Willis Re, the reinsurance arm of global insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Limited, today announced a series of management changes and a new organizational structure designed to respond to the evolving marketplace and to better leverage the unit’s talent and resources for the benefit of clients worldwide.
Willis Re is combining its International and Specialty network into a single business unit to better enable it to provide a full range of resources and capabilities in all of the geographies in which it operates. Willis Re also is more closely aligning its U.S. and Bermuda operations in a new North America group. In support of these changes, Willis Re will unify its Analytics and Operational teams on a global basis.
Peter Hearn, Chief Executive Officer of Willis Re said: “Driven by the evolving needs of our clients, the lines between reinsurance broking, analytics and our other offerings have blurred in recent years and continue to converge. A variety of market factors, including regulatory changes such as Solvency II, are also driving more consistent needs for our clients, worldwide. Our new structure addresses this reality, and will enhance our ability to provide our clients with industry-leading products and services, wherever they do business.”
Hearn said the new structure will better enable Willis Re to meet its strategic objectives. “Our structural changes will enhance our ability to tap into Willis Re’s uniquely collaborative culture and harness our best thinking and skills to drive innovation and best-in-class quality for our clients,” he said.
In line with the new organizational structure, Willis Re announced a series of leadership appointments to drive its revamped business model. Chris Clark and James Vickers have been named Chairmen of the new International and Specialty business unit. Clark will focus on new business development for Specialty and Property/Casualty business, primarily in the London market and the United States. Vickers will focus on new business development in other markets, especially in Japan and across Asia, and will serve as the primary client advocate on several large global accounts. He will also be responsible for Willis Re’s global branding and marketing. Also within the International and Specialty unit, Jason Howard has been appointed CEO, with responsibility for integrating the two formerly separate businesses.
Paddy Jago has been named President of Willis Re, and will lead Global Sales and Growth. While continuing to produce business and maintain key client relationships in the United States, the London Market and internationally, Jago will work to further the development of Willis Re’s global sales model in concert with Willis Group’s global growth initiative.
Consistent with the approach being taken across the International and Specialty network, Jim Bradshaw will take on the role of CEO of Willis Re’s new North America Group, and will be responsible for aligning Willis Re’s Bermuda operation more closely with its U.S. operation, to leverage the combined resources of these businesses to better serve Willis Re’s clients. To further that alignment, James Kent is named Managing Director of Willis Re Bermuda and President of Willis Re North America.
As Willis Re moves to globally align its Analytics capabilities, it has appointed Rowan Douglas as CEO of Global Analytics. Douglas also will maintain his leadership of the Willis Research Network, the world’s largest partnership between academia and the insurance industry to study natural perils, climate change and other major risks. In line with the globalization of Willis Re’s Analytics business, Yves Provencher is named Managing Director of Global Analytics, responsible for driving greater coordination in product development and ensuring consistent quality of products and output.
“Willis Re has some of the best talent in our industry, and I am confident that this team of highly experienced senior executives are the right people to further our development as a highly collaborative, client-focused business with a consistent standard of excellence that truly sets us apart in the marketplace,” said Hearn.
One of the world’s leading reinsurance brokers, Willis Re is known for its world-class, applied Analytics capabilities, which it combines with its Capital Markets and Reinsurance expertise in a seamless, integrated offering that helps clients increase the value of their businesses. Willis Re serves the risk management and risk transfer needs of a diverse, global client base that includes all of the world’s top insurance carriers. The broker’s global team of experts offers services and advice that help clients make better reinsurance decisions, access worldwide capital markets and negotiate optimum terms.
