People Moves: Marsh Names Harris CEO, UK Retail; AXA XL Appoints Meier as Chief Client Officer

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Marsh McLennan and AXA XL.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

Marsh Appoints Harris as CEO, UK Retail

Marsh McLennan announced the appointments of Nick Harris as CEO, UK Retail, Marsh, and Ailsa King as chief commercial officer, Marsh McLennan UK.

Both will be based in London and report to Chris Lay, CEO, Marsh McLennan UK and CEO Marsh UK. Harris’s role is effective from Jan. 1, 2024, subject to regulatory approval. King’s appointment is effective immediately.

Harris will be responsible for Marsh’s UK Commercial, Corporate and Risk Management client segments and Advisory services, ensuring that UK clients have access to the wide range of services and solutions from across Marsh McLennan to meet their risk and insurance needs.

Harris will return to London from Australia, where he has been CEO of Marsh’s Pacific region – which includes its operations in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Papua New Guinea – for the last four years. Harris brings more than 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry, having worked in senior roles across the UK and Australia. Prior to his appointment as CEO of Marsh Pacific, he was CEO of JLT Australia and New Zealand.

In her new role, King will work closely with Lay to bring together the firm’s talent and expertise to enhance opportunities for collaboration that delivers greater client impact. King will lead a new commercial leadership structure to drive the firm’s collaborative approach that will deliver enhanced innovations for clients, Marsh explained.

King brings over 30 years’ experience in senior broking and risk advisory roles to the position and joined Marsh in 2017 as UK chief client officer, leading the development of solutions that support clients in mitigating their key risk management challenges. King has also served as CEO of Marsh’s UK Risk Management client segment, which is focused on serving the needs of Marsh’s largest and most complex clients.

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AXA XL Appoints Meier as Chief Client Officer

AXA XL has today announced that Manuel Meier has been appointed as chief client officer, AXA XL.

In this newly created role on the AXA XL leadership team, Meier will report to CEO Scott Gunter, and will represent the voice of AXA XL’s clients, further enhancing client experience and engagement. In doing so, he will work with strategic partners in the market and across AXA XL’s business units to foster long-term partnerships and leverage AXA XL’s technical expertise to create data-driven innovative solutions.

Meier will also have oversight of the Digital Commercial Platform (DCP) – a strategic initiative designed to enhance AXA’s value proposition, with a focus on protection and prevention services – while also working closely with AXA XL’s Risk Consulting solutions team.

Meier has over 20 years’ experience in the global insurance industry. Most recently, he served as chief transformation officer, AXA XL, and prior, as country manager for AXA XL in Switzerland. He began his career as a broker, later holding various leadership roles at Zurich Insurance across Europe and the US.

“Today, our clients look to us to provide more than traditional risk transfer – they are seeking a partner to provide the insights and services that will help them to navigate emerging and evolving risks,” commented Gunter.

“Through our established risk engineering expertise and the newly formed DCP, we can combine our risk and prevention knowledge with tech and data capabilities, keeping the client at the heart of our business by creating a truly global, collaborative offering,” he added. “Manuel has a wealth of industry experience gained from client-facing roles which makes him a great fit for this position. I am excited to see this new role develop and to hear client feedback.”

Topics AXA XL