Several insurance groups have announced senior leadership and governance appointments across tech, operations and board roles. The latest moves span international carriers, MGAs and specialist protection providers in key markets.
Markel names CIO International
Markel Insurance, the insurance operation within Markel Group Inc., has appointed Phil Jones (pictured, left) as chief information officer (CIO), international, effective immediately.
In the newly created role, Jones will deliver the technology vision for Markel International, ensuring systems, data and digital capabilities evolve in line with the business’s strategic focus on operational excellence.
Jones joins Markel with extensive CIO and executive technology leadership experience across specialty insurance, financial services and government. Most recently, he served as global chief information officer at Aspen Insurance. His previous roles include executive director of service delivery and operations at the UK Ministry of Defence.
AXA XL appoints tech and AI chief
AXA XL has appointed Leyla Delic (pictured, centre) as chief technology and AI officer.
Delic has more than 20 years’ experience in technology and has held several senior leadership roles, including CIO of corporate functions at GE Healthcare; group chief information & digital officer at Coca‑Cola İçecek, and global head of value realization at Aon. Most recently, she served as corporate chief digital and information officer at Abdul Latif Jameel.
Chubb names EVP for operations, technology and digital transformation
Chubb Limited has appointed Seshadri (Sesh) Iyer (pictured, right) as executive vice president, Chubb Group, operations, technology and digital transformation, effective April 6. He succeeds Julie Dillman, who is retiring on April 2.
In his new role, Iyer will have executive oversight of Chubb’s global operations and technology.
“On behalf of all of us at Chubb and me personally, I want to thank Julie for her leadership over her distinguished tenure,” said Greenberg. “Julie has been instrumental in building and leading our technology and operations organization. She brought a professionalism, drive and discipline to our technology transformation efforts that lays a strong foundation for our future evolution. I am immensely grateful for her contributions and wish her well in her retirement.”
Iyer joins Chubb from Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he spent nearly 20 years working with clients across industries, including financial services, in North America, Europe and Asia. Most recently, he served as the North America chair for BCG X, the firm’s tech design and build unit.
Assurant names chair of UK board
Assurant, Inc. has announced that Helen Sachdev will be appointed chair of the Assurant UK board of directors, effective April 1, subject to regulatory approval. She will also serve as chair of the nomination committee and as a member of the audit, risk and compliance committee.
Sachdev succeeds Stuart Purdy, who will retire at the end of his term of office from the UK board of directors and the Netherlands Supervisory Board, effective March 31.
Banyan Risk adds three to advisory board
Banyan Risk Ltd, a Bermuda‑based specialty managing general agent (MGA), has appointed three senior insurance executives to its advisory board as it continues to scale its platform and expand its underwriting ambitions.
John Berger (pictured immediately above, left), Bob Cox (pictured immediately above, centre) and Andrew Cook (pictured immediately above, right) are expected to bring extensive experience in specialty insurance, reinsurance and global insurance operations.
Berger was appointed chairman of the board of Coaction Specialty Insurance Group in May 2024 and has previously served as CEO of Ascot Re, as well as founding chairman and CEO of Third Point Reinsurance.
Cox most recently served as president and chief operating officer of Global Insurance Operations at Market Group from 2018 until the end of 2023. Prior to Markel, he held senior executive roles at Chubb and other specialty insurance organisations.
Finally, Cook, who has more than 35 years of market experience, served as non-executive director of multiple Bermuda-based companies, including Ferian Re, Atlas Arteria and Omega Cat Re. When AXIS Capital was established in 2001, he became its founding chief financial officer. He later moved to Alterra Capital as president and, since 2015, has held various non‑executive director roles on the island.
