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Source: Middle East Insurance Review | Sep 2015

Middle East & Africa: Zurich strengthens Global Life team
Zurich has strengthened its Global Life management team in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) with the appointment of Mr Walter Jopp as Head of Market Management MEA, with effect from 17 August 2015. 
   His appointment follows the transfer of Mr Paul Dawson, Head of Retail Distribution MEA, to the Zurich Life business in the UK. Mr Jopp will report to Mr Jawed Barna, CEO for Global Life MEA.
   Based in Dubai, Mr Jopp will be responsible for further enhancing the customer and distributor experience across Zurich’s retail distribution channels, including financial advisers, regional banks and strategic partnerships in the region. He will also identify new growth opportunities for the business, while providing greater support to brokers, banks and other distributors. 
   Mr Jopp brings extensive experience to the region, having worked at Zurich for 20 years across a range of distribution channels in the UK, the US, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Europe. He was previously Head of Market Management for Global Life Asia Pacific.
 
 
Eurasia & Africa: ACE creates regional roles
ACE Group has promoted Mr Stephen Crabb, formerly Political Risk and Energy Claims Manager for ACE European Group, to a newly created Regional Head of Claims role for Eurasia and Africa. The insurer has also appointed Mr Ghassan Wazen, formerly Regional Business Development Manager for ACE in MENA, to the new role of Head of North Africa.
   Mr Crabb will be responsible for managing ACE’s claims operations across all business lines in the Eurasia and Africa markets. 
   He will continue to be based in London, reporting to Mr Peter Murray, Claims Director for Europe, Eurasia and Africa with an additional reporting line to Mr Giles Ward, Regional President, Eurasia and Africa. The appointment is effective immediately. 
   Having previously worked as a claims manager at Beazley for three years, Mr Crabb joined ACE in January 2011 in his current role. Prior to this, he worked as a solicitor for 13 years, specialising in insurance law. 
   In his new role, Mr Wazen will oversee ACE’s North Africa operations. His appointment is effective immediately and he will report to Ms Mojgan Khoshabi, Regional Managing Director for ACE in MENA. 
   Mr Ihab ElAwady, Country President for Egypt and Mr Kamal Kaabi, General Manager for Tunisia will now report to Mr Wazen. 
   Mr Wazen’s career in insurance spans 30 years. He joined ACE in France in 1986 where he held various positions within underwriting, claims and finance before being appointed Head of Accident & Health and Personal Lines in 2003. He moved to the MENA region in 2007 as Country President for ACE in Egypt and Regional Manager for Accident and Health, before taking up his role as MENA Business Development Manager in 2013. 
 
 
EMEA: Peak Re extends reach to Middle East
Hong Kong-based Peak Reinsurance (Peak Re) has appointed Mrs Railovy Boyer as Director for Underwriting. Based in Hong Kong, she will work closely with Peak Re’s underwriting, markets and analytics teams to underwrite business from Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the Americas. 
   Mrs Boyer has 15 years of reinsurance experience with various leading reinsurers in continental Europe as Underwriter, Head of Actuarial, and Area/ Portfolio manager. She was previously Head of P&C Pricing Actuarial at PartnerRe in Paris, responsible for the actuarial team covering parts of Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to that, she was a Senior Motor Casualty Underwriter at Paris Re and a Senior Pricing Actuary at Scor.
 
 
Willis names Construction Industry Leader for CEEMEA Region
Willis Group Holdings has appointed Mr Charles Clarke as Regional Leader of Construction in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA) region.
   He joined Willis in 2011 and is currently leader of the international casualty team in London. Mr Clarke, who has over 14 years’ industry experience, is making a phased transition from his current role and will take over the CEEMEA leadership role full-time from early October.
   The new regional role includes and adds to the geographic responsibility of previous Middle East Construction leader Keith Chapman, who moves into a new role concentrating on large and complex projects and key client advocacy.
 
 
Munich Re makes appointments in GCC and Asia
Munich Re has appointed Mr Tobias Frenz as General Manager & Head of Business Development, Life Reinsurance business in Southeast Asia. Based in Singapore, Mr Frenz has almost 20 years of experience in the life insurance industry, and is responsible for developing the life reinsurance business. He continues to oversee Munich Re’s retakaful operation in Kuala Lumpur. 
   Before assuming his new role, Mr Frenz held the position of Managing Director, Life Reinsurance & Retakaful in Munich Re’s Dubai office, which serves the GCC countries. Mr José Nicolas has taken over as Managing Director, Life Reinsurance in the Dubai office.
 
 
Middle East: Ex-ADNIC CEO joins Kay’s board
Mr Walid Sidani, formerly the CEO of Abu Dhabi National Insurance Co (ADNIC), has joined the Board of Directors of Kay International Plc. He joined ADNIC in 2009 and was responsible for driving the company’s ambitious expansion and modernisation strategy. 
   Prior to ADNIC, Mr Sidani held several leadership roles with AIG in the US, Egypt and the UAE. Before joining AIG, he worked as a Risk Management Consultant with Crum & Forster Insurance (a specialty commercial insurance carrier in the US) for six years, specialising in the construction and energy sector. 
   Mr Sidani is currently a member of the International Insurance Society and of the Higher College of Technology’s Industry Advisory Council (UAE). 
 
 
Jordan: Arabia Insurance appoints GM
Mr Rashid Habbab has joined Arabia Insurance Company as its General Manager, effective July 2015. 
   Mr Habbab, a Jordanian national, brings vast experience and has been active in the insurance industry since 1983. Prior to joining Arabia Insurance, he was General Manager of Dubai-based United Insurance Company. He previously held several senior positions, including Founder & Managing Director, Millennium Insurance Brokers, Jordan; General Manager, National Insurance Company, Jordan; and Regional Manager – Bahrain, Trade Union Insurance Company.
 
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