Market Lane Insurance Group on Monday announced several key appointments in its leadership and underwriting teams, as the managing general agent (MGA) pushed for further growth across Australia and New Zealand.
Toby Salmon moves up to managing director and deputy CEO from director of property. Like Porteous, Salmon has also had a stint at Brooklyn Underwriting in his almost 15 years in the industry.
Shane Golding has been promoted to group head of casualty from director, group head of liability, The Barn, and Matthew Porteous to group head of engagement and strategy from director – group head of partnerships and engagement. Both also share the managing directorial role with Salmon.
Jeanene Hill, who has been with the company since 2024, is now group chief operations officer. She has 25 years of industry experience, including prior roles at Canopius Group, Talbot Underwriting Ltd, Berkley Re Australia, Munich Re, and Willis Re. She is concurrently a member of the board of directors of the Underwriting Agencies Council.
Michael Atkinson, who joined the MGA last year, is now group chief financial officer. An accountant by profession, he moved to the insurance industry with more than 15 years of experience in his field, most recently as partner at Peer Wealth.
Antonia Topic, who has been with the company for more than two years, serves as group chief claims officer. She has more than a decade of experience, including prior stints at Sedgwick and Aon.
Anand Narayanan moves up to group underwriting manager – property from underwriting manager – property of The Barn, Market Lane’s underwriting agency, and Neil Davidson to The Barn property manager / senior underwriter – property from property underwriter. Joanna Hayes assumes the property manager role for The Barn from her stint at Genesis Underwriting.
“These appointments reflect the continued growth and development of our business, as well as the strength of the leaders guiding our specialist underwriting agency,” Market Lane said. “We are proud of the team we have built and look forward to continuing to work alongside our brokers and partners to support your clients and the opportunities ahead.”
The appointments follow Jo Mason’s move to Market Lane as managing director of the MGA’s New Zealand business, effective 28 April 2026, announced earlier this month and Kaleb Forster’s appointment as an underwriter in the company’s liability team in Melbourne, announced last month. Market Lane has also seen a series of strategic changes over the last year, including taking on ARAG’s legal expenses insurance portfolio in Australia, the introduction of a standalone legal expenses product, and the launch of ML Specialty.
