Aon, Zurich, Marsh, AIG, Allianz Trade: 18 APAC insurance people moves of the week
August 21 2026 by Roshan Nambiar
InsuranceAsia News wraps up the people moves from the insurance industry in Asia this week.
1. Aon hires Marsh executive as Southeast Asia CEO
Aon has hired Marsh’s Godelieve van Dooren as chief executive for Southeast Asia, InsuranceAsia News can reveal.
Singapore-based van Dooren is currently Marsh’s chief executive for Southeast Asia and Singapore, and will succeed Andrew Minitt, who left Aon earlier this year to become chief executive of The Ardonagh Group’s Asia business.
Read the full story here.
2. Zurich’s Hong Kong financial lines head set to leave
David Chiu, head of financial lines and middle market at Zurich Insurance in Hong Kong, is set to leave the Swiss insurer after more than eight years, according to industry sources.
Chiu is a senior figure within Hong Kong’s financial lines market and was appointed head of financial lines at Zurich Hong Kong in 2021, having previously served as an underwriting manager.
Read the full story here.
3. Marsh reshuffles NZ leadership, appoints Asia liability consulting leader
Marsh New Zealand CEO and Marsh Risk New Zealand Toni Ferrier has decided to step down from her roles at the end of August.
Auckland-based Ferrier has held both positions since January 2024, while also serving as director for New Zealand at Mercer since September 2024.
Matthew Riddle will take over as interim president of Marsh Risk New Zealand.
Riddle has 30 years of experience across the sector, having served as CEO of JLT New Zealand from 2010 until its acquisition in 2019.
Marsh Risk has also tapped Jackson Sim as liability consulting leader for Asia.
Before joining Marsh this month, Singapore-based Sim spent over three years at Liberty, where he was most recently a senior risk engineer for casualty.
Read the full story here, here and here.
4. AIG promotes China head to lead expanded role, appoints interim responsible person for AIG China
Global insurer AIG has appointed Lisa Sun as president of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, and CEO of AIG Hong Kong, subject to regulatory approval, with John Wu appointed as interim responsible person for AIG China.
Sun, who has been regional president and CEO of AIG China for the last eight years, will lead the businesses across the three markets as the company strengthens its presence and distribution support.
Wu has been with AIG China for nearly two decades across two spells, initially joining AIG in June 2004 before joining Allianz for over two and a half years in February 2015. He rejoined AIG in November 2017.
Read the full story here.
5. Allianz Trade names new China CEO
Allianz Trade in Asia Pacific has announced the appointment of Scott Munafo as its China CEO, effective from September 1.
Munafo joined Allianz Trade in 2015 from EY as part of its multinationals team and has spent over a decade shaping the company’s commercial strategy across MMEA, APAC, and Northern Europe, including his appointment as regional account director for Northern Europe in 2021, he was named group head of broker management and partnerships in 2025.
Read the full story here.
6. Nat Re brings veteran executive out of retirement to take helm
National Reinsurance Corporation of the Philippines (Nat Re) has appointed Alexander Reyes as its next chief executive officer, as Allan Santos has decided to retire on October 1 after nine years in the position.
Reyes, who comes out of retirement for the role, previously served as Nat Re’s senior vice president and head of non-life reinsurance between 2014 to 2021.
Read the full story here.
7. Oneglobal Broking appoints Singapore CEO 
Oneglobal Broking has named Fabien Goutoulli as its Singapore CEO.
Goutoulli joins Oneglobal from French insurance broker Diot-Siaci, where he spent the last 13 years in various senior roles in France and Singapore, and will report to Asia CEO Sirikit Oh.
Read the full story here.
8. Gallagher-owned Pen Underwriting makes leadership shake-up
Gallagher-owned specialist MGA Pen Underwriting has promoted Paul Behm to head of underwriting and Ev Synnott to head of operational strategy and transformation, effective from August 1.
Behm has been with the MGA for nearly nine years, and will lead the property, liability and motor underwriting teams.
Meanwhile, Synnott will step into a newly created role, leading the company’s enterprise transformation agenda, helping to enhance operational excellence through process optimisation, technology enablement and organisational change.
9. Crawford strengthens Australia leadership with property, specialty, client appointments
Loss adjuster Crawford has bolstered its Australian leadership with the promotions of Justin McEwan to head of quality and people development and Lucas Bressanutti to cyber and fidelity leader for Australia.
Amy Kane has joined as strategic account manager, while Joshua Boyd has been appointed senior adjuster in the power, energy and construction team.
In his new role, Crawford veteran McEwan will lead initiatives focused on technical excellence and talent development across its property loss-adjusting business.
Bressanutti, who has been with the global adjuster for six years, will continue to develop Crawford’s cyber and fidelity capabilities, working with global specialists on complex client matters and supporting the growth of the company’s specialty offering.
Read the full story here.
10. Berkley Re Asia taps head of casualty
Berkley Re Asia has hired Hena Choi as its head of casualty, according to a statement on Tuesday.
Choi has joined the US reinsurer in Singapore from Samsung Fire & Marine in South Korea, where she has spent the last 19 years in various casualty, specialty and financial and professional lines underwriting roles.
Read the full story here.
11. Generali Central Insurance names head of underwriting
Generali Central Insurance has appointed Sandeep Rathi as senior vice president and head of underwriting.
Mumbai-based Rathi joins from Kuwait Re, where he had been the regional underwriting manager for facultative since January.
Read the full story here.
12. Protec General Insurance appoints head of underwriting, reinsurance
M Pallonji-backed general insurer Protec General Insurance has appointed Subramanyam Brahmajosyula as head of underwriting and reinsurance.
Brahmajosyula brings over 35 years of experience in underwriting, claims, reinsurance and product development across public and private sector organisations.
Read the full story here.
13. Niyam Group names director of operations
Niyam Group has appointed Lovenish Kumar as director of operations.
Kumar previously worked at Axa XL for over 10 years, most recently as a reinsurance manager, and will relocate to Gandhinagar, Gujarat, for the new role.
Read the full story here.
14. Gallagher Australia taps national faith claims manager 
Gallagher Australia has appointed Pakize Ceker as its national faith claims manager within its newly established faith specialty practice.
Earlier in her career, Ceker spent over two years as a claims manager at Catholic Church Insurance, as well as roles at IAG and CGU Insurance.
Read the full story here.
15. Cowbell adds executives, cyber team relationship manager to Australian arm
Anh Tuan Pham has joined US cyber insurance MGA Cowbell as a relationship manager within its cyber team, having called time on his spell at Marsh.
Melbourne-based Pham said he would look after broker relationships and market developments for Cowbell in Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.
Ellen Brookes also joined in Sydney as a claims specialist, while Nia Pir joined the firm this month as a relationship manager.
Brookes was formerly a cyber incident management team lead at Canopius Group from March 2023 until June.
Pir was formerly at GSA Insurance Brokers, where she was a client manager for professional risks.
Read the full story here and here.
16. QBE Australia appoints head of farm
QBE Australia has appointed Tim Trandafilu as head of farm.
Sydney-based Trandafilu joins from Aon, where he had spent seven years leading the agribusiness.
Read the full story here.
17. HDI Global hires North Asia distribution lead
HDI Global has named Rebecca Kong as head of distribution and strategic partnerships for North Asia.
Kong began the role on July 28 and has relocated to Hong Kong from Shenzhen, bringing over 20 years of general insurance experience across global and Chinese carriers, most recently leading distribution strategies and market initiatives at AIG China since 2013.
Read the full story here.
18. Axa XL names cyber underwriter in India
Axa XL has promoted Vinod Kumar to cyber underwriter in India, according to a LinkedIn update.
Mumbai-based Kumar was previously an assistant cyber underwriter since May 2025.
Read the full story here.
Other moves you may have missed
Australia’s Key Insurance Partners has appointed Keith Riddle as its managing director. Melbourne-based Riddle takes on the additional responsibility alongside his current role as managing director for Australian broker Key Insurance Group, which he has held since March 2013. Key Insurance Partners is an Australian authorised representative (AR) network built for insurance brokers and brokerage principals.
For more InsuranceAsia News (IAN) people moves at brokers, insurers, reinsurers, insurtechs, specialty players, MGAs and loss adjusters across Asia Pacific’s fast-growing (re)insurance markets click here.
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