People News: MEMIC, Chubb, AGCS

To support continued growth across the Eastern Seaboard, workers’ compensation specialist The MEMIC Group has announced the appointment of Gus Gonnella to vice president of Claims for the Atlantic and Northeast regions.

With more than 23 years of experience in the insurance claims industry, Gonnella was vice president of Workers Compensation Claims at XL Catlin and assistant vice president of WC Claims at ACE Group (now Chubb) before joining MEMIC. Gonnella earned his Associate in Claims (AIC) designation.

Chubb Limited appointed Edward Levin to the newly created position of digital business officer. Currently, Levin is senior vice president, Chubb Group and division president, Accident & Health, Overseas General Insurance. In his new role, he will have executive responsibility for leading and directing digital initiatives for the company’s businesses on a global basis.

Working closely with business leaders, product line executives and key functions, Levin will lead digital initiatives focused on reaching and enhancing the customer experience, including underwriting, sales and service, and distribution, both direct-to-consumer and through distribution partners. The role encompasses all business lines, products and markets where Chubb competes globally. Levin will report to Evan Greenberg, chairman and chief executive officer, and John Keogh, executive vice chairman and chief operating officer. He will transition to the new role in the fall.

Levin was appointed division president, Accident & Health, ACE Overseas General in 2007, a position he retained after ACE’s acquisition of Chubb. He joined ACE in 2004 as regional executive vice president of the company’s accident and health, personal lines and life insurance operations in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, based in London. Before joining ACE, he served as executive vice president for Citigroup’s Europe, Middle East and Africa insurance operations in London from 2002 to 2004 and was senior vice president, Personal Lines, for Travelers in Hartford, Conn., from 1999 to 2002. For the previous 10 years, he advanced through a series of management positions at Citibank and Booz Allen & Hamilton in New York and Buenos Aires.

Allianz Group’s specialist corporate insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS) announced that Paul O’Neill will become chief underwriting officer specialty, with effect from October 1, 2016, subject to regulatory approval.

As a new Board of Management member for AGCS and based in London, he will oversee AGCS’ business in the Energy, Marine, Aviation and Entertainment lines of business.

Currently AGCS’ Global Head of Marine and Energy, O’Neill succeeds Bill Scaldaferri who, as previously announced, takes over as AGCS Board responsibility for North America from Art Moossmann as of July 1. This move will allow Scaldaferri to focus on North American business specifically, reflecting the growing strategic importance of that region within AGCS, post-integration of Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company.

Simon Buxton, currently AGCS global head of Reinsurance, will succeed O’Neill as global head of Marine and Energy on October 1, 2016. He will remain based in the London office of AGCS, and a successor for his current Reinsurance responsibilities will be announced in due course.

With his core focus on the North American market, Scaldaferri will also hand over his current Board responsibility for Allianz Risk Transfer (ART) to Hartmut Mai, chief underwriting officer corporate for AGCS. This move reflects the increasingly close interactions between the traditional Corporate lines of business of AGCS and ART’s Corporate Solutions division, which offers specialized alternative risk transfer and multi-line insurance solutions for companies.

O’Neill has been global head of Marine and Energy since 2014 as well as global head of Energy, a role which he has held since 2005. A chemical engineer by training, he initially worked in the energy industry prior to moving into the insurance sector where he performed risk engineering reviews for the London insurance market. While working at Lloyd’s, he transitioned into underwriting and later joined Allianz as the regional manager for Energy in Singapore in 2003.

Simon Buxton has over 20 years of experience in the reinsurance industry and took over the position of AGCS global head of Reinsurance at the start of 2013. Prior to joining AGCS, he was head of Reinsurance Solutions for Allianz Risk Transfer for five years. Before joining Allianz Risk Transfer, he qualified as an actuary and worked in the insurance industry in a range of consulting and underwriting positions in Bermuda, Argentina and the UK.