Global mobility management company Topia (formerly MOVE Guides and Polaris Global Mobility) in April 2018 announced it has hired Adam Sold as Senior Vice President of Field Operations. Sold will report directly to Topia founder and CEO Brynne Kennedy. He joins Topia from FinancialForce, where he led worldwide field operations and has over 25 years of experience in the field, having held senior positions in operations management, sales, customer

Sompo International in April 2018 won regulatory approval in Luxembourg for its E.U. subsidiary, SI Insurance – Europe. The legal entity was set up in January 2018. In the context of Brexit, Sompo intends to write commercial property/ casualty lines in the European Union from Luxembourg, as announced in a November 2017 post.

In the wake of Brexit, AIG in April 2018 announced it has established and received authorization for new insurance companies in the U.K. (American International Group UK Limited) and Luxembourg (AIG Europe S.A.). AIG Europe S.A. will have branches across the European Economic Area and Switzerland. The existing carrier, AIG Europe Limited, will transfer all of its existing insurance business to the new entities well ahead of the U.K.

Marsh in April 2018 appointed Sarah Robson as president and CEO of Marsh Canada, succeeding Chris Lay who is crossing the pond to lead Marsh in the U.K. and Ireland. Ms. Robson will be based in Toronto, Canada, and report to Martin South, president of Marsh U.S. and Canada. Currently a Managing Director at Marsh USA, her earlier positions include Managing Director, National Specialty Practice Leader at Marsh Canada;

The Conference Board’s economic indicators for the U.K., published in April 2018, indicate a possible downturn is ahead for the British economy. The Conference Board’s leading indicator, the Leading Economic Index (LEI), turned negative at -0,4% in February 2018 ; whereas the current indicator, the Coincident Economic Index, still is in positive territory at +0,2%. The U.K. is one of several large economies with a negative outlook as determined

European digital health insurance company Alan in April 2018 announced it has raised €23 million in Series A funding. Alan has two characteristics that sets it apart from most other insurtechs. First and foremost, it is a real, licensed insurance carrier that actually writes risks and mutualizes them. It is not acting as a broker or a services integrator or a business process outsourcer, like most insurtechs do. Second,

Marsh in April 2018 appointed Christos Adamantiadis as CEO of its new Middle East and Africa region, based in Dubai and reporting to Flavio Piccolomini, president of Marsh International. He was most recently CEO of Oman Insurance in Dubai, having previously worked for AIG as EMEA Lead for AIG’s global organizational realignment initiative; Managing Director, CEE (Central, Eastern Europe) and Turkey; Managing Director, Middle East & North Africa; General

Global broker Lockton in April 2018 named Said Taiym executive vice president-chief digital officer. He will focus on digital innovation and new technologies and report to Ron Lockton, president and CEO. Most recently, Taiym was the senior vice president and chief information officer for the AF Group, a leading worker’s compensation insurance organization. Before AF Group, he was with XL Group and Zurich North America. Taiym holds bachelor’s degrees

Marsh in April 2018 announced it has named Chris Lay CEO, U.K. and Ireland, succeeding Mark Weil, who is leaving Marsh, and reporting to Flavio Piccolomini, president of Marsh International. Lay will be based in London and is expected to take up his role this summer. He spent all of his career at Marsh where he held the positions of President & CEO of Marsh Canada; President, Global Captive

As global business travel continues to increase at a rapid pace, International SOS and Control Risks in April 2018 published insight into the importance of travel security support to the business traveler. In the past two years alone, demand for security advice has grown by almost 30%, and has had an 800% increase since 2008¹. On average, over 100 business travelers and international assignees a day have been supported

MOVE Guides and Polaris Global Mobility in April 2018 announced that they have come together under a new name and identity–Topia. Over the past six years, MOVE Guide’s Global Mobility Management (GMM) software suite has grown to include all parts of global mobility in a single solution. In the end, relocation comprised only one part of their offering and the name MOVE Guides no longer made sense to many

Global employee engagement levels, after slipping in 2016 for the first time since 2012, jumped back to an all-time high in 2017 according to a new report published in March 2018 by Aon. The analysis of more than five million (!) employees at more than 1,000 organizations around the world found that global employee engagement levels rebounded back to 65 percent in 2017, up from 63 percent in 2016.

Global insurance brokerage Hub International in April 2018 announced the acquisition of ES3 Advisory from Vancouver, British Columbia. Founded in 1999 by Darrell Ert, ES3 Advisory is an employee benefits and pension consulting firm. Faizal Mitha, Vice President of Employee Strategies, will join Hub TOS reporting to Dave Terry, President of Hub TOS. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

U.S. human capital data analytics company PredictiveHR (PHR), in March 2018 announced an alliance with TrenData, a developer of A.I.-driven people analytics software. This alliance includes a technology license agreement, an infusion of operating capital and a collaborative go-to-market strategy, and comes on the heels of a number of key client wins by PHR in 2017 extending into 2018. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, PredictiveHR provides Human Resources and C-Level

Cigna in March 2018 announced it will acquire pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts in a $67 billion cash and stock deal.  According to Cigna CEO David Cordani, the merger “will drive health care costs down while improving the quality of care.” The proposed merger would allow Cigna to lower its costs by in-sourcing pharmacy benefit management (PBM) services, and to absorb Express Scripts’ profits. How can Cigna lower its

Ascensus, a U.S. third-party administrator (TPA) of savings products, in March 2018 entered into an agreement to acquire Chard Snyder, which will serve as the anchor business for Ascensus’ newly formed Health division. Chard Snyder is a TPA that services consumer-directed health (CDH) plans including health savings accounts, health reimbursement arrangements, and flexible spending accounts. It also offers benefit continuation services like COBRA and FMLA leave administration along with

After a decade of almost continuous slowdown, global productivity is beginning to recover. Following an uptick in 2017, global labor productivity growth will continue improving through 2018, according to the March 2018 release of annual productivity growth rates for 123 countries by The Conference Board, the global business research organization. The 2018 Productivity Brief, based on data from The Conference Board’s Total Economy Database, projects global productivity to improve

The Financial Wellness Think Tank at Financial Finesse, a U.S. provider of workplace financial wellness programs, in March 2018 released research that studies the relationship between an employee’s financial well-being and how they manage key life events. The report looked at the concept of life planning: the idea that the events which take place in our lives have certain financial implications that can be planned for, and even sequenced

Denizen Financial in March 2018 unveiled its global, border-less account for expat banking which allows customers to receive money in one country and pay it out in another immediately. This avoids international transfer fees and eliminates currency exchange fees. Designed for mobile populations, the Denizen global banking platform makes managing finances across borders fast, easy and more affordable. Expats, immigrants, and frequent world travelers are often forced to maintain multiple

MOVE Guides, a worldwide workforce mobility management company, in March 2018 announced the hiring of Susan Repo as its Chief Financial Officer. Reporting to CEO and founder Brynne Kennedy, Repo will lead MOVE Guides’ global finance, legal, business and sales operations. With Repo’s appointment to CFO, MOVE Guides achieves gender parity across its executive team and continues its commitment to promoting diversity in leadership. Repo comes to MOVE Guides

U.S.-based think tank The Conference Board in March 2018 released its global business cycle indicators for February 2018. The Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the Euro Area increased 0.6 percent in February 2018 to 112.3 (2016=100). The Coincident Economic Index (CEI) for the Euro Area increased 0.1 percent in February 2018 to 102.9 (2016=100). The composite economic indexes are the key elements in an analytic system designed to signal

U.S. health insurance start-up Oscar Health in March 2018 raised $165 million in a funding round led by Founders Fund to finance its expansion plans in four to five cities a year. This funding round was led by Brian Singerman and Founders Fund and includes 8VC, Verily Life Sciences, Fidelity, General Catalyst, Capital G, Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, and others. Oscar Health claims it has generated an underwriting profit

LifeScore Labs, a wholly owned subsidiary of U.S. insurance carrier Mass Mutual, and global reinsurer Swiss Re, have announced a collaboration to support LifeScore360, LifeScore Labs’ standards-based algorithmic risk scoring solution. LifeScore360 will be offered as an additional analytics option for Swiss Re’s automated underwriting system (Magnum). In addition, Swiss Re will more generally support the use of LifeScore360 in life reinsurance transactions in the U.S. LifeScore Labs was

Swiss Re in March 2018 appointed Claudia Cordioli as managing director of the group’s reinsurance business in Western and Southern Europe, reporting to Jean-Jacques Henchoz, CEO reinsurance EMEA and a member of Swiss Re’s group executive committee. Swiss Re consolidates its France, Benelux and Switzerland operations with its Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Mediterranean unit, which has been led by Cordioli. Prior to that role, she was CFO reinsurance EMEA

Employers around the world report optimistic hiring outlooks in Q2 2018, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey. Employers in 43 of 44 countries say they plan to add staff, with hiring confidence strongest in Croatia, Taiwan, Japan, Hungary and the U.S., followed by 17 countries including Canada, France, Germany and the UK. Employers in Italy, Switzerland and the Czech Republic report the weakest hiring prospects. “We are

Tax partner Michael Bussa has been named the national leader, U.S., for the Global Reward Services (GRS) practice of audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG. Bussa has more than 30 years’ experience advising organizations on the structuring, implementation, and tax and regulatory compliance of their global reward programs to his new position. According to him, “Globalization, technological advances, regulatory changes, the future of retirement, the shifting landscape of health

In March 2018, Dag Zwikker joined ASN, Advisory Services Network in Zurich, Switzerland, as Sales Area Manager and Business Development Advisor. Founded in 1995, ASN is a boutique consultant and licensed broker in Switzerland and Europe specialized in cross-border benefits advice to organizations that employ an internationally mobile workforce, to individual globetrotters and digital nomads. Dag’s broad experience in international employee benefits – in particular in group risk and