14 years serving as managing director of McLarens Latin America. Howard will maintain a consultancy role with the firm on special projects.

Topics Aon Willis Towers Watson