People Moves: AGCS Promotes Major for Claims – London & Nordics; Conduit Re CRO’s Role Expands to Include Climate Initiatives; WTW Names Keville Head of FINEX GB FI

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS), Conduit Re, and Willis Towers Watson (WTW).

A summary of these announcements follows here.

AGCS Promotes Major to Regional Head of Claims, London and Nordics

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) announced the appointment of Tom Major as the new regional head of Claims for Regional Unit London and Nordics, effective June 1.

In this role, Major will lead AGCS’ claims services business across the UK, Ireland, and Nordics with responsibility for overseeing a high quality claims service across the region to continue to build on AGCS’ reputation as an industry leader in Claims.

He will report to Nadia Côté, who joined as managing director Regional Unit London and Nordics on May 3, with an additional reporting line to chief claims officer, Thomas Sepp.

Major remains based in the London office of AGCS, Allianz’s entity for large-scale corporate and specialty risks. He succeeds Lars Vissing who has left for an external opportunity outside the Allianz Group.

Since joining Allianz almost 10 years ago, he has worked in a variety of increasingly senior roles. Having joined as a business strategy analyst in the Energy and Marine teams, he then moved into underwriting as a junior underwriter in Construction. Then be became underwriter, and subsequently senior underwriter.

Major moved to Claims and his current role over two years ago. Prior to working in insurance, he was an officer in the British Army for six years and has a degree in civil engineering from Newcastle University.

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Conduit Re CRO’s Role Expands to Include Climate Initiatives

Conduit Re announced that the role of Andrew Smith, currently chief risk officer, has been expanded to lead the company’s climate-change-related initiatives. In this new role of chief risk and sustainability officer, Smith will be supporting executive chairman, Neil Eckert, and reporting to, and joining, the independently chaired ESG Committee.

Smith is a qualified accountant and an experienced risk management professional with a 25-year career in the insurance and reinsurance industry specializing in risk management and corporate governance.

Responsible for leading the risk function, Smith’s role includes maintaining the risk framework and providing appropriate second line of defence challenge to all of Conduit Re’s operations. Beyond the risk function, he is also responsible for the company’s initiatives, reporting and external engagement on the topic of climate and in this context serves as Conduit Re’s representative on various external and internal committees.

Prior to joining Conduit Re, Smith’s experience included serving as a chief risk officer in the sector, leading risk and capital engagements as a consultant with Big 4 accounting firms, and serving as an independent director for commercial and philanthropic organisations

“Climate change is an important issue for our industry and Conduit. Our approach to climate change is based on both taking positive steps to manage our own impact on the environment and engaging with wider stakeholders to promote positive change,” commented Eckert.

“Andrew is the right person to advance our climate related initiatives having championed environmental causes to support and actively engaged with industry groups on the topic.”

“This is an exciting opportunity to build on what we have achieved since Conduit Re’s launch. We are already highly climate aware in our decision making, are net carbon neutral and support transparency through participation in ClimateWise and the Sustainable Markets Initiative,” said Smith.

“We also support climate related activities and causes directly and through the Conduit Foundation,” he added.

“Action is necessary to limit the negative consequences of climate change and we at Conduit Re want to ensure we take the steps we can as a reinsurer, investor, employer, consumer of services, and as members of both the global business community and local community here in Bermuda.”

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WTW Names Keville as Head of FINEX GB Financial Institutions

WTW, the global advisory, broking, and solutions company, announced the appointment of Henry Keville as head of FINEX GB Financial Institutions, reporting to Marcus Porter Wright, head of FINEX GB.

In his new role, Keville is the head of the Financial Institutions division of FINEX in Great Britain. He is ultimately responsible for the delivery and servicing of financial lines programs for global banks, insurance companies, asset managers and other businesses within the wider financial services sector.

Prior to the above role, he spent three years as the lead relationship manager for asset management within the Financial Institutions division of FINEX having been instrumental in establishing the asset management businesses for other large insurance brokerage firms in London.

He also led the insurance market’s response to the introduction of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive in Europe and is an acknowledged expert within sector. Over the last 22 years, Keville’s core focus has been on the development of bespoke insurance solutions and program designs for a large number of financial institutions. Therefore, he brings a wealth of client service and placement experience to his current leadership role.

Topics Claims London Willis Towers Watson