@ShutterStock. Weekly comings and goings and portfolio management news for the investment community in insurance.

Comings and goings

Mercer

Mercer has announced the appointment of James Lewis as its new Chief Investment Officer in the UK, effective from 1 January 2023. Lewis has assumed responsibility for the leadership and oversight of Mercer’s investment solutions and investment strategy for Mercer’s investment propositions in the UK market and sits on the UK Investment and the European and AMEA CIO Leadership teams.

Lewis has held various senior roles at Mercer UK since joining the company in 2010, most recently as its Head of Investment Strategy where he led the design and implementation of investment strategies for fiduciary management clients.

Previously, he spent eight years at Buck in actuarial roles.

“Recent market events have emphasised the importance of robust governance and effective implementation frameworks to respond effectively to investment opportunities and market challenges,” said Lewis. “We have a hugely talented investment team dedicated to providing solutions and advice to improve investment outcomes for our clients.”

AIG

Thomas F. Motamed, a Director at AIG since January 2019, is retiring from the Board of Directors for health reasons.

As well as being on the Board of Directors, he was also appointed to the board’s risk & capital committee, as well as to its compensation & management resources committee.

Motamed was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CNA Financial Corporation from 2009 to 2016. Before CNA, Motamed spent over 30 years at The Chubb Corporation, where he rose to Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer. He is a past Chairman of the Insurance Information Institute and is Chair Emeritus for Adelphi University.

AIG has made several executive changes so far this year – both expected and unexpected. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Shane Fitzsimons announced in early January that he was to take a temporary medical leave of absence. Former CFO and current Global Chief Actuary Mark Lyons were named Interim Chief Financial Officer until Fitzsimons’ return.

Nassau Financial Group

Christine Janofsky has joined the financial services company, Nassau Financial Group, as its new Chief Financial Officer.

Nassau, which has three businesses: insurance, reinsurance, and asset management was founded in 2015 and has approximately $1.4 billion in total adjusted capital and $21.6 billion in assets under management.

Janofsky most recently worked as CFO of eHealth, Inc., a publicly traded insurance distribution company. Prior to eHealth, she spent eight years at Lincoln Financial Group, holding a variety of senior finance roles including as Chief Accounting Officer. Earlier in her career, she held senior finance roles at Fidelity & Guaranty Life and Nationwide Insurance.

Connecticut-based Nassau has grown rapidly over the past several years acquiring Foresters Life Insurance and Annuity Company, Constitution Life, and several others.

Lloyd’s

Mark Dyson, currently the Lloyd’s CFO for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, is now also CEO of Lloyd’s Asia operation as well as the country manager for Singapore, which houses the Lloyd's Asia team, on an interim basis.

Dyson takes the position from Thomas Haddrill, who will return to the London market as WTW's new Head of Broking for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Dyson joined Lloyd’s in the UK as Head of Tax in 2020 before becoming Head of Member Relations and Chief Tax Officer. He has been in Singapore since April 2022, when he moved to assume his current role. Dyson was formerly Group Head of Tax and Group Head of Property at Essentra plc before joining the Lloyd's team.

Alternative Credit Council

The Alternative Credit Council (ACC) has appointed Deborah Zurkow, Global Head of Investments at Allianz Global Investors, as its new Chair.

The ACC global representative body for private credit fund managers and an affiliate of the Alternative Investment Management Association

Zurkow assumes leadership of the ACC from Stuart Fiertz, Co-Founder and President of Cheyne Capital, who has chaired the ACC since its formation in 2016. Fiertz will remain on the ACC board.

Zurkow is the Global Head of Investments at Allianz Global Investors and a member of the Executive Committee. Since January 2020, she has led Allianz GI’s investment platform, which comprises Private Markets, Equities, Fixed Income and Multi-Asset strategies.

She joined AllianzGI in 2012 as CIO and Head of Infrastructure Debt, leading a team that pioneered infrastructure debt as an asset class for institutional investors.

Before joining AllianzGI, she was CEO of Trifinium Advisors Limited and head of Public Finance EMEA for MBIA UK Insurance Limited.

She has been included in Financial News’ list of ‘100 Most Influential Women in European Finance’ on multiple occasions.

In its statement, the ACC noted that private credit funds are a key segment of the alternative asset management sector and significant participants in credit markets, providing an estimated $1.4 trillion of credit to SMEs and mid-market businesses around the globe.

The ACC was established in 2016 and has helped the growth of the asset class through its research programme and engagement with investors and policymakers.

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