Nicolas Papadopoulo has been named chief executive officer of Arch Capital Group Ltd., succeeding Marc Grandisson, who has decided to retire from the company, Arch announced.

Papadopoulo, who has held his current positions of president and chief underwriting officer since 2021, will also join the board of directors of Arch Capital, effective immediately.

In addition to his roles as Arch’s president and CUO, Papadopoulo has also served as CEO of Arch Worldwide Insurance Group since January 1, 2021. He previously served in various leadership and underwriting roles at the company, beginning in 2001.

Grandisson, who has served as CEO since 2018, has also been with Arch since 2001.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the founding team that helped build and grow Arch to where it is today,” said Grandisson. “I am proud to pass the baton to Nicolas, who is the right leader to take Arch into the future for our clients, employees and investors,” he said in a media statement, going on to thank Arch’s employees for their hard work and passion, Arch’s board members for their guidance, and its clients “who place their trust in us year after year.”

In a media statement, John Pasquesi, chair of the board, expressed the board’s gratitude to Grandisson for his leadership and significant contributions to Arch over the past two decades, noting that Arch experienced outstanding growth and profitability and established itself as a market-leading global specialty insurer during that time.

“Consistent with the Board’s robust succession planning process, we believe Nicolas’ experience and expertise make him the ideal person to lead Arch going forward to drive growth and value for all shareholders,” Pasquesi added.

Papadopoulo stressed Arch’s “unique culture focused on delivering the greatest value to our shareholders and clients,” as he noted his excitement in accepting a new role in the company. “Our existing strategies of cycle management and thoughtful capital allocation remain the company’s priorities,” he added.

After serving in underwriting roles at Arch Re Bermuda dating back to December 2001, Papadopoulo served as chairman and CEO of Arch Reinsurance Group from July 2014 to September 2017.

From September 2017 to December 2020, Papadopoulo was chair and CEO of Arch Worldwide Insurance Group and CUO for property and casualty operations.

Papadopoulo graduated from École Polytechnique in France and École Nationale de la Statistique et de l’Administration Economique in France with a master’s degree in statistics.

Source: Arch Capital Group Ltd.