People Moves: WTW Names Wegbrans as Head of Corporate Risk & Broking Europe; Howden Re Taps Aon’s Nicholson, Lockton Re’s Riley for Aviation and Space Team
This edition of International People Moves details appointments at WTW and Howden Re.
A summary of these new hires follows here.
WTW Names Wegbrans as Head of Corporate Risk & Broking Europe
Insurance broker WTW announced the appointment of Hugo Wegbrans as head of Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB) Europe and Simon Delchar as global head of Placement, both reporting to Lucy Clarke, president, Risk and Broking (R&B).
Wegbrans succeeds Anne Pullum in the CRB Europe role and on the global R&B leadership team, who is leaving the company.
Wegbrans joined WTW in 2021 as head of Broking and has spearheaded the build and continued rollout of WTW’s Broking Platform worldwide, as well as managing the company’s global market relationships. Based in the Netherlands, he will now be responsible for WTW’s CRB operations throughout Western Europe.
Pullum will serve as co-lead of the WTW Corporate Development function, alongside CFO Andrew Krasner, central to driving forward WTW’s enterprise strategy, and continue as head of WTW’s European geography.
Delchar succeeds Wegbrans as global head of Placement for CRB, responsible for placement strategy and execution for CRB around the world. Based in London, Delchar joined WTW earlier last year as head of Global Portfolio Placements and head of Broking for GB. He was previously at Marsh, where he held various senior roles including UK and Ireland head of Placement and head of Marsh Specialty Asia.
“Anne took on the leadership of CRB Europe in late 2021, at a time when the business was facing significant challenges. Under her guidance, CRB Europe not only stabilized but has achieved historical levels of success, delivering double-digit growth, impressive margin expansion and a major Transformation program that included the integration of our French business,” commented Clarke.
“Thanks to Anne’s leadership, CRB Europe has strong momentum as we enter 2025. I am confident Hugo will be able to further build on Anne’s success,” she added.
“Hugo’s work with WTW’s Broking Platform has made it easier to service clients, giving them better information about their risks and efficient placement strategies, as well as improving our risk and analytics tools, resulting in better client insights, better market outcomes and greater efficiencies,” Clarke said. “Simon will continue to progress these digitization and automation efforts, as well as executing on our wider global placement initiatives, transforming our placement process and client service capabilities.”
Howden Re Taps Aon’s Nicholson and Lockton Re’s Riley for Aviation and Space Team
Howden Re has appointed two seasoned aviation reinsurance professionals, Paul Nicholson and Dominic Riley, to its Aviation and Space team within the Global Specialty Reinsurance division.
Nicholson will join Howden Re as managing director in March 2025, with 35 years of industry experience. A well-known and respected figure in specialty reinsurance broking, Nicholson has a wealth of experience in managing substantial aviation portfolios, including traditional treaty business, non-proportional, and MGA platforms.
Nicholson joins from Aon, having previously held senior positions at Gallagher Re, Guy Carpenter and JLT Re, where he played a key role in managing both its domestic and international aviation business.
Riley will join Howden Re as a managing director in April 2025, bringing nearly three decades of expertise in the aviation and space reinsurance market. Riley most recently served as head of the Aviation and Aerospace practice at Lockton Re. Previously, he held senior roles at JLT Re and Guy Carpenter, after starting his career in the Lloyd’s market in 1996.
Both executives will be integral members of Howden Re’s growing Global Specialty Reinsurance division, which is led by Bradley Maltese and has expanded significantly since its creation just over two and a half years ago.
Paul Smith leads the aviation and space reinsurance team at Howden Re. He joined in mid-2022, having held senior positions at Aon, JLT and Guy Carpenter.