Gallagher Re, Chaucer, Willis, Chubb, Aon: 16 APAC insurance people moves of the week
January 16 2026 by Roshan Nambiar
InsuranceAsia News wraps up the people moves from the insurance industry in Asia this week.
1. Gallagher Re taps Aon’s APAC casualty leader as CEO for Australia and New Zealand
Gallagher Re has appointed Grant Hollyman as CEO for Australia and New Zealand, replacing Heather Bone, who left the reinsurance broker at the end of last year, exclusively reported by InsuranceAsia News (IAN).
He was most recently the Asia Pacific casualty leader at Aon reinsurance solutions based in Sydney.
Hollyman has more than two decades of reinsurance industry experience and has also previously worked at Guy Carpenter, and will start the role in April 2026.
Read the full story here.
2. Chaucer revamps Singapore leadership, appoints CEO and APAC reinsurance head
Chaucer Group, the global specialty (re)insurance arm of China Re, has appointed Les Loh to the role of chief executive officer for Singapore.
Loh succeeds Margaret To, who will transition to a consultancy role.
The Lloyd’s carrier has also appointed Dan Bryan as head of reinsurance for Asia Pacific. He will take up his new role in the second quarter of 2026 and report to Loh.
With more than two decades of experience, Bryan has previously worked at Aspen Insurance Group as head of property reinsurance and Guy Carpenter as senior vice president.
Read the full story here.
3. Willis reshuffles Asia natural resources and construction leadership
Willis appointed Nicki Tilney as head of natural resources Asia and Iris Chan as head of construction Asia.
Sui Jin Wong was promoted to deputy head of construction Asia, while Steve Hutchinson replaces Chan as head of corporate risk and broking for Hong Kong and Macau.
Willis said that the appointments reflect “the significant opportunities and increasing complexities companies face within the natural resources and construction industries in Asia”.
Read the full story here.
4. Chubb Singapore hires ex-BHSI VP as head of major accounts and global broking
Cherry Gao is joining Chubb’s Singapore branch as its head of major accounts and global broking, effective from Monday.
Gao is joining Chubb after almost a decade at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance in Singapore and Hong Kong, where she was most recently vice president for customer and broker engagement.
Read the full story here.
5. Aon reappoints former talent solutions MD as APAC enterprise client leader
Kulshaan Singh has rejoined Aon as its enterprise client leader for Asia Pacific.
He previously worked for Aon Hewitt for more than 12 years between June 2001 and January 2014, including a sting as managing director for talent solutions for Aon Hewett in Southeast Asia.
Read the full story here.
6. Sompo strengthens actuarial teams in Southeast Asia with key appointments
Sompo has bolstered its actuarial teams in Southeast Asia with the appointment of Victor Fung as certifying actuary of Sompo Insurance Singapore and the hiring of Joyce Oo as appointed actuary of Berjaya Sompo Insurance in Malaysia.
Fung will assume the role in addition to his current responsibilities as senior actuarial manager.
Oo, meanwhile, joins from AIA Malaysia with over 12 years of actuarial experience and local regulatory knowledge.
Read the full story here.
7. Great American Insurance’s Singapore branch names new senior technical underwriting director
Ohio-based commercial specialty carrier Great American Insurance Group has appointed Natt Wattanaumphaipong as its senior director for technical underwriting within its Singapore branch.
Wattanaumphaipong will oversee the strategic management of technical underwriting and portfolio management, executing underwriting strategies that support the Singapore Branch’s business expansion plan.
Read the full story here.
8. Munich Re names new chief representative for Thailand 
Munich Re has appointed Chotima Puasiri as its chief representative for Thailand, succeeding the retiring Luciën Heijstee.
Puasiri has more than a decade of experience in the Thai non-life insurance and reinsurance sector, and oins from ERGO Insurance, where she has been working as executive vice president for product management and executive vice president for underwriting strategy.
9. Allianz Trade makes multiple appointments in Asia
Global trade credit insurer Allianz Trade has hired Ghinna Maharanny as an XoL underwriter, and Sandy Liu to regional head of China desk.
Singapore-based Maharanny was most recently an associate director at Aon’s credit solutions, focusing on structured credit and political risk.
Hong Kong-based Liu has been with the German insurer for over 19 years, with the last seven spent with Allianz Trade.
Read the full story here and here.
10. AIG taps Australia head of casualty
Liam Baughan has joined AIG as head of casualty for Australia.
He joins AIG from Allianz Australia, where he was head of liability, and has over 18 years of experience in casualty underwriting in Australia in the UK, having previously worked for Swiss Re, Allianz and Zurich Insurance.
Read the full story here.
11. Howden adds brokers to China M&A and transaction solutions team
Howden said that it has hired Rosy Wang as an associate director in Shanghai and Jianhua Chen as a director based in Beijing.
Wang has joined Howden after more than three years at Aon-COFCO Insurance Brokers, where she was an associate director.
Chen, meanwhile, has also joined from Aon in Beijing, where she was a director.
Read the full story here.
12. Marsh India promotes executive VP to renewable energy leader
Mitul Shah has been promoted to renewable energy leader for Marsh India.
Shah was most recently the executive vice president within the renewable energy practice.
13. Markel appoints senior casualty underwriter in Shanghai
Markel has tapped Flora Mao as a senior casualty underwriter within its Lloyd’s China underwriting operation.
She reports to Qianhai Hu, underwriting director of Markel’s underwriting division at Lloyd’s China, and will focus on building Markel’s general liability and casualty underwriting business in greater China.
Read the full story here.
14. HDI Global expands in South Korea with new representative office and appointment of lead
HDI Global said that it had appointed Ki Hyung Jo as its market lead for South Korea.
The firm has opened a representative office in South Korea as part of its effort to expand its footprint in Asia Pacific.
Read the full story here.
15. Hannover Re names Shanghai branch CEO 
Hannover Re has appointed Kun Huang as CEO of its Shanghai branch,
London-based Huang relocates to Shanghai for the role following nearly nine years as managing director between October 2016 and September at China Re Underwriting Agency, China Re’s London-based company.
Read the full story here.
16. QBE New Zealand appoints head of strategic partnerships
QBE New Zealand has appointed James Sommerville as head of strategic partnerships.
Auckland-based Sommerville joins following over a decade at WTW, last holding the position of manager for affinity since September 2021
Read the full story here.
Other moves you may have missed
Howden promoted Kathy Sein Than to senior executive for financial lines. Singapore-based Than has been an executive for financial lines since joining in October 2023.
WTW elevated Sarah Titmarsh to client manager for climate and parametric solutions. Brisbane-based Titmarsh has been the project and sales enablement lead since joining from Aon in November 2022.
Aon has appointed Neha Shah as head of life and health reinsurance solutions in India. She joined Aon from Gen Re as chief actuary for the new line of business in January last year.
Axa XL has expanded its underwriting team in India with the appointment of Siddharth Verma as assistant underwriter for property. Mumbai-based Verma joins Axa XL from Marsh India, where he had worked in the facultative reinsurance team for property and construction underwriting since February 2022.
Arch Insurance Australia added Andrew Whitlock as northern region casualty underwriting manager. Whitlock joins from Chubb and reports to Michelle Armstrong, Arch Insurance Australia’s casualty underwriting manager.
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.
-
Howden, Price Forbes, HDI Global, Lockton, Sompo: 17 APAC insurance people moves of the week
- January 9
Liberty Specialty Markets, Labuan Re, Marsh McLennan, QBE, Marsh, Talbot Underwriting, Alliance Insurance Brokers, Specialist Risk Group, Swiss Re CorSo, Cowbell, AIG, Canopius, Pinnacle Underwriting, Ryan Transactional Risk, Resolution Life and XS Global also made personnel changes over the last week.
-
ARB, Sompo, Munich Re, bolttech: 7 APAC insurance people moves of the week
- January 2
Aon, Crawford and Miller also made personnel changes over the last week, while we also wrap up the main moves over the holiday season.
-
Chubb, AIG, Aon, Howden, MG Geraghty: 15 APAC insurance people moves of the week
- December 19
Helvetia, BHSI, Sedgwick, QBE, Sompo, Allianz Commercial, Dual, Coface, Berkley Insurance Asia, Markel and bolttech also made personnel changes over the last week.
-
Aon, HDI Global, Latitude Brokers, Sompo: 7 APAC insurance people moves of the week
- December 12
Arch Insurance Australia, Chubb and China Re also made personnel changes over the last week.
-
QBE | Elevating customer experience, humanising claims: QBE Asia’s ‘Solutions in a Box’
Vastly improving turnaround times and personalising service delivery, QBE Asia’s award-winning, end-to-end bundled claims solutions is a game-changer for the insurance industry.
-
Beazley | What does cyber protection look like from day 1 to day 600 and beyond?
Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT concern, but a governance issue that belongs on the boardroom agenda.
-
Sedgwick | Preparing for the next storm
Insurance industry needs to recalibrate, invest in innovation and strengthen systems, talent and data practices.
-
Peak Re | From climate modelling to market opportunity: Forging a new clarity on Southeast Asia’s climate risk
Southeast Asia's protection gap: a crisis of clarity, not just capital
