Senior appointments announced this week cover several important areas of the insurance market, including London Market data governance, algorithmic underwriting risk management and specialist construction underwriting.
Joe Brace appointed LMG Data Council chair
The London Market Group (LMG) has appointed Joe Brace, operations director at the Lloyd’s Market Association (LMA), as chair of its Data Council. He succeeds Sheila Cameron, chief executive of the LMA, who has led the council since it was established in 2021.
Brace joined the LMA as operations director in April 2025. His responsibilities include supporting the implementation of Blueprint Two and encouraging the adoption of ACORD data standards across the insurance placement and processing lifecycle.
The Data Council oversees standards including CDR and MRC v3, which play an important role in determining how data is submitted and processed across the London Market. These standards can affect the amount of manual data entry and duplication brokers encounter when placing business across different market systems.
Brace’s existing responsibilities at the LMA already include Blueprint Two testing and market readiness. His appointment therefore provides continuity between the council’s work and the practical implementation of these data standards.
For broker operations teams continuing to adapt to standardised data submission requirements, maintaining this alignment could help provide consistency as the London Market progresses with its data transformation initiatives.
Markel appoints Greg O’Neill to lead UK construction underwriting
Markel Insurance has appointed Greg O’Neill as its new head of construction underwriting for the UK. In the role, he will be responsible for leading and developing Markel’s construction proposition in the market.
O’Neill joins Markel from Pen Underwriting, where he spent approximately 10 years leading its construction business. He was also among the founding members responsible for developing the firm’s regional construction book from its launch in 2014.
He brings more than two decades of UK construction underwriting experience, having worked across both insurer and managing general agent (MGA) environments.
Markel launched its UK construction proposition in 2023 with a broad risk appetite. The offering provides customers with access to in-house legal, tax and HR specialists, as well as additional services designed to help SME construction businesses manage operational risks.
Brokers can access Markel’s construction product through Acturis and the insurer’s own extranet for lower-complexity risks. More complex cases can be referred to Markel’s specialist underwriting team for additional expertise.
O’Neill’s extensive underwriting background in the construction sector gives him direct experience of the broker relationships involved in placing construction risks. His previous MGA experience is also relevant, providing practical insight into delegated authority arrangements and the way brokers operate within those models.
For brokers currently using Markel’s Acturis or extranet channels, the appointment is not expected to change the basic process for lower-complexity quote-and-bind business. However, brokers handling more complex construction risks may see O’Neill’s technical priorities and underwriting approach influence how those cases are assessed.
Ki appoints Adam O’Reilly as first chief risk officer
Ki, the algorithmic Lloyd’s digital follow platform, has appointed Adam O’Reilly as its first chief risk officer.
O’Reilly joins Ki from AEGIS London, where he spent nearly 20 years after joining the organisation in 2006. Most recently, he served as chief actuary, with responsibility for areas including pricing, reserving, capital, data science and analytics. He was also a member of AEGIS London’s executive committee.
In his new position at Ki, O’Reilly will oversee the actuarial, compliance, legal and risk functions and will report directly to chief executive Mark Allan.
The appointment strengthens Ki’s risk and actuarial leadership as the platform continues to operate within the algorithmic underwriting space. For brokers, effective pricing, reserving and capital management are important considerations when deciding how confidently to place follow business through a digital underwriting platform.
O’Reilly’s experience across actuarial and data science functions at AEGIS London is particularly relevant to Ki’s technology-driven underwriting model. His appointment brings additional technical expertise to the organisation as it continues to develop its platform and expand the capacity available through it.
Taken together, the three appointments highlight continued investment in data standards, specialist underwriting expertise and risk management across different areas of the insurance market.
