Gallagher has appointed Nepomuk Loesti as chief commercial officer (COO) of its European broking operations.
The newly created role will support Gallagher’s expansion in Europe, outside of the UK, as the broker seeks to build on its existing operations in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Turkey.
Loesti will report into Alex Nagler, CEO of Europe, who joined in September last year and Gallagher adds he will play a key role in driving the growth strategy of Gallagher in the region overall, and work with the existing teams to explore further product and service opportunities.
He joins Gallagher from AIG, where he spent the last 17 years in a variety of roles in Zurich, London, New York, Frankfurt and Munich. Most recently, he was head of financial lines for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to that, he was head of liabilities, financial lines and client engagement for Germany, Switzerland and Austria. But Loesti started his career in underwriting at Liberty Mutual Insurance Europe in 2004.
Loesti said: “I am very pleased to be joining Gallagher as it looks to expand its European presence.
“Having spent my entire career on the insurer side to date, the chance to move to a global broker like Gallagher with ambitious plans was an opportunity I couldn’t resist.
“The firm already has some fantastic businesses operating in Europe, but there is plenty more room for growth and I will be working closely with Alex to deliver both expansion into new geographies, and also working with the wider in-country leaders to see what further products, services and solutions we can offer to maximise the outcome for Gallagher clients.”
Nagler added: “Nepo is a natural leader who brings passion, expertise and a commercially driven mind and he will be crucial in delivering our ambitious growth plans.
“He has extensive knowledge of the European insurance market, and of the trading environment for businesses operating locally and internationally in the region and his appointment speaks directly to our strategy of employing talented people to support our existing clients, and expand our services to new clients.
“We are very pleased to have him on board.”