Global insurance and reinsurance broking group Aon has bolstered its Digital Infrastructure Lifecycle Solutions Advisory with the appointment of Stephen Fox as Managing Director, while Brian Hearst takes on the role of Global Digital Infrastructure Builders Risk Leader.
With the growing demand for data centres, cloud capacity, and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, organisations are facing increasingly complex financing and insurance challenges.
The two appointments aim to align Aon’s underwriting appetite, technical risk insight, and access to diversified sources of capital earlier in the project lifecycle.
In his new role, Fox will work within the broker’s Digital Infrastructure Lifecycle Solutions Practice, which is led by Joe Peiser, Chief Executive Officer of Risk Capital, Aon. Fox will operate at the intersection of underwriting appetite, risk capital strategy, and technical design, as the practice works to support clients in structuring large-scale digital infrastructure investments to secure optimal capacity, terms, and diversified sources of risk capital.
Fox has over three decades of experience across property risk engineering, resilience, business continuity and risk advisory, with expertise in digital infrastructure, technology manufacturing, energy, and other mission-critical assets.
In the past, he held senior leadership roles at Marsh and JLT Specialty, and previously served in risk engineering and advisory positions at GlobalFoundries, Intel, Samsung, and FM.
Fox commented, “I’m excited to join Aon at a time when digital infrastructure risk and capital considerations are converging in new ways.
“By aligning design intent, resilience and risk mitigation with underwriting and capital expectations early, we are materially improving client outcomes, from access to capacity through to long-term capital efficiency.”
Meanwhile, Hearst will be responsible for advancing Aon’s Global Builders risk strategy, supporting clients delivering large-scale, complex construction projects across digital infrastructure, life sciences, and other capital-intensive sectors.
He joined Aon in 2018 and has since worked closely with major developers and investors on large-scale projects across North America, Europe and Asia, helping clients structure and place builders’ risk programs that support execution certainty and long-term resilience.
Hearst has nearly four decades of experience spanning claims, underwriting, broking and risk management, providing a multi-dimensional perspective on construction risk and program design.
“Builders’ risk is a critical enabler for clients bringing complex projects to market. I’m thrilled to step into this role and to work with colleagues around the world to continue delivering strong execution, deep expertise and consistent outcomes for clients navigating increasingly complex construction environments,” said Hearst.
Peiser commented on the appointments, “As digital infrastructure becomes more capital-intensive and systemically important, clients need advisors who can bridge technical risk, underwriting appetite and access to diversified sources of capital. These appointments reinforce our commitment to delivering integrated Risk Capital strategies that help clients manage volatility, unlock capacity and build resilience across their most complex assets.”
