Starr Insurance Companies appointed a former Marsh executive to a leadership role involving the UK and Europe. Willis Towers Watson named an executive to oversee Corporate Risk and Broking for the Georgia market. American International Group Inc. hired a new executive to lead its Life & Retirement Funds.
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Starr Insurance Companies appointed Andrew Hopper as head of Financial Institutions for the UK and Europe.
Hopper joins Starr on June 3 and will oversee strategy and profitable growth of the Financial Institutions division. He’ll report to Liz Ilott, chief underwriting officer, Financial Lines, and be based in Starr’s London office.
Before Starr, Hopper was a senior client executive within the FinPro Practice at Marsh in London.
Hopper has more than 17 years of financial experience in both the broker and carrier sides of the business, Ilott said in prepared remarks.
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Willis Towers Watson named Shannon Hau as Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB) leader for the Georgia market.
Hau will be responsible for driving the overall CRB growth strategy and hiring efforts in the market. Based in Atlanta, Ga., Hau will report to Doug Pera, head of CRB, Southeast region.
Previously, Hau served as head of Finance for CRB North America at Willis Towers Watson. She also served as regional Finance officer, U.S. South region. Before that, Hau worked at Marsh as a finance manager/senior vice president.
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American International Group Inc. hired Sharon French as president and chief executive officer, Life & Retirement Funds.
French succeeds Peter Harbeck, who announced his intention to retire late last year. She’ll take on her new position in late June.
French will lead the Life & Retirement Funds business, encompassing AIG’s retail mutual funds operation and SunAmerica Asset Management LLC, which manages and administers over $85 billion in assets across multiple Life & Retirement business lines.
French has held a variety of senior roles during her 30 years in financial services, most recently as executive vice president, head of Beta Solutions for OppenheimerFunds, where she led the strategy, development and implementation of the firm’s smart beta ETF products and solutions. She also oversaw the firm’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) efforts and served on its Senior Leadership Team, governing the overall strategic direction of OppenheimerFunds. French also has executive leadership experience from BNY Mellon, BlackRock, AllianceBernstein and more.
Sources: Starr Insurance Companies, Willis Towers Watson and AIG