Optio Group (Optio) has appointed Jamie Jeffers as managing director of its Asia operations, effective immediately, the independent specialty managing general agent (MGA) said in a statement on Thursday.
Based in Singapore, Jeffers joins from Canopius Group, where he spent nearly seven years and most recently served as head of credit and political risk for Asia-Pacific, and head of the global underwriting committee. Earlier in his career, he held senior leadership roles at Willis Towers Watson and Westpac.
Jeffers has a background in specialty insurance and underwriting leadership. In the new role, he will lead Optio’s next phase of growth in Asia-Pacific, with a focus on expanding its underwriting capabilities and identifying new business opportunities.
The specialty MGA, building on the established local operations of Circles Group, intends to broaden its specialty offering, evaluate additional classes of business and deepen relationships with brokers, capacity providers and other market partners across the region.
“Circles Group provides an established regional platform from which to develop new capabilities and bring more of Optio’s underwriting expertise to clients and partners across Asia-Pacific,” said Optio Group CEO Deepak Soni. He added that Jeffers’ experience, local market relationships, and disciplined approach will support the company’s growth across the region.
