PEMBROKE, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AXIS Capital Holdings Limited ("AXIS Capital") (NYSE: AXS) today announced the appointment of Peter Wilson, an insurance executive with three decades of industry experience, as its President of U.S. Insurance. At AXIS, Mr. Wilson will be responsible for the management of all of the Company’s U.S. Insurance operations, including the Professional Lines and Property and Casualty Divisions. Mr. Wilson will join AXIS in May and will be based in the Company’s New York office reporting to AXIS Insurance CEO, Jack Gressier.
Most recently, Mr. Wilson served as President and Chief Operating Officer for CNA Specialty, a unit of CNA Financial Corporation, which is focused on professional and management liability, healthcare, surety and other specialized insurance products and services. During his over 20-year tenure with CNA Financial Corporation, Mr. Wilson served in a number of leadership positions and had management responsibility for a diverse group of business units operating both in the U.S. and internationally. At the time of his departure from CNA, the Specialty Lines operation produced annual net premiums of $3 Billion. Prior to CNA, he served as an Executive Vice President at AIG, where he managed AIG’s commercial public D&O business in the U.S.
Jack Gressier, Chief Executive Officer of AXIS Insurance, commented on Mr. Wilson’s appointment, stating, “Peter is a seasoned executive with a depth and breadth of experience and a reputation for driving profitable growth that can only come from decades of working at the highest levels of our industry. He is known for his ability to build and motivate highly integrated teams, and for his effective leadership of these teams. I speak for our entire company in welcoming him to the AXIS team.”
Mr. Wilson also commented on his new appointment, stating, “I’m very happy to be joining the team at AXIS. Like many in the field, I have watched the company grow in size and expertise, as they have strategically assembled an enviable team of executives. I look forward to working with the Insurance team as we continue to expand the AXIS Insurance franchise.”
Mr. Wilson attended Syracuse University as an undergraduate, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Additionally, Mr. Wilson completed the Advanced Executive Program at The Wharton School in Philadelphia, PA. He has formerly served as President of the Professional Liability Underwriting Society (PLUS), and President of the PLUS foundation.
AXIS Capital is a Bermuda-based global provider of specialty lines insurance and treaty reinsurance with shareholders’ equity at December 31, 2012 of $5.8 billion and locations in Bermuda, the United States, Europe, Singapore, Canada, Australia and Latin America. Its operating subsidiaries have been assigned a rating of “A+” (“Strong”) by Standard & Poor’s and “A” (“Excellent”) with a positive outlook by A.M. Best. AXIS Capital and AXIS Specialty Finance LLC have been assigned senior unsecured debt ratings of A- (stable) by Standard & Poor’s and Baa1 (stable) by Moody’s Investors Service. For more information about AXIS Capital, visit our website at www.axiscapital.com.