Brown & Brown has announced the appointment of Stephen P. Hearn as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Hearn, who joined the company’s board of directors in August 2024, has resigned from his board position and will become a member of the company’s operating committee.
In his new role, Hearn’s responsibilities will include scaling operations, driving innovation, and overseeing talent development.
Hearn began his insurance career in 1989 and most recently held executive roles at The Ardonagh Group. He served as chief executive officer of Ardonagh Specialty Holdings Limited from November 2021 to September 2022 and as chief executive officer of Ardonagh Capital Solutions Holdings, overseeing reinsurance broking, captives, and MGA businesses from February 2023 to July 2024.
Additionally, he led Inver Re, Ardonagh’s reinsurance broking unit, from November 2021 to July 2024 and was a director of Ardonagh International from May 2023 to July 2024.
Before joining The Ardonagh Group, Hearn was chief executive officer of Corant Global, a subsidiary of BGC Partners, Inc., from February 2019 until BGC’s insurance brokerage division was sold to Ardonagh in November 2021. Prior to that, he was CEO of Ed Broking Group Limited from 2015 until its acquisition by BGC in February 2019.
Between 2008 and 2015, he held leadership positions at Willis Group Holdings plc, including president and deputy chief executive officer, chief executive officer of Willis Re, chairman and chief executive officer of Willis Global, and chief executive officer of Willis Limited.
Brown & Brown’s last major boost to its senior leadership team was in September 2024, when the brokerage announced the appointments of Mike Neal and Mark Abate to its senior leadership team within the retail segment.
Neal, a 30-year industry veteran, serves as executive vice president and president of Brown & Brown Dealer Services. Abate, who joined the organization in 2015 through the acquisition of Strategic Benefit Advisors, leads the Southborough, Massachusetts office and oversees certain pharmacy and audit solutions operations.
Earlier this year, the company also reported a 15.4% increase in total revenues for the fourth quarter of 2024, reaching US$1.2 billion.
Organic revenue growth was 13.8%, with diluted net income per share at US$0.73. For the full year, total revenues rose by 12.9% to US$4.8 billion, and net income increased by 14% to US$1 billion.
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