RGA Middle East appoints Chief Actuary
Mr Gilles Hostachy has joined RGA Middle East team as Chief Actuary, effective 1 September. He was previously with Swiss Re MENA, where he held a Senior Client Manager role for over two years.
Mr Hostachy brings to RGA over 18 years of actuarial and marketing experience in the reinsurance and insurance industry, both in mature and emerging markets. He started his career with Mutuelles du Mans Assurances as a Group Life and Medical Underwriter, then moved to Swiss Re Life and Health France, where he held the role of Marketing Actuary for over eight years. He relocated to Zurich, Switzerland in 2007 to join Swiss Re Client Market Middle East, Turkey, Pakistan as a Senior Marketing Actuary for six years.
Jordan: Former AOIC CEO joins Arab Union International as Vice Chairman
Mr Isam Abdelkhaliq, who recently resigned as CEO of Arab Orient Insurance Company (AOIC), has become Vice Chairman of Arab Union International Insurance Company in Jordan after entering the company as a partner.
Mr Abdelkhaliq joined AOIC, a fully owned subsidiary of Gulf Insurance Group (GIG), in 2000 as CEO. Prior to joining AOIC, he held a number of senior positions in Arab corporations, including General Manager (Strategic Planning) in Oman United Holding Company (Oman), Regional General Manager (Gulf region) at Arig Health & General Insurance Company (Bahrain), and General Manager at MedNet (Jordan).
He also previously served as Chief Operating Officer of GIG, and represented the Group on a number of boards and committees across its network.
Kuwait Re appoints independent non-executive board directors
Mr Muzaffer Aktas, Dr Cherif Chentir and Mr Mowaffaq Ridha have been appointed as independent Non-Executive Board Directors for Kuwait Re.
Mr Aktas is currently Chairman of Willis’ Turkey, Middle East and Africa team. He has over 50 years of insurance and reinsurance experience.
Dr Chentir recently retired from SCOR, one of the world’s leading reinsurers, where he held the position of Chief Underwriting Officer Middle East & South Eastern Europe. His reinsurance experience extends over 27 years.
Mr Ridha has more than 40 years’ experience in insurance and reinsurance. He has held senior management and executive positions in companies operating in the Middle East, including the Arab War Risk Syndicate (AWRIS).
UAE: DFSA welcomes new Director of Supervision
Mr Arvind Baghel has been appointed Director, Supervision of the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) since November 2015.
Prior to assuming his current position, Mr Baghel was Head of Supervision at the Insurance Commission of the Bahamas and worked with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions in Canada, where he held senior and executive level positions in banking and insurance supervision, and led the implementation of risk-based supervision and risk-based capital requirements.
UAE: DIFC Authority names new CEO
Mr Arif Amiri has been promoted to CEO of the DIFC Authority, after holding the position of Deputy CEO for a year.
Mr Amiri is responsible for overseeing the strategic and operational functions of the Authority, in line with DIFC’s 2024 Strategy, and maintaining the Centre’s position as one of the most significant and advanced financial centres across the globe. He joined the DIFC Authority as Deputy CEO in November 2014.
Prior to joining DIFC Authority, Mr Amiri held a number of positions within Emaar Properties, including Chief Commercial Officer, where he was responsible for driving the all-round commercial operations of the company. Before this, he was also CEO of Emaar Retail, where he provided strategic and tactical leadership for the retail and entertainment operations of Emaar across Dubai and other key emerging markets.
Mr Amiri’s career began with an eight year term at HSBC Bank Middle East, where he was responsible for the implementation of a number of corporate and institutional banking initiatives. He was also Chairman of the Middle East Investor Relations Society from 2008 to 2011.
UAE: AGCS appoints Head of Engineering
Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) has appointed Mr Andreas Hoelscher as Head of Engineering for Allianz Risk Transfer (ART), a fully owned subsidiary of AGCS.
In his new role, Mr Hoelscher will report to CEO Willem van Wyk and will be responsible for managing the engineering portfolio in the Dubai office.
Prior to being Regional Head of Engineering Nordic Region & CEE, he was Regional Engineering Manager for Brazil and South America. Mr Hoelscher has also worked in several other engineering roles in Switzerland and Germany since joining Allianz in 2001.