FAIR appoints new Secretary General
Dr Adel Moneer, Vice Chairman of Operations and Insurance with Misr Insurance Holding in Egypt and a former regulator, has been appointed Secretary General of the Cairo-headquartered Federation of Afro-Asian Insurers and Reinsurers (FAIR). He replaces Mr Hammam Badr, who recently resigned from the organisation.
Dr Moneer joined Misr Insurance Holding in 2013 after eight years working with the regulator, first as the Chairman of the Egyptian Insurance Supervisory Authority and, after it was renamed as the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority, as its Deputy Chairman. He was a Founder of the Arab Forum of Insurance Regulatory Commission, and was its Chairman from 2009 to 2011.
Dr Moneer also has an established academic career, lecturing as a Professor of Insurance & Actuarial Sciences, initially with Assiut University and presently with Cairo University. He received his PhD in Insurance & Risk Management from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
New appointments at ACE’s Eurasia and Africa
ACE Group has created a new underwriting management role for its Eurasia and Africa region and promoted Mr Shankar Krishnan to the position of Head of Casualty Insurance. The insurer has also appointed Ms Susan McDonald to the role of Regional General Counsel for Eurasia and Africa, as it continues to build its management team in its newest business region. Both appointments were effective 1 April.
Mr Krishnan, previously Casualty Underwriting Manager for MENA, will be responsible for the performance and development of ACE’s expanding portfolio of casualty business and the team of local casualty underwriters across the region’s nine markets in the Middle East, Turkey, Africa and Russia. Under his leadership, the team will continue to develop its product offering in line with evolving customer needs, and will work with ACE’s casualty teams in other regions to share insights and best practice for the benefit of customers.
He will continue to be based in Dubai, reporting to Mr Giles Ward, Regional President, Eurasia and Africa at ACE, with an additional reporting line to Mr Mark Homan, Executive Vice President for Global Casualty, ACE Overseas General.
Mr Krishnan, who has 20 years of insurance industry experience spanning both casualty and other lines, joined ACE in May 2011 in his previous role and has overseen the successful development of the company’s casualty book in MENA. Before joining ACE, he served in progressively senior underwriting and management roles for AIG, latterly as Branch Manager in Dubai. He has worked in Dubai and in India for a number of other insurance and broking organisations.
Formerly Legal and Compliance Manager for MENA, Ms McDonald will be responsible for overseeing the legal and compliance functions of ACE’s operations in Eurasia and Africa in her new role. She will provide guidance, advice and support on all legal and compliance issues to the business and will work with country legal and compliance officers to ensure that all local regulatory as well as ACE Group standards are adhered to.
Ms McDonald will continue to be based in Dubai, reporting to both Mr Ward and Mr Kenneth Underhill, General Counsel for ACE in Europe, Eurasia and Africa.
She has more than 20 years of legal experience in the insurance industry, spanning different regions. She joined ACE in 2010, prior to which she held a series of senior legal counsel roles for international insurers.
Generali names EMEA leader
Italian insurance group Generali has appointed Mr Jaime Anchustegui, previously LatAm Regional Officer, as EMEA Regional Officer, covering 12 markets between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. He succeeds Mr Giovanni Liverani, who has been appointed as the CEO of Generali Deutschland.
Mr Anchustegui has spent the majority of his career within the Generali Group. From 2008 to 2013, he was the CEO of Generali Spain, and prior to that he held important roles in Peru, Mexico and other Latin American countries. In 2013 he was appointed LatAm Regional Officer.
The EMEA area includes Belgium, Greece, Guernsey, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey and Dubai.
Jordan Insurance Federation elects new board
The Jordan Insurance Federation (JOIF) has a new board, with Dr Ali Al Wazani, CEO of First Insurance Co and Mr Majed Smeirat, General Manager of Middle East Insurance Co named as Chairman and Vice Chairman, respectively.
The other members for the present term (2015-2017) are Messrs Basem Haddadin, General Manager of Arab European Insurance Group; Isam Abdulkhaliq – CEO of Arab Orient Insurance Co, gig; Ala Abduljawad – General Manager of Medgulf Jordan; Imad Al Hajeh – General Manager of United Insurance Co; and Mohanad Khalil, General Manager of MetLife Alico.
Dr Al Wazani said he would endeavour to upgrade the sector in participation with others. He added that the Board of Directors will work towards defending the interests of insurance companies and overcome the obstacles through direct communication with government entities.