Canopius Group has elevated Brodie English to Head of Casualty for Australia and New Zealand and Rob Barnum as Head of Financial Lines for APAC, effective 1 June, the specialty (re)insurer announced in a media release.
English has over 15 years of experience in casualty underwriting, complex risk assessment, and broker relationship management, including three years with Canopius. His prior senior roles include time at AXA XL and Tokio Marine
Barnum first joined Canopius over a year ago and has more than a decade of experience in underwriting financial lines and regional portfolio management. Prior to joining the business, he held senior roles at XL Catlin and AXIS Capital, including Head of Professional Lines & Cyber APAC.
“Brodie and Rob’s appointments mark an important step in the evolution of our APAC business”, says Soon Keen (SK) Lee, CEO of Canopius APAC and Middle East & North Africa (MENA). She added that both bring an “exceptional blend” of technical expertise, market insight, and leadership experience, making them an ideal fit to lead the business’s Casualty and Financial Lines portfolios in the region.
The appointments form part of a strategic realignment for Canopius, with the ANZ Casualty structure now more closely aligned with other regions and focused on delivering two distinct product lines: Casualty and Financial Lines.
“With the new structure now in place, I’m confident they will help us deliver even greater value to clients and further strengthen our relationships with partners across the region,” Lee said.
The speciality (re)insurer added that Craig Elliott, Head of Casualty for Asia Pacific, has left the firm to pursue other opportunities. “Canopius thanks Craig for his contributions and the strong foundation he helped to establish,” the business said.
The promotions follow a series of appointments by Canopius in the region last month, including the hiring of Chen Zhang as Head of Claims, Asia Pacific (APAC), Channing Chiu as Regional Strategy and Transformation Lead, as well as the appointment of Mark Butterworth as Canopius Group’s Underwriter – Professional Lines.
The group also announced the appointment of Andrew Ziolkowski as its new Head of Australia and New Zealand, which becomes effective later this year.