Senior appointments across the insurance sector this week span London Market legal advisory, specialty cyber underwriting, delegated authority, legacy transactions and insurance-focused investment solutions.
Nirvana appoints Kevin Kettrick as London cyber lead
Specialty MGA Nirvana has appointed Kevin Kettrick as its London cyber lead.
Kettrick brings more than 25 years of experience in the London insurance market, including 15 years focused on underwriting SME and mid-market cyber risks. He previously co-founded Ptarmigan Underwriting, which was acquired by Gallagher in 2022, before founding specialist cyber MGA Clovasure.
In his new role, Kettrick will initially focus on excess cyber business, with plans to develop a primary cyber product later in the year. His appointment follows Nirvana’s recent expansion, including its merger with Pulse Insurance, the 2025 acquisition of Arena NV and its agreed acquisition of Ryan C&S, the Swedish public-sector arm of Ryan Nordics.
For brokers placing cyber business, the appointment adds an experienced specialist to Nirvana’s expanding cyber proposition. Kettrick’s previous experience in building and developing specialist cyber businesses could support the MGA’s plans to establish its excess cyber offering before moving into primary coverage.
The development may also be relevant to brokers serving SME and mid-market clients seeking standalone cyber capacity, particularly as Nirvana continues to build its presence in the specialty market.
Peach strengthens delegated authority team with Helen Doyle appointment
Specialist commercial insurer Peach has appointed Helen Doyle as senior delegated portfolio underwriter, effective August 26, 2026.
Doyle has 18 years of insurance experience, including 14 years in commercial lines. Her experience covers delegated authority, SME property and casualty, portfolio management and data analytics.
She joins Peach from Travelers Europe, where she served as SME underwriting manager and supported e-trade product development. Before that, she held the position of SME product and channel leader at Covéa Insurance.
Her background in e-trade product development and data analytics could support Peach’s continued development of digital trading capabilities and portfolio management within its SME delegated business.
For brokers exploring delegated authority partnerships, Doyle’s combination of SME underwriting, portfolio management and data expertise could be relevant as Peach continues to develop its delegated proposition and assess scheme performance.
Vontobel appoints Emmanuel Archampong to lead insurance solutions
Vontobel has appointed Emmanuel Archampong as head of insurance solutions in London, as the firm continues to expand its insurance-sector capabilities within its Institutional Clients business.
Archampong will be responsible for expanding Vontobel’s insurance advisory, origination and specialist capabilities across Europe and Asia-Pacific. His remit will draw on the firm’s expertise across fixed income, investment solutions and private markets.
He joins Vontobel from Columbia Threadneedle Investments, where he served as head of sales for UK institutional and insurance. His previous experience includes senior insurance-focused positions at Wells Fargo Asset Management, Royal London Asset Management and J.P. Morgan Asset Management.
The appointment strengthens Vontobel’s dedicated insurance expertise and could be relevant to insurers and insurance-related businesses seeking support around investment management, advisory and asset-liability considerations.
For brokers advising insurer-owned MGAs, captives or other insurance businesses, Vontobel’s expanded insurance solutions capabilities may create another specialist resource for investment-related discussions.
HF adds three partners to its London Market & Specialty team
HF, a legal adviser to the insurance and commercial sectors, has appointed Mark Meyer, Graham Ludlam and Phillip Carney as partners in its London Market & Specialty team.
The three appointments cover areas including complex liability, specialty risk, high-value insurance disputes and reinsurance.
The expansion adds senior legal expertise to HF’s London Market and Specialty practice, particularly in areas involving complex insurance and reinsurance matters.
For brokers and insurance businesses dealing with specialty risks, complex claims and cross-border disputes, the appointments add further specialist legal resources to HF’s offering.
DARAG appoints Paul Martin as senior actuarial adviser
Legacy insurance acquirer DARAG Group has appointed Paul Martin as non-executive senior group actuarial adviser.
Martin brings more than 35 years of experience across the London insurance and actuarial markets. His previous positions include group chief actuary and group chief risk officer at Catlin. Since 2015, he has also held non-executive positions at Lancashire Syndicates, Aspen Insurance UK and IGI.
His experience spans actuarial leadership, catastrophe modelling and group-wide risk management.
While brokers do not typically place new business with legacy acquirers such as DARAG, they can play a role in advising clients considering legacy transactions, including the transfer of discontinued business or run-off portfolios.
Martin’s appointment adds further senior actuarial expertise to DARAG’s team and could be relevant to brokers and clients involved in complex legacy transactions where actuarial analysis and risk assessment are important components of the process.
Liberty Specialty Markets appoints Tressie Norton as supercoverholders underwriting manager
Liberty Specialty Markets has appointed Tressie Norton as supercoverholders underwriting manager for the UK and MENA region.
Norton will report to Stephen Tompson, head of supercoverholders within Liberty’s delegated authority practice. She joins Liberty after more than 17 years at Chubb and recently returned to London from Singapore.
In her new role, Norton will oversee strategic partnerships supporting the development of financial lines and transactional risk capabilities.
Supercoverholder arrangements are an important part of the delegated authority market, providing MGAs and coverholders with access to insurer capacity. Norton’s appointment therefore adds senior underwriting leadership to Liberty’s work with these strategic partners.
Her previous legal background in claims and litigation is also relevant to the role, particularly given the complexity that can arise in financial lines, transactional risk and delegated authority relationships.
For brokers working with MGAs or coverholders that have, or are considering, Liberty supercoverholder relationships, the appointment highlights the insurer’s continued focus on the delegated authority channel and its financial lines and transactional risk capabilities.
