SunCorp Group, one of Australia’s largest financial services institutions, announced in October 2017 that they have named Gary Charles Dransfield as Chief Executive Officer, Insurance. Mr. Dransfield has been with Suncorp since August 2009, first as Executive General Manager for Personal Insurance Retail Distribution, and then as Chief Executive Officer Vero New Zealand in April 2011, Chief Executive Officer Personal Insurance in October 2015. He most recently filled the

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in October 2017 announced that it has appointed Neil B. J. Irwin as the new leader of the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEEMEA) region, reporting to Adam Garrard, WTW’s head of International. Irwin will also act as head of Corporate Risk and Broking for CEEMEA. The CEEMEA is a diverse and high-growth region with around 2,300 WTW employees in more than

The RIMS-Certified Risk Management Professional certification (RIMS-CRMP), is now the only certification program in the world to hold accredited status, RIMS announced in December 2017. RIMS-CRMP received official accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) under ISO/IEC 1702:2012. ANSI accreditation signifies that the Institute recognizes the competence of RIMS to carry out certification activities in accordance with requirements defined in International Standards and confirms approval by government and

Swiss Re in December 2017 announced the appointment of John Dacey, who is currently the group’s Chief Strategy Officer, to replace David Cole, who is stepping down as Chief Financial Officer, effective 1 April, 2018. Dacey, who holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Washington University and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University, joined Swiss Re in 2012, after serving as Group Regional CEO and

Cigna in December 2017 announced the appointment of Thien Brechon as Senior Sales Director France. She is responsible for leading the organization’s expanding health insurance services for globally mobile employees and works in partnership with Nicolas Redant, Sales Director for France, Belgium, Luxembourg and French-speaking Switzerland. Specifically, Brechon is tasked to develop Cigna’s presence in France. She will lead initiatives to provide personalized healthcare products and services for globally

Swiss Re in December 2017 announced their intent to merge the Group Chief Financial Officer and Group Chief Strategy Officer roles, bringing the total number of Group Executive Committee members to 12. The world’s second-largest reinsurer will also propose adding three new members to its Board of Directors when they hold their annual general meeting on April 20. Karen Gavan, Eileen Rominger, and Larry Zimpleman are expected to replace

Lockton in November 2017 added six new hires to its U.K. domestic and global employee benefits teams. Michael Gillan joins Lockton as Associate Benefits Consultant. Michael joins Lockton from Ombudsman Services where he worked as Investigation Officer. Prior to this, Michael spent four years as Group Risk Scheme Underwriter at Friends Life/Aviva. Michael joins the Manchester team to add additional risk expertise to Lockton’s growing portfolio of SME clients.

AXA Group is simplifying its operating model, empowering its entities to operate closer to their customers. In order to accomplish this, AXA will shift from its current, three-layer model of separate head office, global business lines, and regional headquarters, to a refocused corporate center that will oversee five geographies (France, Europe, the U.S., Asia, and International). Concurrently managed with the five geographies will be key transversal entities AXA Investment

KPMG International has undergone a few changes to its top-tier professionals, the first being the election of Bill Thomas to the position of Chairman, and the second being the appointment of Laura Hay to Head of Global Insurance. Thomas, 49, will lead the KPMG global network of professional services firms for a four-year term. He succeeds John Viehmeyer, who is retiring; he previously served as Chairman of KPMG’s Americas

Global broker, Marsh in October 2017 appointed Siegmund Fahrig as chief executive officer of its Continental Europe region, succeeding Flavio Piccolomini, who was recently appointed CEO of Marsh’s international division. Based in Düsseldorf, Germany, Fahrig will continue as CEO of Marsh Germany, reporting to Piccolomini. Fahrig previously served as CEO of Marsh’s operations in Germany, Central & Eastern Europe, and CIS. He began his career as an apprentice at

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in October 2017 named Gianmarco Tosti new country leader of Italy, based in Milan. He will also take up the role of Head of Corporate Risk and Broking for Italy. Guido de Spirt, the current Head of Italy, will take on the role of Chairman of Italy. Willis Towers Watson Italy has more than 450 employees in eight offices. At WTW, Tosti has held a

Sleep expert Dr. Els van der Helm in October 2017 launched her new website, shleepbetter: www.shleepbetter.com Shleep serves global clients (both businesses and leaders) and helps them improve their performance through better sleep management. Shleep’s mission is to help organizations and people sleep better. To reach this goal, they offer workshops, assessments, coaching, and a unique and scalable sleep coaching app to help you, your workforce and/or coworkers sleep better –

Willis Towers Watson (WTW) in October 2017 announced that Paul Devitt has joined its Global Services and Solutions consultancy team as a director, based in London, U.K. According to Mark Cook, a director with the WTW Global Services team and a frequent speaker on the global E.B. conferences circuit, E.B. captives consulting “is an area that is growing fast as more and more companies look to leverage their scale

International medical and travel insurance company, International Medical Group (IMG), in September 2017 announced the appointment of Steve Paraboschi as the company’s executive vice president. Paraboschi will be responsible for P&L across the company and support of IMG’s international insurance distribution and operations. IMG was founded in 1990 and offers a full line of international medical insurance products, as well as travel insurance plans, medical management services and 24/7

Dr. Klaus-Peter Röhler in September 2017 was named Chairman of the Management Board (CEO) at Allianz Deutschland, replacing Dr. Manfred Knof effective 1 January, 2018. Röhler, 52, has been CEO of Allianz Italia since 2015, a post he assumed after serving as CEO of Allianz Suisse for two years. Dr. Röhler holds a PhD, a degree in Law, and a diploma in Business Administration, and is a member of

PartnerRe in September 2017 announced the appointment of Jerome Matrundola to the new position of CEO, Life & Health, Asia Pacific. Matrundola will be responsible for growing and enhancing PartnerRe’s presence in the life and health reinsurance market in Asia Pacific, and will work with PartnerRe’s existing teams in Singapore and Zurich, leveraging PartnerRe’s Life and Health expertise and solutions to develop innovative, holistic reinsurance solutions specifically geared to

Marc Archambault in September 2017 joined PartnerRe as CEO of the Life & Health business unit with responsibility for growing PartnerRe’s business in those segments and expanding the company’s franchise in all markets. He will be based in PartnerRe’s Zurich, Switzerland, office, reporting to President & CEO Emmanuel Clarke, and replaces Marvin Pestcoe, who has been appointed Chief Risk & Actuarial Officer. Archambault has more than 25 years’ experience

Global insurance brokerage Hub International (HUB) in September 2017 announced that it named Marc Cohen, currently President of HUB, as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2018. He will also be a member of the Board of Directors. Cohen will continue to report to Martin P. Hughes, who will continue to serve as Executive Chairman. Cohen will be responsible for the financial strategy, including directing organic sales

Nicola Fordham in September 2017 was appointed as Director of Underwriting of the MAXIS Global Benefits Network (MAXIS GBN), the international employee benefits joint venture between MetLife and AXA. She joins from MetLife UK, where she was Chief Pricing Underwriter. In this role, she was in charge of technical relationship between MetLife UK and MAXIS GBN, and led a 25‑strong team of underwriters and built and delivered trainings for

Tine Thorsen in September 2017 joined Chubb as Director of Marketing and Communications for Europe, Eurasia and Africa, based in London. Previously, Tine had been the global head of market development for the corporate customer segment at Zurich Insurance in Zürich, Switzerland; head of marketing for global corporates in Europe at Zurich Financial Services in London; and several other leadership position in marketing at Zurich. In addition to her

Cyril Samson in July 2017 was appointed as Managing Director, Head of Sales of Allianz Global Benefits (AGB), reporting to AGB CEO Dirk Hellmuth. Based in Stuttgart, he is responsible for the operational management of AGB‘s sales & account management teams, servicing multinational clients in the risk as well as the pension field. Cyril joined Allianz Global Benefits in January 2004 as Managing Director. Since 2013, he has been

Jayesh Patel in July 2017 was appointed as Regional Director for the UK and Ireland of Allianz Global Benefits (AGB), reporting to AGB Head of Sales, Cyril Samson. Based in London, he is responsible for UK multinational clients and is the senior point of contact for AGB network partners in the region. Jayesh joined Allianz Global Benefits in the UK in 2009 and has performed a number of roles

American International Group in August 2017 appointed Peter Zaffino as Executive Vice President, Global Chief Operating Officer, reporting to CEO Brian Duperrault. Zaffino joins AIG after serving as Chief Executive Officer of Marsh, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) and as Chairman of the Risk and Insurance Services segment of MMC. He was also a member of MMC’s Executive Committee. Brian Duperreault, who joined AIG in May

American International Group in May 2017 announced the appointment of Brian Duperreault as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director. Duperreault previously served as Chairman and CEO of Hamilton Insurance Group, a Bermuda-based holding company, with property and casualty insurance and reinsurance operations in Bermuda, the U.S. and the UK. Prior to this, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Marsh & McLennan Companies. Before joining Marsh, he served for two years as non-executive Chairman of ACE,

Zurich in September 2017 announced the appointment of Peter Huber as Chief Executive Officer, Zurich International. He reports to Patrick Manley, CEO of Zurich Insurance and Chief Administrative Officer for the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region. Zurich International includes the international life businesses in the Isle of Man, Middle East and Zurich International Corporate Solutions (including Zurich Eurolife based in Luxembourg). Peter Huber had been working as

GeoBlue, the international health insurance provider of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, in August 2017 announced the appointment of Linda Cote to Vice President, Corporate Sales and Account Management. Linda Cote brings 13 years of international experience from Aetna International, where she held sales and leadership positions within the organization. Prior to her tenure at Aetna, Linda spent 14 years within the domestic health insurance market, where

GeoBlue, the international health insurance provider of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, in August 2017 announced the appointment of Jill Milliken to Vice President of Scholastic Sales. The Scholastic business unit for GeoBlue provides educational institutions the international healthcare and assistance services their schools need for both study outside of the U.S. and inbound programs. Jill Milliken comes to GeoBlue from Generali Global Assistance where she was Vice