Australia-based Aviso Specialty has expanded its financial lines business with the appointment of Paul Smyth as head of financial lines and Shane Aitken as manager, financial lines.
Smyth is based in Melbourne, while Aitken is based in Sydney, with the pair each bringing over three decades of experience individually to their respective roles.
Smyth has more than 35 years’ experience in financial lines, with expertise spanning professional indemnity, directors’ and officers’ liability, financial institutions and complex risks. He joins from Gallagher, where he was a client director. He previously spent several years at Aon as a placement director.
Aitken has more than 30 years’ industry experience, with a focus on financial, cyber, healthcare, life sciences and technology risks. He joins from Marsh, where he was principal in Marsh Specialty FINPRO. His earlier career included leadership roles at Avatar Brokers and Steadfast IRS.
In a LinkedIn post, Aviso Specialty said the appointments would strengthen its specialist capabilities as clients face increasingly complex legal, regulatory and governance exposures.
Smyth and Aitken will work alongside Jo Lucas, whose role is also expanding nationally, the broker added.
The move follows a much larger recruitment drive at Aviso Specialty this year. In February, the Ardonagh Group-backed broker added 21 senior roles across several specialist lines, with most of the new joiners coming from rival broker Lockton.
More recently, the business appointed Kerin Rathgeber as head of trade credit, and previously also added three senior hires to its M&A insurance practice.
