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This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Lancashire Holdings and CFC Underwriting.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

Lancashire Announces Leadership Promotions, Including CEOs of Å©·òµ¼º½ Units

Lancashire Syndicates Ltd. and Lancashire Å©·òµ¼º½ Company Ltd., the UK insurance subsidiaries of Bermuda-based Lancashire Holdings Ltd., announced a group of senior underwriting appointments.

John Spence will be retiring from his role as CEO of Lancashire Syndicates Ltd., and Hayley Johnston, CEO of Lancashire Å©·òµ¼º½ Company Ltd., will also be retiring from her role, both during the first quarter of 2026.

Spence will be succeeded by Rachel Sabbarton, who is currently chief underwriting officer, Lancashire Å©·òµ¼º½ Company (UK) Ltd.

Jennifer Wilson, currently group financial planning and analysis director, will be succeeding Johnston in Bermuda.

Sabbarton joined Lancashire as group head of Marine, Energy, and Specialty Å©·òµ¼º½. She was promoted to chief underwriting officer, Lancashire Å©·òµ¼º½ Company (UK) Ltd. in April 2025. Alongside her new role, Sabbarton will also retain oversight of marine, energy, and specialty insurance classes.

Wilson joined Lancashire in 2010 as a project accountant, progressing from financial planning and analysis manager to head of Financial Planning and Analysis and chief financial officer of Lancashire Å©·òµ¼º½ Company Ltd. in 2014. In May 2024, she was appointed group financial planning and analysis director, a role she will retain.

These other appointments were also announced:

• Matthew Thomas will succeed Sabbarton as chief underwriting officer, Lancashire Å©·òµ¼º½ Company (UK) Ltd., while also remaining as active underwriter and CUO of the Lancashire Syndicates.
• Colette Murphy has been appointed deputy CUO for Lancashire Å©·òµ¼º½ Company (UK), effective immediately. Murphy will also take on the role of group head of Property D&F, replacing Matthew Narbett following his recent promotion to deputy group chief underwriting officer.
• Tom Sutton has been appointed deputy active underwriter for Syndicate 2010, effective immediately.
• David Chalk has been appointed deputy active underwriter for Syndicate 3010, effective immediately.
• Sutton and Chalk will also continue in their current roles in the treaty and construction teams, respectively.
• Jon Barnes will take on Hayley Johnston’s responsibilities as reinsurance manager as part of his current role as group underwriting director.

Matthew Thomas, Rachel Sabbarton, and Jennifer Wilson’s appointments will become effective in the first quarter of 2026 and are subject to regulatory approvals.

“John and Hayley have had long and distinguished careers at Lancashire, and I would like to thank them for their support, wise counsel and friendship,” commented Group Chief Executive Officer Alex Maloney, in a statement. “They have both been fantastic ambassadors for Lancashire in their respective markets and have played important roles as senior leaders as the group has grown over the past few years.”

“I am particularly pleased that, once again, we have been able to promote people from within Lancashire to succeed them in these two important management positions. Along with the other appointments we are announcing today, it shows the depth of expertise and talent that we have across the Lancashire Group.”

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CFC Taps Keeler From Ascot as Head of Digital Underwriting

CFC, the London-based specialist managing general agent, announced the appointment of Dan Keeler as head of Digital Underwriting.

In this newly created role, Keeler will focus on driving innovation and efficiency in digital underwriting by spearheading the API partner strategy and overseeing Connect, CFC’s proprietary one-question, quoting portal.

Keeler joins CFC from Ascot Group where he served as portfolio delivery manager for nearly two years. Previous underwriting roles included a three year stint at Covea Å©·òµ¼º½ and almost five years at Hiscox in various change and transformation roles.

“Nearly 40% of CFC’s new business enquiries came through digital channels over the past year– a figure that has grown rapidly since we launched Connect,” commented Timothy Boyce, deputy chief underwriting officer, in a statement. “Dan’s rare blend of underwriting and technology expertise makes him a valuable addition to the team as we continue to enhance our digital proposition and deliver greater value to our trading partners.”

Headquartered in London with offices across Europe, North America and Australia, CFC has more than 1000 employees who work with more than 200,000 businesses in 90 countries.

Topics Underwriting Leadership