People Moves: Rivera Appointed CEO of Marsh McLennan LATAM/Caribbean, Brockman Named Chair; HDI Global Taps AGCS’s Strasser as Board Member for Specialty Lines

October 31, 2024

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Marsh McLennan Latin America and HDI Global.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

Rivera Appointed CEO of Marsh McLennan LATAM and Caribbean, Brockman Named Chair

Insurance broker Marsh McLennan announced the appointment of Carlos Rivera as CEO, Marsh McLennan Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and president, Marsh LAC, effective Jan. 1, 2025.

Based in Bogota, Colombia, Rivera will report to Flavio Piccolomini, CEO, Marsh McLennan International. He succeeds Ricardo Brockmann, who will serve as chairman of Marsh McLennan LAC, effective Jan. 1, 2025.

In these roles, Rivera will assume overall responsibility for Marsh McLennan’s regional strategy to deliver greater client value and impact from across the firm’s businesses, with particular responsibility for Marsh, its insurance broking and risk advisory business.

Rivera has 24 years’ experience in the global re/insurance market. He began his career in 2001 in Marsh Colombia and later moved to London as a reinsurance broker for Bowring Marsh. He returned to Colombia in 2016 when he was appointed as head of Placement for all the 11 operations of Marsh LAC. Since 2020, he has served as CEO of Marsh McLennan’s Carpenter Marsh FAC, the regional leader in facultative reinsurance.

In his role as chairman of Marsh McLennan LAC, Brockmann will continue to be based in Mexico City and will support Rivera in directing Marsh McLennan’s strategic vision for the region. With a career spanning more than 40 years in the insurance industry, and over 25 years at Marsh McLennan, Brockmann has served as CEO, Marsh McLennan LAC and president, Marsh LAC since February 2023. Previously, he was CEO of Marsh LAC and country corporate officer of Marsh McLennan Mexico for 13 years.

HDI Global Taps AGCS’s Strasser as Board Member for Specialty Lines

Dr. Renate Strasser has been appointed as a new member of the Executive Board of HDI Global SE, effective April 1, 2025. She succeeds Ralph Beutter, the board member responsible for Specialty Lines, who is retiring on May 31, 2025 but will continue to support the company in an advisory capacity and in committee roles.

Beutter will familiarize his successor with her tasks and continue to support the company in an advisory capacity and in committee roles

Strasser (50) has a long-standing, proven track record of expertise in business with corporate and specialty insurance solutions. She began her career in 2004 in aviation business with Munich Re and took over as worldwide head of Aviation Facultative in 2007, before moving to Zurich in 2016 to take on roles as CEO and managing director for a Swiss subsidiary of Munich Re. The native Austrian joined the board of management of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty in 2020 in the role of chief underwriting officer specialty, assuming overall responsibility in 2023 as chief technical officer with Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty & Allianz Commercial.

In the period from April to the end of May 2025, Beutter will familiarize his successor with her tasks and work with her to shape the transition.

The retirement of Beutter (59) marks the departure of a seasoned leader in specialty lines whose experience is matched by his achievements. After serving in various positions at Hannover Re, he successfully expanded the profitable specialty business segment within the Talanx Group as CEO, boosting the premium volume from €800 million to the current level of around €3 billion. In 2022 he was appointed to the Executive Board of HDI Global SE as chief underwriting officer for Specialty Lines and to this day works to ensure the prudent combination of specialty and corporate business.

“I would like to thank Ralph Beutter for his outstanding work. He was one of the pivotal success factors in the expansion of specialty lines within the Talanx Group. In Dr Renate Strasser, we have secured the services of a leader with extensive international experience. I wish her every success in her tasks,” said Torsten Leue, chief executive officer of Talanx AG and chairman of the Supervisory Board of HDI Global SE.

“I would like to thank Ralph most sincerely for his untiring commitment to Specialty Lines, and I am delighted that he will continue to support us with his expertise,” according to Dr. Edgar Puls, CEO of HDI Global SE and the member of Talanx AG’s Board of Management responsible for Corporate & Specialty business.

“He is a notable example of a successful career within the Group: Ralph started out as an apprentice in 1987 with HDI VVaG in Stuttgart, went on to complete a trainee programme in Hannover and moved up to board level through various international positions. I am looking forward to working with Dr. Renate Strasser, whose broad specialist expertise will further strengthen our team on the Executive Board,” Puls continued.

Strasser’s appointment is subject to approval by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin).

With effect from June 1, 2025 the members of the HDI Global Executive Board will be as follows:

  • Dr Edgar Puls (CEO)
  • Dr Mukadder Erdönmez (third-party liability, cyber insurance and motor)
  • Dr Christian Hermelingmeier (CFO)
  • Dr Dirk Höring (property insurance, engineering insurance, marine insurance, HDI Risk Consulting)
  • David Hullin (regions Europe, Americas, Asean, South Africa and Middle East)
  • Dr Barbara Klimaszewski-Blettner (claims management / region Germany)
  • Dr Thomas Kuhnt (COO, IT and accident & health)
  • Dr Renate Strasser (specialty lines)