Multinational pooling network MAXIS GBN, an AXA-MetLife joint venture, in May 2018 announced three appointments in its distribution department, all promotions of MAXIS team members. David Schupak to head Western Europe as well as the UK, Middle East & Africa David Schupak adds Western Europe to his current role leading the UK, Middle East & African region, reporting to Head of Distribution Andrew Stocker. In other words, his area of

Laurence Nicolet in May 2018 was promoted to Sales Manager at BNP Paribas Cardif Lux Vie in Luxembourg, in charge of developing the local market in Employee Benefits and in individual life. She previously was Business Development Manager, Employee Benefits at Cardif Luxembourg and had worked at Axa Assurance Vie Luxembourg and Swiss Life Luxembourg. Laurence is a graduate from HEC Liège (Belgium) business school.

Anbang Insurance’s founder and former chairman Wu Xiaohui in May 2018 was sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted of fraud in fundraising and of embezzlement by the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court. Anbang’s fast growth was driven by high-yield, investment-type insurance products with redemption options. Its asset management practices may have resulted in a duration mismatch between assets and liabilities. Wu in June 2017 was

Aon in May 2018 announced that Eric Andersen, CEO of Aon Benfield, and Michael O’Connor, CEO of Aon Risk Solutions, have been appointed Co-Presidents of the firm; they will continue to report to CEO Greg Case. Aon also announced it will create an integrated global Operating Committee, co-led by Andersen and O’Connor. More Changes Further changes at Aon include the introduction of a single P&L structure “to increase colleague

Willis Re in May 2018 appointed Franck Pinette as managing director of its Europe, Middle East and Africa life and health practice He joins WTW from Guy Carpenter (MMC) where he was the CEO of the European Life Business. Previously, Pinette worked for PartnerRe as MD of the Life Reinsurance Business Unit and began his career as Life reinsurance manager for Mutuelles du Mans Reassurance. He is a qualified

U.S. surgeon general Jerome Adams in April 2018 urged employers to help in fighting the opioid epidemic. He was speaking at a conference sponsored by the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), an association of large employers. Adams estimates that 2.1 million people in the U.S. are struggling with an opioid-use condition. While these drugs can be helpful for a short time, they pose serious addiction risks. Common opioids include

The Worldwide Broker Network (WBN) in April 2018 announced the election of three Board members, Susan Murphy from Canada, Matteo Scagliarini from Italy, and Markham McKnight from the U.S.A. Susan Murphy is President & CEO of Totten Insurance Group of Canada (a Hub International owned company), a national managing general agent focusing on niche and specialty products. She is a member of the WBN US and Canada Steering Committee.

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

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;

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

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

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

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

Global consulting and actuarial firm Milliman in March 2018 announced that Samie Moore is joining the company’s Health & Welfare group as a life, absence, and disability (LAD) consultant in the U.S. Moore, formerly of Mercer and Hewitt, is a nationally recognized expert in LAD with 14 years’ industry experience consulting to Fortune 500 companies, with deep subject matter expertise in Family Medical Leave (FML), vacation, Paid Time Off

Wendy Stachowiak, Vice President of Global Travel Partnerships at International SOS, in January 2018 was appointed Vice Chair of the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Risk Committee. As organizations recognize the impact that travel risks can have on business continuity and sustainability, as well as the effect on an individual, GBTA President Christle Johnson, commented: “We are pleased that Wendy has accepted the role of Vice Chair of the

It’s a globalized world, and corporations are increasingly multinational, with multiple locations and evermore mobile employees. As pension burdens increasingly weigh on public finances, retirement is not only the responsibility of the state, but also of employers. The time has come for a more global HR policy on pensions. Due to their diversity and complexity, pension schemes often have been set up locally, without neither a common bene­fits policy at the group level nor efficient monitoring and cost control by the parent company. This approach, while practical, is not without risks: counterparty risk in case of default by a service provider; reputational risk if the pensions paid out are insufficient; and above all, financial risk if the company must compensate for the inadequacies of local schemes. The transfer of Defined Benefits to Defined Contributions reduces the financial commit­ment burden on companies. Unmonitored DC plans in countries where regulations provide for guaranteed returns (such as the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany) can transform DC schemes into a new form of DB, as guaranteed rates often remain the responsibility of the sponsor company.

JoAnne Steed in January 2018 has been named senior account executive at Lockton’s South Florida operation, and will be responsible for day to day client strategy and service on health and welfare plans, benefits administration, benefits financing, and structuring employee benefits programs. An experienced employee benefits advisor with more than 15 years of experience guiding clients as an account manager and consultant, Steed has previously worked with Mercer, United

Broker and iPMI third-party administrator Henner Group in January 2018 announced that they have named Nicolas Savy as Executive Vice President of Finance and Data. Savy will coordinate and support the financial transformation of Henner Group. He will also be in charge of deploying a policy and data service and as such will be responsible for the actuarial department. A graduate of the NEOMA Business School, Nicolas began his

Broker and iPMI third-party administrator Henner Group in January 2018 announced that they have named Laure de Tilly as Executive Vice President of Domestic Operations and Digital. Ms. de Tilly will coordinate and support the transformation of the healthcare, life & disability, as well as insurance operations. She will also be responsible for the digital division and customer experience, whose development is vital for the transformation of operations and

The Worldwide Broker Network (WBN) in January 2018 announced the appointment of Antoinette “Toni” Gambonini as Global Property & Casualty Consultant.  Based in London, Gambonini will work with WBN member companies on six continents in the areas of cross-border training, new business opportunities, and strategic engagement with major insurance carriers. Gambonini had previously held a similar role for Europe within WBN prior to her promotion. Prior to joining WBN

Lockton in January 2018 named Matt DiGregorio as Senior Vice President of its South Florida operation, based in Miramar, Florida. DiGregorio, who is a graduate of Temple University’s Risk Management and Insurance program, will advise clients in private equity, real estate, and other industries on employee benefits programs. In addition, he will be responsible for new business development. DiGregorio has fifteen years of experience in consulting. Most recently, he

CNA Hardy, a commercial insurer operating within the Lloyds market, in January 2018 appointed Stuart Middleton as CEO of its subsidiary in Luxembourg. The company had announced in June of 2017 that it would set up a subsidiary group in Luxembourg ahead of Brexit. Middleton joined CNA Hardy in October 2017 as head of small business, coming from leadership roles such as Chief Underwriting Officer for Europe at Hiscox,

James Reid in January 2018 was appointed Executive Vice President, Global Employee Benefits at MetLife, reporting to Michel Khalaf, president U.S. business and EMEA and a member of Met’s executive committee. In an exclusive interview, James discusses his plans with Global Benefits Vision. GBV: Should we start with the highlights of your career, focusing on employee benefits and international, that is global employee benefits including global mobility? James Reid:

James Reid in January 2018 was appointed Executive Vice President, Global Employee Benefits at MetLife, reporting to Michel Khalaf, president U.S. business and EMEA. MetLife Global E.B. includes MetLife Worldwide Benefits and MAXIS GBN, a joint-venture with AXA; it provides group life and health, pensions and credit products on a worldwide basis. Reid in 2012 joined MetLife U.S.’s group benefits organization, most recently in Regional and Small Business Solutions.