Palestine: Federation elects a new board
The Palestinian Insurance Federation (PIF) has elected members of the Board for its 2017-2019 term with effect from May 2017.
Mr Anwar Al Shanti, General Manager of Trust International Insurance, Palestine, has been elected as the Chairman of the Board and Mr Badr Fataftah, General Manager of Palestine Insurance, its Vice Chairman. Mr Tahsin Al-Hmoud, Deputy CEO of Global United Insurance, has been assigned as the Board Secretary, and Mr Abdulhamid Nassar, Deputy General Manager, National Insurance, as Financial Treasurer.
The other Board members include Mr Ayoub Wael Zurub, CEO of Al Mashriq Insurance; Mr Jamal Awwad, General Manager of Al-Takaful Palestinian Insurance; and Mr Riyadh Al-Atrash, Deputy General Manager for Ahlia Insurance Group.
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions appoints CEO EMEA
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has appointed Mr Fred Kleiterp as CEO Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA), effective 1 July 2017. In this role, he will be responsible for managing the strategy, development and performance of the company’s presence in the EMEA commercial insurance markets.
With this appointment, Mr Kleiterp assumes the role he previously held from 2009 to 2013.
Prior to re-assuming the role, he served as CEO Asia Pacific, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions and relocated from Singapore to Zurich.
Mr Kleiterp succeeds Mr Tony Buckle, who has decided to step down as CEO EMEA.
He joined Swiss Re in 2001 and held several positions within the group before joining Corporate Solutions in 2009.
Howden appoints Regional CEO for Turkey, the Middle East and Africa
Howden, part of Hyperion Insurance Group, has announced that Mr Atinc Yilmaz will join its international broking business as Regional CEO for Turkey, the Middle East and Africa. He will lead the region and drive a growth and investment push for Howden as it seeks to build its presence in the region’s high-growth markets, working alongside the leaders of each business to identify and maximise new opportunities.
Mr Yilmaz will join the Howden Broking Group Board representing the region and the new regional management board, which will be established to align, coordinate and oversee the activities of Howden’s operations across India, Turkey, the Middle East and Africa.
Chaired by Mr Praveen Vashishta, CEO and Chairman of Howden India, the board will focus on finding new ways to drive collaboration across the region by capitalising on the broad range of capabilities and experience of the existing businesses to attract new talent and develop new products and services to meet clients’ changing needs.
Mr Yilmaz has over 25 years’ experience in leadership positions across Asia and the Middle Eastern and Turkish insurance markets, including 13 years leading Marsh’s Large Clients/Risk Management and Specialty businesses in Turkey as Managing Director, three years as CEO in Indonesia, and in the last five years as CEO of Marsh in the UAE and a member of its Middle East Executive Board. He will join Howden after fulfilling his obligations to his current employer and will be based in Dubai.
Howden also announced that Mr Arvind Kashyapa, CEO of Howden UAE, will take on the additional role of Chairman of Howden UAE.
Mr Gokcen Suer, founder and CEO of Howden’s operations in Turkey, has decided to step down as CEO to pursue a new challenge outside the Group but will remain a shareholder. Mr Vedat Basan, Managing Director of GRC Howden and Mr Cemal Uludag, Managing Director of Howden Sigorta, will continue to run the company’s operations in Turkey and will join the boards of their respective businesses.
Bahrain: Two new Directors at Trust Re
Trust Re has appointed Mrs Fetooh Al Zayani and Dr Kai-Uwe Schanz as independent non-executive Directors for a full three-year term.
The career of Mrs Al Zayani, a Bahraini national, spans 36 years in executive management, underwriting, and business development in the regional and international insurance and re-insurance industry. This includes leading roles at regulatory and development authorities in the GCC region such as the Dubai International Financial Centre and Qatar Financial Centre Authorities where she was one of the founding team members; and was instrumental in developing the vision and strategy for the insurance and reinsurance sector.
She has received numerous accolades for her contribution to the insurance and reinsurance market and is also the International Insurance Society’s (IIS) Ambassador for Bahrain.
Dr Schanz, a Swiss and German citizen, is Chairman and founding partner of Dr. Schanz, Alms & Company AG, a Zurich-based research, strategy and communications consultancy, advising financial services organisations around the globe. His 25 years of experience in global reinsurance and academia include senior management roles at Swiss Re and Converium in Zurich and Hong Kong such as Chief Economist (Asia-Pacific) and Chief Communication and Corporate Development Officer.
Bahrain: Solidarity Group appoints new Chairman
Solidarity Group Holding, one of the largest takaful groups in the world, has elected Mr Rashed Ismaeel Al Meer, previously Vice-Chairman, as Chairman to the Board of Directors for the current board term.
This follows the retirement of Mr Khalid Abdulla-Janahi from the Board of Directors.
In addition, Mr Ahmed Abdul Rahim has been elected as Vice-Chairman and Mr Hassan Mahmood joined the Board as a new member.
Bahrain: Al Ahlia Insurance welcomes new GM
Al Ahlia Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Solidarity Group Holding, has appointed Mr Jawad Mohammed as its General Manager effective 1 June.
Prior to Joining Al Ahlia, Mr Mohammed was the General Manager of Solidarity General Takaful, also a subsidiary of Solidarity Group Holding.
He has more than 23 years of experience in the insurance sector and business management. He is also a board member of three companies: First Insurance in Jordan, Solidarity Saudi Takaful in Saudi Arabia and Solid Venture WLL.
New Chairman for Lebanese Credit Insurer
The Lebanese Credit Insurer (LCI) has appointed Mr Dominque Charpentier as its new Chairman at its annual general meeting in May 2017.
In his capacity as Chairman of LCI, Mr Charpentier will support the company in implementing its growth strategy and in its development and expansion.
He succeeds Mr Gerard van Brakel who had been chairing LCI since it was founded in 2001.
Mr Charpentier joins LCI with extensive experience in finance and credit insurance, having held senior financial positions in corporations, namely CFO of SCOA and PINAULT Groups and then moving on to become Deputy CEO of Société Marseillaise de Crédit.
In 1995, he ventured into the credit insurance industry, within the Euler Group where he was successively Deputy CEO of Cobac Benelux, CEO of Société Française de Factoring and CEO of Eurofactor.
In 2002, Mr Charpentier joined Atradius Group, assuming the role of Managing Director of several divisions of the Group. He then joined the Management Board of Atradius as Chief Insurance Operations Officer in 2013.
Throughout his career, he held numerous Board member positions in professional organisations across Europe, of which: In France, as Director of Association des Sociétés Financières (ASF); in Belgium as Director of Beroep Vereniging van het Krediet (BVK), and on an international level as Director and Chairman of International Factors Group (IFG).
Mr Charpentier retired in January 2017, and now serves as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Graydon Holding NV in the Netherlands, in addition to his new appointment at the LCI.
UAE: Watania appoints Chairman
National Takaful Company (Watania) has elected HE Ali Saeed Bin Harmal Al Dhaheri as the Chairman of the Board.
Mr Al Dhaheri had been an integral part of the formation of Watania and now takes the helm as the company embarks on the path of growth, bringing in fresh thinking and a customer-centred approach in providing takaful solutions in the challenging UAE market.
He brings with him a unique combination of insightful business and industry knowledge, along with a key perspective on building successful ventures across industry segments.
Upon completing his MBA, Mr Al Dhaheri had worked in founding, launching, and managing several successful business entities across diverse sectors. He has also taken a leading role in education management. His current key positions include Chairman of Abu Dhabi University, CEO of Abu Dhabi University Holding Company, and Chairman of Magna Investments.