Former Lloyd’s chief executive officer Inga Beale has been named chair of the climate consultancy South Pole, with a remit to help drive the company’s business transformation plans as carbon markets and corporate sustainability practices mature.
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Working with new CEO Daniel Klier and the wider executive team, she will help steer the business toward the next stage of growth and innovation.
Beale will replace Christoph Grobbel, following his nine-year tenure as chair. She joins Zurich-based South Pole in June.
During a career spanning more than four decades, Beale made history as the first female CEO of Lloyd’s (January 2014 – December 2018). She also held numerous senior leadership roles at General Electric’s insurance division, where she worked for 14 years. Beale then led the Swiss reinsurer Converium, where she spearheaded a company turnaround.
In 2008, she joined Zurich Insurance Group as a member of its group management board. The following year she was named the group’s global chief underwriting officer. From 2012-2013, she was the group CEO at the privately held Lloyd’s insurer Canopius. She now has a portfolio of non-executive roles.
South Pole said Beale’s appointment underscores the company’s continued commitment to enhance its strategic governance, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance, as well as its wider stakeholder engagement.
“This appointment…helps to ensure that South Pole is well placed to keep delivering positive climate impact and to lead in the growing sustainability industry,” the company said in a statement.
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Howden Re, the reinsurance and risk advisory arm of Howden, the international insurance intermediary group, announced the appointment of seasoned reinsurance veteran David Hearn as chairman, Global Clients Strategy.
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Hearn brings more than 42 years of experience from global reinsurance broking, most recently serving as executive vice president at Guy Carpenter. At Guy Carpenter, he was part of the firm’s global account advisory group, responsible for the company’s largest global client engagement. Hearn served in a similar capacity at Willis Re from 1994 to 2015.
As chairman, Global Client Services, Hearn will support leadership and client service teams across the spectrum of risk and strategic advisory. This will include advising large, multi-product insurance companies with international presence and complex coverage needs.
“Howden Re has made impressive progress around the world in a short period — the business is on a growth trajectory that I have not seen in a very long time,” according to Hearn.
“Coming out of retirement required joining a team that is truly special and focused on the critical disciplines required to be successful in the reinsurance brokerage business. I have had the opportunity to work with many great clients over my career, and I am very much looking forward to becoming part of such a client-centric team, working alongside elite operators, and contributing to the company’s continued growth,” he added.
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InsurTech hyperexponential has hired Risa Ryan as head of US P/C.
Ryan was most recently chief underwriting officer at Sompo International. She will be based in New York. She has over 25 years of industry experience, having spent over a decade with Munich Re America, including as its head of strategy and analysis, as well as senior roles at Swiss Re and QBE.
Founded in 2017, the UK-based company said it now works with over 30 insurers and reinsurers across the specialty and commercial space. Ryan’s appointment is part of a series of personnel developments at hyperexponential, as the company expands its office and operations in the U.S. Richard Gunn, chief revenue officer, will be relocating from London to New York.