Corporate round-up

Willis appoints new CEO of Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa Willis International has named Toby Wemyss as its new Regional CEO for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, effective from April 1. It also named Gianmarco Tosti, currently Managing Director of Faber Global, the facultative and wholesale broking unit of Willis Group, as Mr Wemyss' replacement as CEO of the Group's Construction, Property & Casualty (CPC) division. In his new role, Mr Wemyss will be based in London and report to Tim Wright, CEO of Willis International. He will lead over 400 associates in offices spanning nine countries, as well as managing the broker's partnership with Gras Savoye in Africa and the Middle East. The brokerage said the regions under Mr Wemyss's stewardship represent an important 'growth engine' for Willis International.hideEastern Europe alone recorded double-digit organic growth in commissions and fees last year, while the Middle East and much of the African continent represent significant opportunities, it said. Mr Wemyss has worked for Willis throughout his insurance career. He joined the Group's CPC division in 2000, following a period of military service with the Royal Marines. Over the last twelve years he has held a number of roles within CPC, including Head of its Terrorism Practice, Co-Regional Director of its Asia-Pacific team, Chief Operating Officer, Managing Director and most recently, Chief Executive Officer. Replacing Mr Wemyss as CEO of CPC is Gianmarco Tosti, currently Managing Director of Faber Global, the facultative and wholesale broking unit of Willis Group. Mr Tosti will report to CPC's Executive Chairman, John Forder. Mr Tosti joined Willis in 2006 to lead CPC's Southern European operations and later, as CEO of Willis Facultative, was instrumental in driving the expansion of the group's property and casualty facultative capabilities. CPC is the recently formed business unit that comprises Willis's Global Construction Services and Global Markets International. One of the core business units within Specialty, it provides innovative solutions for Willis offices around the world as well as direct clients. Congratulating Mr Wemyss on his new appointment, Mr Wright said: "Toby's strong leadership skills and deep knowledge and understanding of our business makes him ideally positioned to take on this regional role. As CEO of Construction, Property and Casualty he has delivered exceptional growth through working closely with the International businesses, and his broad experience in the European, Middle Eastern and African insurance markets will ensure we maximise opportunities to help Willis further develop its footprint in these dynamic territories." Mr Wemyss succeeds Scott Pickering, who leaves the group to take up a new role as chief executive of the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) in New Zealand on May 1. Mr Pickering joined Willis in 2010 from RSA. As well as his regional responsibilities, he also led Willis' South Africa business. Ryck Genis, currently Executive Director of Willis South Africa, will take over Mr Pickering's duties as CEO, Willis South Africa. Based in Johannesburg, he will report directly to Mr Wemyss. Willis names new CEO of European Captive Practice Lesley Harding has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Willis Global Captive Practice in Europe. She will lead the broker's European captive management and advisory team and report to Malcolm Cutts-Watson, chairman of the practice. Having joined Willis in 2003, Ms Harding has most recently been acting as a Client Advocate with Willis' Global Solutions team focused on developing and managing relationships with a number of Willis' global clients-particularly in the energy industry. Prior to joining Willis she was an underwriter at Swiss Re and helped to set up Arch's European operations. She was also a risk manager at Texaco's wholly owned subsidiary Heddington Insurance Ltd. "We see great potential in Europe for the growth of captives," said Mr Cutts-Watson. "This is because organisations are seeking to reduce their dependence on the commercial insurance market and increasingly looking at alternative means of funding risks. A captive provides a structured approach to the management of retained risk, generating financial savings and operational benefits." Commenting on Ms Harding's appointment, Mr Cutts-Watson added: "Lesley's appointment strengthens the leadership team and helps us better respond to untapped opportunities in the captive market. Her recent experience will facilitate enhanced connectivity within Willis and greater understanding of how captive services and solutions add value to our clients' businesses. Her extensive knowledge of risk financing strategies and the demands of global companies make her the ideal candidate." Ms said she was delighted to join the Willis Global Captive Practice. "I have worked with many of the team and admire their technical expertise and focus on client service. I see my role as building on this solid platform to achieve even greater success." Marsh continues restructuring with creation of new Corporate division in UK & Ireland Marsh has created a new Corporate division within its UK & Ireland business that aims to better serve multinational, large domestic and mid-sized corporates. The new division brings together Marsh's National Corporate, Risk Management and Risk Consulting Practices. It will be led by Joe Grogan, previously Leader of the National Corporate Practice. He will report to Mark Weil, CEO of Marsh UK & Ireland. The newly-formed Corporate division will also include Marsh's claims, sales and specialist consulting expertise, enabling the firm to deliver the full range of insurance and risk management capabilities to all its corporate clients. To support this structure, Marsh also announced the appointment of Charles Beresford-Davies to lead the Risk Management Practice. This unit will focus exclusively on delivering the firm's full range of expertise to the largest corporations with the most complex risk needs. Peter Mellor has been appointed leader of the National Corporate Practice, which will service national and mid-size companies by offering specialised insurance and risk management support. Both he and Mr Beresford-Davies will report to Mr Grogan. Marsh also appointed George Davies to the newly created position of Chief Client Officer for the UK & Ireland. Reporting to Mr Weil, Mr Davies will represent the voice of the client in the strategic decision-making process of Marsh UK & Ireland. Commenting on the new structure, Mr Weil said: "Marsh's corporate clients across the UK and Ireland require our specialist insurance and risk management support more than ever, given the many risk challenges they face as the region battles towards economic recovery and growth. Today's announcement shows our determination to align our business structure to our clients' needs. The creation of the role of chief client officer is a also significant step in ensuring that the interests of the client are at the forefront of every decision we make." Mr Grogan added: "The integration of Marsh's National Corporate and Risk Management Practices across the UK and Ireland represents a significant investment in the national and major corporate client space. By combining our capabilities in the newly formed Corporate division, we will be able to bring the full range of services our clients need to them more seamlessly. It will allow us to deliver the whole firm to our corporate clients and help us contribute to their success." JLT builds on Financial Institutional expertise with new hires JLT has strengthened its Financial Institutions team with a number of new hires. Roger Maxted and John Greene join the JLT unit as Partners and Tracy Miller joins as Insurance Company Industry Specialist. Ms Miller joins from Chubb Insurance where she was most recently Senior Underwriter for their Financial Institutions Team. She has extensive experience of Professional Indemnity (PI), Crime, Directors & Officers Liability (D&O), Employment Practices Liability (EPL) and Pension Trustee Liability (PTL). Mr Maxted was most recently a Director for the Claims Division of AJ Gallagher with responsibility for financial & professional risk claims. Mr Greene was most recently an account executive at Marsh following the purchase of HSBC insurance Solutions in 2009, where he was a wholesale broker for large excess placements in the Bermudian insurance markets. Sarah Hughes, Head of the Financial Institutions team in the Financial Risks division, said: "These appointments bring many years of London Market financial institutions experience to our expanding team. In particular they strengthen our offering across insurance companies, fund and asset management and the stock broking sector, areas where we have seen particular interest and success."

Corporate round-up

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