XL Catlin announced two new executive appointments. Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance has a new leader for its Australasia unit. Munich Re America appointed a rising executive to a newly created position focused, in part, on harnessing innovation. Guy Carpenter & Company hired an individual to oversee its GC Securities Capital Markets team.

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XL Catlin made two new executive appointments in its insurance operations.

Donnacha Smyth has been named president of Global Excess Casualty Insurance, and Carla Greaves is now chief underwriting officer, Global Excess Casualty.

Smyth, who will be based in Dublin, starts his new role on Sept. 3, 2018. He will lead all Global Excess Casualty teams including North America, Dublin and Bermuda. Smyth previously served as XL Catlin’s chief excess casualty officer from 2007 to 2016. For the past two years, Smyth has led the international excess casualty group at Aspen Insurance.

Greaves, who is based in Bermuda, currently leads Excess Casualty underwriting for XL Catlin in Bermuda. In her new role she will lead a team of expert Excess Casualty underwriters globally.

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Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance appointed Mark Lingafelter as president, BHSI, Australasia.

Lingafelter succeeds Chris Colahan in the position, a veteran BHSI executive who is moving into the role of president of the Specialty Insurance operation in the U.K. & Europe.

Lingafelter, who will be based in BHSI’s Sydney office, was most recently chief underwriting officer, Asia Pacific for QBE Insurance. Before that he spent more than 11 years as managing director at Chubb Insurance Company of Australia.

Colahan joined BHSI in February 2015, previously serving as the chief executive officer of Asia and Hong Kong for RSA Insurance Group. He will be based in the London office.

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Jean Vernor has been named head of Incubator, New Strategic Markets, for Munich Reinsurance America Inc., a newly created position.

Vernor will oversee the Innovation Lab and business domains focusing on emerging risks. She will also drive the execution and launch of innovative new business opportunities, including those that don’t currently exist within established corporate business models or strategies. Vernor will report to Jill Beggs, head of New Strategic Markets, Munich Reinsurance America Inc.

From 2014 to 2018, Vernor was senior vice president, Innovation Hub and Direct at MetLife, responsible for product management, underwriting, strategy, operations, distribution, and profit and loss in the direct-to-consumer market, as well as leading strategic pilots for the U.S. business. Over the years, she has held a variety of executive leadership positions at various companies. At General Electric, Vernor was once a division head who led a successful transformation and growth in new business, fueled by product innovation and technology.

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Guy Carpenter & Company hired Shiv Kumar as president and global leader of GC Securities Capital Markets. In his new job, he’ll oversee the GC Securities Capital Markets team.

Kumar was previously global head of Insurance Structured Finance at Goldman, Sachs & Co. His 23 years of experience in insurance/reinsurance and capital markets will be put into play to boost GC Securities’ ability to identify and execute convergence capital products and services that help clients manage risk.

At Goldman, Kumar was the project lead for more than 100 transactions and arranged $25 billion in financing. He covered insurance companies in the property/casualty, life and health, mortgage and public sectors. Previously, Kumar worked as head of Analytical Services at AIR Worldwide.

Guy Carpenter & Company LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies.

Sources: XL Catlin, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, Munich Re America, Guy Carpenter & Co.