Sompo, a provider of commercial and consumer property and casualty re/insurance, has announced the appointment of Nicholas Walsh as the new Independent Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors for Sompo International Holdings Ltd.
Walsh, who has served as an Independent Non-Executive Director of SIH since June 2022, takes over from James Shea.
Shea was recently appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sompo P&C, while maintaining his role as CEO and Executive Director of SIH.
Shea commented: “We are delighted that Nicholas Walsh has become our new SIH Board Chairman. Nic is a highly respected leader with more than 50 years of experience in insurance and his expertise has been invaluable to us since he rst joined our Board three years ago.
“Nic’s new appointment comes at an exciting time for Sompo as we continue to expand our business around the world. We look forward to continuing to benefit from his guidance and insights, helping us put our customers and trading partners even more at the centre of everything we do.”
Nicholas Walsh brings over four decades of leadership experience to his new role as Independent Non-Executive Chairman of Sompo International Holdings Ltd. (SIH). Walsh spent 42 years at AIG, holding a variety of senior roles, including Vice Chairman of AIG Property and Casualty Inc. when he retired in 2014. He also served as Executive Vice President of AIG Inc., CEO of AIG’s international general insurance business, and chair of several regional AIG companies.
In addition to his AIG career, Walsh has built a strong reputation in international boards and organisations. He has been an independent director of McGill Global Solutions LLC since 2020, and served on the board of McGill & Partners Ltd. from 2020-2024.
He also held the position of independent director at Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) PLC and its US subsidiaries between 2014 and 2019. Furthermore, Walsh serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director of Endurance Worldwide Insurance Limited, a subsidiary of Sompo International Holdings.
Alongside Walsh’s appointment, Sompo has also named Monica Cramér Manhem as an Independent Non-Executive Director, and Yoshihiro Uotani, Sompo Group’s Chief Risk Officer (CRO), as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of SIH.
Monica Cramér Manhem has served as Independent Non-Executive Director at SI Insurance (Europe), SA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIH, since 2023. She previously held the position of CEO at SiriusPoint International, Scandinavia’s largest reinsurance company.
With almost 40 years in the insurance and reinsurance sectors, Cramér Manhem has extensive leadership experience, having been part of Sirius International since 1985 and serving as a board director between 2014 and 2022.
Yoshihiro Uotani, who will officially assume his new role as Senior Executive Vice President of Sompo Holdings in April 2025, has been serving as the Group CRO and Executive Officer at Sompo Holdings, Inc. since 2021.
With over 35 years of experience in the insurance industry, Uotani has held key roles across various global locations, including in Germany, the UK, the US, and Japan, overseeing the company’s global risk management efforts.
Shea said: “The appointments of Monica and Uotani-san will strengthen even further the depth of expertise within our SIH Board. Monica brings with her broad expertise across underwriting, communications, analytics, strategic and regulatory topics and is a respected industry leader.
“As Group CRO, Uotani-san’s extensive knowledge will help us to navigate a complex and rapidly moving global risk landscape as we continue to take our business from strength to strength.”
