Zurich Insurance Group has appointed Gary Shaughnessy to the position of chief executive officer of global life and a member of the group executive committee.
He succeeds Kristof Terryn, who was appointed CEO of general insurance, effective October 1, 2015.
Mr. Shaughnessy has been CEO of Zurich UK Life since June 2012. In 2014, he assumed the additional role of country head for Zurich in the United Kingdom, and he is currently interim CEO of global life EMEA.
“I am delighted to welcome Gary in our group executive committee,” said Zurich's interim CEO, Tom de Swaan. “Gary steps up to his new role having made a significant contribution across our U.K. business. He is a great leader with a wealth of industry experience, which makes him perfectly suited for the role. The appointment demonstrates the strength of our internal talent pipeline.”
Mr. de Swaan added, “I would also like to pay tribute to Kristof Terryn, who has overseen both the global life and general insurance businesses over the last few months. He will now concentrate solely on the important task of managing the ongoing recovery in general insurance.”
Prior to joining Zurich, Mr. Shaughnessy was at Fidelity Worldwide Investment, where he was managing director for the U.K. defined contribution and retail business. His previous experience includes nearly a decade in senior roles within the Prudential Group, including the role of U.K. managing director, retail life & pensions, and CEO U.K. retail at M&G investments. Mr. Shaughnessy's background is in marketing and distribution with previous roles spanning the broad financial services market at AXA, the Automobile Association, and the Bank of Scotland.
Mr. Shaughnessy is a member of the board of the Association of British Insurers and is the chairperson of the ABI Protection Committee.
Learn more: https://www.zurich.com/.
Victoria Spears
Victoria Prussen Spears is senior vice president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Brooklyn Law School, Ms. Spears was an attorney at a leading New York City law firm before joining Meyerowitz Communications. She may be contacted at [email protected].