Axa XL Re names Twite Bermuda CEO

Axa XL Reinsurance has appointed Mark Twite as Bermuda CEO, with the executive replacing Paul Simons who was revealed by this publication to have left the carrier to take a senior role at Convex.

Effective 3 October, Twite will be responsible for the strategic growth of the business in Bermuda.

Twite was previously chief financial officer of the reinsurance division of Axa XL.

Prior to that, he held a number of senior positions including head of strategic business finance for Axa XL, while also maintaining his role as head of assumed reinsurance finance.

Commenting on the appointment, Axa XL reinsurance CEO Nancy Bewlay said: “Mark’s 30-year experience in the industry coupled with his 18-year tenure at Axa XL in Bermuda places him in the ideal position to deliver for our global clients and brokers in this key market and lead our talented team.”

It comes after The Insurer revealed in June that former Axa XL CEO for reinsurance in Bermuda Simons had left the company to take a senior role at Convex Insurance’s island operation.

Simons had been with Axa XL and its predecessor company XL Re just shy of 30 years, having originally joined the business in 1994.

He ascended to the Bermuda reinsurance CEO role in May this year and previously held the title of head of property, global markets and head of Bermuda reinsurance.

The move also comes amid a period of reshuffling among the senior ranks of Axa XL’s reinsurance business.

In March, Axa XL named its global chief underwriting officer Bewlay as the new CEO of its reinsurance operations, replacing Charles Cooper, who abruptly stepped down from the post in March after serving as CEO of the business since 2017, when it was known as XL Catlin.

More recently, Axa XL Reinsurance appointed Peter Kiernan as head of US property, Bermuda reinsurance, with the executive replacing Simon Penney, who relocated to London to take up a new global role as head of underwriting analytics.