Charman Promoted to CEO, Sompo Holdings Overseas Insurance; Frudd Named Int’l CEO
Sompo International Holdings Ltd., a Bermuda-based specialty provider of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, announced that John Charman, currently chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of Sompo International, will be promoted to chief executive officer of Overseas Insurance Business in Sompo Holdings Inc., effective April 1, 2019.
This segment of Sompo Holdings’ business currently represents more than 27 percent of Sompo Holdings Group’s adjusted profit, employing around 9,000 people in 30 countries and regions and is projected to have more than $10 billion in gross premiums by 2020. In such capacity, Charman will join the new Global Executive Committee (Global ExCo) of Sompo Holdings, which will be established in April 2019 to provide expertise and input on group-wide strategic decisions. Charman will remain as executive chairman of Sompo International’s board of directors, a role he has held since joining the company in May 2013.
The company also announced that Nigel Frudd will succeed Charman, becoming chief executive officer of Sompo International, effective Jan. 1, 2019, subject to applicable regulatory approvals. Frudd will also join the Global ExCo and be appointed to the new role at Sompo Holdings of senior executive vice president and chairman of Overseas M&A.
Frudd was appointed by Sompo Holdings as a non-executive director of Canopius upon its acquisition in 2014, taking on a full-time role with Sompo Holdings as managing executive officer Global M&A in 2015 in which capacity he led the acquisition of Endurance and later the sale of Canopius.
Frudd joined Sompo International in March 2017 as chief strategy officer and a member of the board of directors. At the time, he also retained his role as managing executive officer of Sompo Holdings where he was head of Global M&A. Previously Frudd has held senior positions in leading UK insurance companies, been a partner in City of London law firms, specializing in the corporate and financial services sector, and a Partner in the Corporate Finance division of a leading UK firm of Chartered Accountants. Frudd has an LLB (Hons) from the University of Leeds, qualified as a Barrister (Gray’s Inn) and as a solicitor of the Supreme Court.
Consistent with the planned build-out of Sompo International, the company is expanding its board of directors. Katsuyuki (Dave) Tajiri will be appointed to the company’s board as an executive director, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Having joined Sompo Holdings in 1990, he brings a wealth of experience in the retail insurance market, including his recent tenure as executive director of Sompo Holdings (Asia) Pte. Ltd., which serves the ASEAN countries. Last year, Tajiri was appointed executive officer of Sompo International Retail, responsible for laying the foundation for this new integrated retail platform, which primarily focuses on personal lines products.
The company announced that Recai Dalas, currently CEO and director, Sompo Japan Sigorta, which serves the Turkish market, will be appointed to CEO of Retail and chairman of Retail Executive Committee in Sompo International. In this role, he will drive the integration of retail business outside of Japan as well as continuing to lead Sompo Holdings’ subsidiary in Turkey, a role he has held since that company was founded in 2001.
The Commercial Property and Casualty executive leaders currently reporting to Charman, along with Dalas in his capacity as CEO of Retail, will now report directly to Frudd as CEO of Sompo International.
“We are excited that these strategic management changes will enable Sompo International to reach the next level of growth, with a greater presence globally in both the commercial and retail insurance industry,” commented Kengo Sakurada, group CEO of Sompo Holdings.
“At the same time, Sompo Holdings is also strengthening our corporate governance structure in order to promote diversity and globalization. One of the key elements is forming the Global ExCo and we are very pleased that John and Nigel will be coming on board as inaugural members,” he continued.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to work even more closely with my Sompo Holdings’ colleagues in Japan and to further the substantial progress we are making toward our shared vision of increasing the contribution of the overseas business,” said Charman.
“Nigel has played a strategic role in the creation and integration of Sompo International to date, and I have every confidence in his ability to lead the expanded organization as we develop a unified platform for all commercial and retail business outside of Japan,” he added.
Source: Sompo International Holdings