Financial holding company Markel Corporation has appointed Simon Wilson as president of Markel International.
He will succeed William Stovin, who has led the subsidiary since 2008. The transition is part of a planned succession that will fully take effect no later than January 1, 2022.
Stovin joined Markel as part of the acquisition of Terra Nova Holdings in 2000.
The deal was part of a long-term strategy to expand Markel’s footprint beyond North America to become a global player in specialty insurance.
“Markel is a truly remarkable company, and having the opportunity to help expand it to new frontiers has been a great honour. I will always admire this organisation, and I know that Markel International will be in great hands under Simon’s leadership,” Stovin said.
Meanwhile, Wilson comes to the position with nearly 20 years of experience scaling the international operations of large specialty insurance organisations.
He joined Markel in 2010 and currently serves as the managing executive of global strategy. Prior to joining Markel, he led the Lloyd’s Asia platform in Singapore.
“I’m honoured to have been selected for this role, and look forward to building upon William’s legacy,” Wilson said.
“Markel seeks to be a leader in each of our pursuits, and our 90-year history has proven that the best way to do this is through deep expertise and exceptional service.
“Our commitment to understand our customers’ needs while exceeding their expectations will continue to be at the forefront of our minds as we further scale our international operations.”
Wilson will report to Cox and work from the London office. Stovin will remain with the company in an advisory capacity into next year
Robert Cox, President and Chief Operating Officer of Insurance Operations for Markel, concluded, “Our global expansion was one of the most important decisions in Markel’s history, and William deserves significant credit for making it a success.
“His disciplined approach to profitably growing our wholesale business while also establishing and expanding our international retail operations has laid the foundation for tremendous growth in the future, and I’m confident that Simon will leverage this foundation to successfully lead our international operations in achieving our profitable growth goals.”
