A number of senior appointments and organisational changes have been announced across the insurance sector, reflecting ongoing efforts to strengthen leadership, enhance capabilities and adapt to a more complex risk landscape.
Verisk launches UK & Ireland general insurance hub
Verisk has established Verisk General Insurance UK & Ireland, consolidating several of its existing businesses under a single structure to streamline client access to solutions spanning underwriting, claims and policy administration.
The new division brings together international underwriting, property and risk (IUPR), Claims UK and Ignite, with the goal of improving connectivity across the insurance ecosystem and fostering closer collaboration with insurers.
Chris Sawford has been appointed managing director of the new unit with immediate effect, taking responsibility for the integrated business. He previously led Verisk’s Claims UK division and co-founded Validus-IVC, a claims management solutions provider acquired by Verisk in 2018.
Guy Carpenter appoints global head of parametric advisory
Guy Carpenter, part of Marsh, has named Ian Bartholomew as global head of parametric advisory, effective June 1, 2026.
Bartholomew joins from FloodFlash, where he served as co-founder and chief underwriting officer. Prior to that, he spent five years as a senior consultant in the capital markets advisory team at Moody’s RMS.
Lyfeguard names former 10x CTO as co-founder
Lyfeguard has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Mark Allcock as co-founder and chief technology officer.
Allcock brings more than three decades of experience in technology leadership across financial services, payments, digital banking and lending. As co-founder and CTO of 10x Future Technologies, he played a key role in developing cloud-native banking platforms capable of operating at national scale.
His career also includes senior leadership roles at organisations such as Citibank, Credit Suisse, JP Morgan, Visa Europe and Barclays, along with extensive experience working with e-money and EMI-regulated firms.
In his new role, Allcock will lead Lyfeguard’s technology strategy, overseeing platform architecture, security, scalability and long-term resilience.
Markel strengthens UK broker leadership
Markel Insurance has enhanced its UK broker distribution and transformation capabilities through two senior external hires and an internal promotion.
Joanne Foreman joins as head of broker change, based in Manchester. She moves from AXA, where she played a key role in improving broker processes and engagement. At Markel, she will lead transformation initiatives aimed at enhancing broker interactions and simplifying trading.
Laura Fox has been appointed head of distribution strategy, based in Leeds. Previously distribution development director at RSA, she will oversee the strategic direction, proposition and compliance of broker distribution channels.
Both will work alongside Charlotte Harrison, who has been promoted to head of strategic sales and relationships. Having joined Markel in 2024 as head of regional broker development, Harrison will now lead the distribution team and manage key external partnerships.
MDS Group refreshes board amid growth
MDS Group has announced a series of board changes to reflect its expanding scale and complexity, as well as to strengthen governance.
Christophe Cornu has been appointed non-executive chairman, while Ângelo Paupério joins as a non-executive director.
Cornu brings significant international experience, having held senior roles including president of Nestlé France, CEO of Nestlé Suisse and chief commercial officer at Nespresso.
Paupério returns to the board, having previously served during Sonae’s time as a shareholder. He is currently a board member at Efanor and Sonae, and chairman of NOS, and has held several senior roles at Sonae SGPS, including CFO, executive vice-president and co-CEO.
Additional board appointments representing sole shareholder The Ardonagh Group include group chairman John Tiner and group chief commercial officer Des O’Connor.
José Manuel Fonseca continues as group CEO and chairman of the executive committee, alongside an unchanged executive team comprising José Diogo Silva (group CFO), Ricardo Pinto dos Santos (group COO and CEO Portugal) and Álvaro Mengotti (head of international and CEO Spain).
