John Walters to lead Hannover Re’s Australasia life business following Gerd Obertopp’s retirement

Hannover Re has named John Walters as its new managing director for its Australasia life business, the reinsurer announced via LinkedIn on Monday.

He succeeds Gerd Obertopp, who retired at the end of 2025 after nearly 40 years at Hannover Re, during which he worked across a number of continents and business lines.

Walters first joined Hannover Re in 2012 and has since held several senior management and technical roles across Australia and Ireland, including general manager, group business; head of group pricing, Australia; and senior pricing actuary, Ireland.

The move follows key appointments for the reinsurer late last year, including Yan Sun as Head of Life & Health for Greater China and the promotion of Kantaporn Thejatunga to GM of its Malaysia branch.