Chubb bolsters Eurasia & Africa team with two appointments
Chubb has appointed Mr Gilbert Flepp as Head of Construction, Powergen and Cyber Risk for Africa, and Mr Joe Fernandez, formerly D&O and Financial Institutions Product Manager for legacy ACE in Continental Europe, to the new role of Financial Lines Product Manager for Eurasia and Africa, as it continues to build its insurance capabilities in the Eurasia & Africa region. Both appointment are effective immediately.
In his new role, Mr Flepp will be responsible for the performance and profitable growth of Chubb’s insurance portfolios in these developing areas of risk in Africa, and will also provide technical underwriting support and guidance to the teams in Russia and Turkey.
He will also continue to work with Chubb’s Continental Europe team, reflecting the diverse distribution channels and geographies through which African business is written by Chubb. Mr Flepp will continue to be based in Paris, reporting to Mr Giles Ward, Regional President for Chubb in Eurasia and Africa and to Mr Steve Reiss, Chief Operating Officer for Chubb in Continental Europe.
Mr Flepp has over 30 years of insurance industry experience and joined a Chubb predecessor company CIGNA in 1989. Before assuming his current position, he was Cyber Risks Manager (First Party) for Continental Europe, with responsibility for developing and managing cyber risk insurance products and services across the region.
In his new role, Mr Fernandez will be responsible for the development and implementation of financial lines underwriting strategies in Eurasia and Africa. He will also be responsible for employee financial lines products training. He will continue to be based in London, reporting to Mr Grant Cairns, Financial Lines Manager for Chubb in the UK and Ireland.
Mr Fernandez has 18 years of insurance industry experience. He joined ACE in 2004 as Corporate Manager for Commercial D&O. Previously he held the position of Corporate Manager for Commercial D&O at AIG.
Zurich International Life appoints CEO Global Life MEA
Zurich International Life has appointed Mr Walter Jopp as CEO Global Life Middle East & Africa (MEA), succeeding Mr Jawed Barna who has been appointed Head of Life in Germany and deputy CEO of the Zurich Group in Germany.
Based in Dubai, Mr Jopp will be responsible for leading Zurich’s growth and development of the life business across the region, reporting directly to Mr Matt Gosden, Interim Regional CEO of Global Life Europe, Middle East & Africa.
Mr Jopp has had a broad international career during his 22 years with Zurich, having begun his career in London working in various roles for Zurich’s financial intermediaries division. He then took up a number of international roles helping grow the business in Latin America, managing Global Accounts and working as Regional Manager for Scandinavia.
He returned to the UK to become Head of Global Sales for Zurich International Solutions before he took on the role as Head of New Market Development, where he was responsible for sales management of the business outside of Asia Pacific, Middle East and Europe.
Willis Towers Watson names Director EMEA
Willis Towers Watson has appointed Mr Steve Hardwick to the position of Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) with responsibility for developing business management and strategic support for insurers.
Based in London, Mr Hardwick brings with him over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry, having spent the last two years at Milliman in Stockholm where he was head of consulting in the Nordics.
Prior to that, he worked as Group Chief Actuary and Group CRO at Skandia, advising clients in the areas of strategy, reconstructions, demutualisations, mergers & acquisitions, asset/liability management, financial management, risk control, and other general management issues.
He previously worked for a Willis Towers Watson predecessor company between 1988 and 2002, and led the local office in Sweden from 1999.
Bahrain: BIBF appoints Head of Insurance Centre
The Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF) has appointed Mrs Manal Mashkoor as Head of the Centre for Insurance. She was previously the Acting Head of Insurance between December 2015 and April 2016.
Mrs Mashkoor joined BIBF in 2008 after spending three years at the Arab Insurance Group (Arig) as a systems developer under its graduate management programme.
She has completed the DePaul University’s Master of Science Degree in Human Resources (MSHR); the Advanced Diploma of the Chartered Insurance Institute (ACII); and LOMA USA’s Diplomate, Life and Health Insurance (DLHI). She was also the first Bahraini female to earn the elite Fellowship of the Chartered Insurance Institute (FCII).
Mrs Mashkoor has conducted insurance training across the MENA region and seeks to further develop knowledge in the insurance-related areas of principle-based regulation, corporate governance, consumer education and the sustainability of takaful.
In 2015, the Ministry of Labour presented Mrs Mashkoor with the “Best Trainer Award” at their 7th Annual Ceremony for Training.