@Shutterstock. Weekly comings and goings and portfolio management news for the investment and finance community in insurance.

Comings and Goings

Hiscox

Jonathan Bloomer has been appointed as Chair designate, subject to regulatory approval, at Hiscox.

Bloomer joined the Board on 1 June, succeeding Robert Childs who will retire on 1 July.

Bloomer was a Partner at Arthur Andersen before joining Prudential plc in 1995 as Chief Financial Office (CFO), and then taking the role of CEO from 2000 to 2005. His final executive role was as an Operating Partner at Cerberus. He is currently serving as Chair of Morgan Stanley International, DWF Group plc, and SDL Group Holdings Limited.

Previous board roles include Chair of Arrow Global Group plc, a European investor and asset manager in non-performing and non-core assets, and Senior Independent Director at Hargreaves Lansdown plc.

SCOR

François de Varenne, Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SCOR from 26 January 2023 to 30 April 2023 and Executive Committee member in charge of Investments, Technology, Transformation and Group Corporate Finance, has been appointed Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Deputy CEO.

He will retain his previous responsibilities and will be taking on the financial management of the organisation with immediate effect, said the company.

Ian Kelly, previously CFO of SCOR, is leaving the group to pursue new professional opportunities.

He joined the Fédération Française des Sociétés d’Assurances (FFSA) in 1993 as Manager of Economic and Financial Affairs. From 1998 he held successive roles in London with Lehman Brothers as Insurance Strategist Vice-President for asset management solutions, and then as a structured transactions specialist in insurance and reinsurance companies at Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank. In 2003, he became Managing Partner of Gimar Finance & Co.

De Varenne joined SCOR in 2005 as Director of Corporate Finance and Asset Management. In 2007 he was named Group Chief Operating Officer (COO) and joined the Executive Committee. In 2008, de Varenne was appointed CEO of SCOR Global Investments. In 2021, he began oversight of Investments, Technology, Budget, Transformation and Group Corporate Finance.

Ariel Re

Ariel Re, a reinsurance business with offices in Bermuda, London, and Hong Kong, has appointed Katie Partington Howarth to the newly created role of Chief Capital Officer (CCO).

Based in Bermuda, Partington Howarth will report to CEO Ryan Mather, and will be responsible for Ariel Re’s capital strategy including sourcing external capital and managing investor relations.

Partington Howarth returns to Ariel Re having been originally one of the company’s earliest hires in 2005. She eventually held the Head of Underwriting Risk position when the business was acquired by Argo Group in 2017. Most recently, she was Chief Underwriting Officer at Axis Re.

She joined on 1 June and will continue the work of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mike Pedraja, whose team attracted new underwriting capital for 2023, including $270 million of investment previously announced in March.

AllianzGI

Giles Money will head a new dedicated Global Sustainability / SRI Equity team as part of its offering in Equities. The new team will be fully dedicated to Sustainable and Responsible Investments (SRI). 

Money will be joining AllianzGI as Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the capability this August. Money has 18 years of investment experience with a strong focus on sustainable investing. He joins from J. Safra Sarasin Asset Management and Sarasin & Partners, where he managed two flagship Global Equity and Global Thematic funds. 

Upon his appointment, Alex Bibani, who joined AllianzGI in 2022, will resume the investment partnership they had established elsewhere.

The Global Sustainability / SRI equity team are expected to collaborate with the Thematic Equity team led by Andreas Fruschki, which has established a suite of Sustainable Development Goals-related investments.

Prudential

Hong-Kong based Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Prudential Plc, James Turner, has resigned following what the company’s statement called a “recruitment situation” where his behaviour fell short of company requirements.

Turner’s departure from the company was announced by CEO Anil Wadhwani in an internal memo.

According to his LinkedIn, Turner joined Prudential in 2010 as Director of Group-wide Internal Audit and was appointed Director of Group Finance in September 2015.

In this role, he oversaw the delivery of the organisation's internal and external financial reporting. He also led the development of the Group’s Solvency II internal model and was responsible for capital and liquidity planning.

Turner joined the Board as an Executive Director and Group Chief Risk Officer (CRO) in March 2018. Prior to the demerger of M&G Plc, he led the negotiations with the Hong Kong Insurance Authority on the revised capital framework for the Group and in July 2019 assumed responsibility for Group Compliance.

He will be replaced by Ben Bulmer, CFO of Prudential’s insurance and asset management business.

Foresters Financial

Member-owned financial services company, Foresters Financial, has expanded its executive team with the appointment of Michael McQueen as Chief Investment Officer (CIO) in Australia.

McQueen has 15 years of experience in financial services, largely in Australian superannuation funds. Most recently, he held the role of CIO at Media Super, where he was involved in the merger with Cbus and overseeing the transfer of members’ retirement savings.

Prior to this, McQueen held positions including Head of Investment Strategy at LUCRF Super (now a part of AustralianSuper) and Acting CIO at Kinetic Super during its merger with Sunsuper (now known as Australian Retirement Trust).

Alongside his experience as an investment executive across superannuation, wealth management, and fund management, McQueen was an equities dealer and analyst working for several companies such as Goldman Sachs, ANZ Bank, and ANZ Trustees.

“The legacy of Foresters Financial as one of Australia’s oldest providers of investment bonds, coupled with its focus on empowering members and their families, was crucial in my decision to join the team,” said McQueen. “I am looking forward to playing a role in the future success of Foresters Financial, as the market and regulatory changes allow for the next stage of growth and expansion.”

Aviva

James Hillman has been appointed as Chief Risk Officer (CRO), subject to regulatory approval, at Aviva Plc. He will join the company later this year. Until then, Stephen Gould will continue as Interim CRO.

Hillman is currently Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Scottish Widows and Finance Director of Lloyds Banking Group’s Insurance, Pensions, and Investments Division.

Prior to his current role, James was Chief Actuary at Scottish Widows’ Life and General Insurance business from 2015 to 2019. Before that, he was at Ernst & Young LLP (EY) from 1999 to 2015, becoming a partner in the European Insurance Risk and Actuarial practice in 2005.

FWD Group

FWD Group has hired Sid Sankaran as Managing Director and Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective 1 September, subject to regulatory approval. Sankaran will join the company as Senior Advisor from 1 June.

Sankaran succeeds Jon Nielsen, who has announced will be pursuing a career opportunity in North America. Nielsen has committed to remaining with FWD Group until 31 August, which includes the half-year results period, to ensure a smooth transition.

Sankaran currently sits on the Board of Directors at health insurance company Oscar Health, where he acts as Interim CFO.

Previously, he was the Chairman and CEO of SiriusPoint from the company’s inception and listing in 2021 until May 2022, having worked as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Third Point Reinsurance Ltd. during its acquisition of Sirius Group.

Earlier in his career, Sankaran worked from 2010 until 2018 at AIG, first as Chief Risk Officer (CRO) and later as CFO. Sankaran was a member of the executive team that led AIG through its restructuring from government support and re-IPO as an independent company.

Prior to joining AIG, he was a Partner in the Finance and Risk practice of Oliver Wyman Financial Services, where he led the company’s Toronto office.

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