Zurich North America has appointed James Bracken as chief financial officer, succeeding Peter Hirs, who returns to Zurich Insurance Group in Switzerland as group head of Mergers & Acquisitions.

Both Bracken and Hirs assume their new roles July 1.

Bracken was previously chief executive officer at Fortitude Re and CFO at AIG General Insurance. Prior to AIG, he worked in global finance and audit at GE Insurance, GE Capital and Arthur Andersen & Co.

Zurich NA CEO Kristof Terryn said that Bracken’s “extensive leadership experience in insurance prepares him well to lead our Finance function and contribute meaningfully on our North American leadership team.” Terryn also thanked Hirs for his “strong stewardship” throughout his tenure as North America CFO.

As Zurich North America CFO, Bracken will oversee Actuarial, Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR), Corporate Tax, Treasury, Planning and Performance Management, and Finance Operations. He will report to Terryn and be a member of the Zurich North America Executive Committee, the Zurich Group Leadership Team, the Zurich North America Leadership Team and the Zurich Group Finance Executive Team. He will be based at Zurich North America’s headquarters in Schaumburg, Ill.

Hirs’ new role at Zurich Insurance Group was previously held by Dalynn Hoch, who recently rejoined Zurich North America to lead the RCIS crop insurance business.

Hirs previously held regional CFO roles in Zurich Asia Pacific, Zurich Global Corporate North America and Zurich Switzerland. He joined Zurich Group M&A in 2005 after several years in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse.

In his next role as group head of Mergers & Acquisitions, Hirs will report to Group CFO Claudia Cordioli.