A number of insurance and insurtech firms have strengthened their leadership teams this week, with appointments spanning a digital managing general agent (MGA), a personal lines insurer, a specialty underwriter, a global broker and a financial technology platform.
Ripe names inaugural chief operating officer
Ripe has appointed Jon Fell as its first chief operating officer.
Fell joins the business from Verso Wealth Management, where he served as group chief operating officer and oversaw the integration of acquired companies. Prior to that, he held operational leadership roles for more than 25 years at Assurant Europe, Bank of America and several private equity-backed financial services firms. During that time, he led major digital transformation and operational improvement initiatives.
TMK appoints head of political violence and terrorism
Tokio Marine Kiln (TMK) has named Georgina Rennie as head of political violence and terrorism, effective immediately.
Rennie joins from Talbot AIG, where she served as deputy head of terrorism and political violence and managed one of the market’s largest portfolios in the segment. Earlier in her career, she spent nearly five years at Chaucer Syndicates, contributing to the development of its Latin American terrorism portfolio and helping introduce new underwriting capabilities.
Her appointment comes amid increasing global demand for political violence insurance. In her new position, Rennie will oversee the strategic direction and underwriting performance of TMK’s political violence and terrorism portfolio across London and Singapore. She will report to James Wilson, head of special risks.
Policy Expert establishes chief growth officer position
Policy Expert has appointed Graham Wright as chief growth officer, a newly created role that broadens the company’s growth function to include trading responsibilities.
A qualified actuary, Wright brings more than two decades of experience in the personal lines market. He joins from Allianz UK, where he most recently served as managing director of home and interim managing director of UK personal broker operations. Earlier roles include chief commercial officer at Saga and a 15-year tenure at Willis Towers Watson, where he worked across pricing, product development, claims and underwriting.
The appointment follows the arrival of Richard Kirby as chief operating officer in March 2026 and comes during a period of continued growth for the company. Policy Expert reported revenue of £210.3 million for the year ending December 2025, representing a 2.7% increase from the previous year. The insurer’s home insurance portfolio now exceeds 1.4 million active policies and generates £350 million in gross written premiums, with a best estimate loss ratio of 43%.
Gallagher expands private capital capabilities in Italy
Gallagher has strengthened its European private equity and mergers and acquisitions practice through five new appointments, marking the establishment of its first dedicated team in Italy.
Giulio Greco has been appointed chief broking officer for the EMEA-wide practice and will oversee broking strategy for transactional risk solutions across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Carlo Ungaro joins as director of relationship management for southern Europe, while Federica Marcabruni has been named head of transaction solutions for Italy. Marcabruni brings more than a decade of experience as a corporate M&A lawyer. Alberto Corolla and Vincenzo Ferrini have also joined the practice as director and associate director of transaction solutions respectively, both bringing expertise in corporate law.
Vitesse appoints European chief commercial officer
Vitesse has appointed Richard Reggel as chief commercial officer for Europe as it continues to expand its presence across the insurance market.
Reggel joins from Verisk, where he spent 12 years working within the London Market. Most recently, he served as chief commercial officer for Verisk Specialty Business Solutions, with responsibility for platforms including Sequel, Whitespace and Morning Data.
The appointment follows a year of strong growth for Vitesse, which reported a 40% increase in customers. The platform now serves nearly 600 organisations, including global insurers, Lloyd’s market participants, MGAs, third-party administrators and brokers.
In his new role, Reggel will oversee commercial operations across the UK, Europe and other international markets.
