Zurich North America has announced the arrival of former Fortitue Re CEO James Bracken (pictured left) as its new chief finance officer (CFO) as its former CFO, Peter Hirs (pictured middle) returns to Zurich Insurance Group in Switzerland as head of mergers & acquisitions. Both will begin their new roles on July 1.
“James’ extensive leadership experience in insurance prepares him well to lead our finance function and contribute meaningfully to our North American leadership team,” said Zurich North America CEO Kristof Terryn (pictured right). “His predecessor paves the way for a smooth transition. I thank Peter for his strong stewardship throughout his four+ years as our North America CFO, and I wish him continued success as we continue to work with him in his new group role.”
As its new CFO, Bracken will supervise actuarial, financial accounting and reporting, corporate tax, treasury, planning and performance management, and finance operations. His new position also makes him a member of the Zurich North America executive committee, the Zurich Group leadership team, the Zurich North America leadership team, and the Zurich Group finance executive team. Bracken will also move to Schaumburg, Illinois where Zurich North America is headquartered.
With a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Durham University in England, Bracken began his career as a UK Chartered Accountant. He also has more than 25 years of financial services experience. Before his stint at Fortitude Re’s, he also served as AIG General Insurance’s CFO. Before AIG, Bracken worked in global finance and audit at GE Insurance, GE Capital, and Arthur Andersen & Co.
During his four years as Fortitude Re’s CEO, Bracken built a Bermuda-based runoff reinsurance company with $75 billion in total assets. He led M&A transactions and a full carve-out from AIG, which culminated in the sale of Fortitude Re to an investor consortium.
Meanwhile, Hirs’ new role at Zurich Insurance Group was previously held by Dalynn Hoch, who recently rejoined Zurich North America to lead the RCIS crop insurance business. Hirs also previously had regional CFO roles at Zurich Asia Pacific, Zurich Global Corporate North America, and Zurich Switzerland. Hirs joined Zurich Group M&A in 2005 after several years in investment banking at Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. In his next role as group head of mergers & acquisitions, Hirs will report to group CFO Claudia Cordioli.
