Kettle names a new chief executive officer. Aon appoints a chief underwriting officer for AUM. Lloyd’s announces a change in chief people officer role.

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Kettle, an AI-enabled insurance and reinsurance provider for commercial property owners in areas affected by catastrophic climate events, has appointed Isaac Espinoza as CEO.

Espinoza most recently served as senior vice president at Root, where he managed reinsurance efforts, as well as strategy, corporate actuarial and venture functions. Prior to Root, he was an investor and operator at Greenlight Re, supporting numerous InsurTech startups and working on the actuarial, underwriting and innovation teams. Espinoza began his insurance career as an actuary at Fireman’s Fund in California.

Son Le, Kettle’s founding CTO, says, “We’re at an inflection point where our unique models can offer protection to customers currently underserved by incumbent providers. Isaac’s arrival is exciting for Kettle and our future in the industry.”

Backed by Acrew Capital, True Ventures, Valor Venture Partners, Lower Carbon Capital, Anthemis and other investors, Kettle said it has grown its premium base by more than 3x in the past year.

Lauren Kolodny, partner at Acrew Capital, which led Kettle’s $25 million Series A round in 2021, said, “Isaac’s arrival is an exciting evolution for Kettle as it expands into new lines and new states. This year has been an important growth year. We’re thrilled to welcome Isaac’s leadership.”

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Aon plc, the global professional services firm, announced that Simon Clapham has joined the firm as chief underwriting officer for Aon Underwriting Managers (AUM). He will report to James de Labillière, managing director of AUM.

Clapham has worked in underwriting and broking companies in the insurance industry in both the UK and the U.S., including 12 years at Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) as head of underwriting performance management across long-tail, short-tail and reinsurance classes of business.

Among other roles in his extensive career, he was also the active underwriter for Brit’s Syndicates 800 and 2987, a member of the board at Brit Insurance Holdings plc and the Lloyd’s Market Board.

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Lloyd’s has announced the appointment of Nathan Adams as its chief people officer.

Adams will join Lloyd’s early next year and will become a member of Lloyd’s Executive Committee, reporting to John Neal, Lloyd’s chief executive officer.

Adams has over 20 years of experience as an HR and transformation leader. He joins Lloyd’s from Aviva, where he has held a number of senior roles since joining in 2014, most recently chief people officer at Aviva Investors. Before Aviva, he held senior HR roles at Barclays and Arcadia Group.

Adams will replace Sara Gomez, who will be retiring from Lloyd’s at the end of the year. Gomez joined Lloyd’s in July 2021 and was appointed interim chief HR officer and a member of Lloyd’s Executive Committee on Dec. 1, 2021, before becoming chief people officer in 2022.

“Nathan is a strong leader with outstanding experience driving the people agenda in large organizations. He will be a great addition to the team as we continue to focus on promoting an inclusive, high-performance culture across Lloyd’s,” commented Neal.

Neal thanked Gomez “for her contribution to the Lloyd’s culture and people agenda over the past three and a half years. She has been a valued member of Lloyd’s Executive Committee and I wish her the best as she moves into a new and exciting phase of her life, which she has been planning for some time.”