Lloyd's of London has named Inga Beale as its chief executive, making her the first female CEO in the market's 325 year history.

Beale takes up her position in January 2014, replacing Richard Ward, Lloyd's longest-running CEO, who is resigning at the end of this year.

“Lloyd's is already an international leader, but this unique market has an extraordinary opportunity to increase its footprint and to cement its position as the global hub for specialist insurance and reinsurance,” says Beale.

Lloyd's chairman John Nelson says he “absolutely delighted” to have Beale as chief executive.

“She has 30 years' experience in the insurance industry,” he says. “Her CEO experience, underwriting background, international experience and operational skills, together with her knowledge of the Lloyd's market, make Inga the ideal chief executive for Lloyd's.”

Beale began her insurance career as an underwriter with Prudential prior to a decade-long tenure with GE Insurance Solutions, where she worked in the U.K., Europe and the U.S. She held executive positions with Converium and Zurich in Switzerland, and was most recently group CEO of Lloyd's managing agent, Canopius Group Ltd.

She was a keynote speaker at the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation's (IICF) Women in Insurance global conference in June 2013. According to a study released at the conference, women hold only 6% of top executive positions among insurance and reinsurance companies.

Lloyd's reported a nearly 5% increase in gross written premium in the first half of 2013, although profit dropped slightly due to low investment yields.

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