Markel Insurance has appointed Johnny Zhang as senior underwriter and Jon Tam as underwriter for its professional and financial risks (PFR) and cyber team in Greater China, the specialty insurer announced on Monday.
Both are based in Hong Kong and will report to April Tam, who leads the Hong Kong PFR and cyber team.
Before joining Markel, Zhang was at Ping An for over a decade, including most recently as financial lines underwriting manager. His previous experience includes time at AIG.
In his new role, Zhang will focus on management liability and the development of new product initiatives, with a focus on AI-related segments.
Meanwhile, Jon Tam joins from Starr, where he has been with since 2018 and most recently served as senior underwriting manager for the financial lines portfolio in Hong Kong. Before his stint at Starr, he held underwriting and broking roles at Marsh and Chubb.
Tam will now manage the commercial professional indemnity book to help drive Markel’s expansion into North Asia.
“I’m delighted to welcome Johnny and Jon to our team,” April Tam said. “Their expertise and fresh perspectives will drive innovation and allow us to remain agile as we profitably grow our business.”
Chelsea Jiang, managing director of Greater China, added: “Johnny and Jon’s expertise will help us deliver specialist cover for the region’s evolving risks. Their deep knowledge of management liability, professional indemnity and emerging areas like AI and cyber means they’re exactly the kind of forward-thinking underwriters we need to serve this rapidly changing market.”
The appointments come amid wider expansion by Markel in Asia-Pacific. APAC head Sucheng Chang succeeded Christian Stobbs in June, with Jiang appointed to her role as Greater China MD in July.
More recently, Flora Mao became Markel’s first casualty underwriter in Mainland China last month, while Phil Amlot was promoted to lead the expansion of its international trade credit business, including in Asia, last week.
