Going Places

Senior appointments at SVBSVB Holdings plc has appointed Peter Matson to the newly-created position of chief underwriting officer.In his new role, Matson, who joined the SVB board in April 2004, will be responsible for all underwriting processes and activity at SVB's Lloyd's syndicates (1007 and 2147) as well as its two specialist service companies, Novae Underwriting and Fusion.Following a career in the Lloyd's market, including periods with XL London Market and as active underwriter at Denham Syndicate 990, Matson was a founding member of Professional Risks Insurance Group. SVB Holdings has also appointed specialist underwriter Martin King to the position of professional indemnity unit head. King remains a senior underwriter at SVB's dedicated liability service company, Novae Underwriting, which he joined in December 2003 from Goshawk.SVB has also appointed Rick Welsh as unit head of management liability underwriting for Syndicate 1007. Welsh has spent 14 years in the market, initially based in Australia. He was the national manager of financial products for Gerling Australia. In January 2000 he moved to London with Ace Global Markets as financial institutions underwriter.

THB GroupTHB Group has announced three new board director appointments.Frank Murphy is appointed managing director, Thompson Heath & Bond Ltd. Murphy joined the group in 1999 from Arthur J Gallagher, where he was a director.Paul Dudley has been appointed as chief executive, provincial retail operations. Dudley was joint managing director of TL Clowes when it was acquired by THB in 2001. He has overall responsibility for the provincial retail and financial services operations in Leamington, Nottingham, Leeds and Glasgow.Corinne Hepworth is appointed group human resources director. Hepworth joined the group in 2000 from Drake Insurance, following her position as group personnel and training manager at Harrods.

Royal & SunAllianceRoyal & SunAlliance (R&SA) has appointed Patrick Brice as broker manager and Steve Foreman as underwriting and development manager for its UK marine division. Brice and Foreman start their new roles with immediate effect.Brice has been with R&SA marine since 1994 and has worked in various underwriting, business development and management roles. In his new role as broker manager, he will be based in London and will manage the division's strategic and operational broker relationships. Foreman joined R&SA marine in 1991, working in a variety of underwriting and business development roles. His new role will be based in Birmingham and he will be responsible for cargo and freight liability business in the South.

TT ClubThe TT Club, a transport insurance mutual, has appointed Andrew Webster as director of loss prevention to succeed John Nicholls, who has retired. Webster, who was previously loss prevention manager, will be based in the club's London headquarters. He joined the TT Club's managers, Thomas Miller & Co, in 1995. He has worked for a number of mutual insurance clubs managed by Thomas Miller & Co and transferred to the TT Club in 1999. While at the TT Club, he spent two years in Dubai, where he managed member servicing issues and loss prevention for TT customers in the Middle East and Indian sub-continent.Webster began his career as a shipbroker in London, concentrating on towage and salvage and subsequently working in Geneva and Singapore as a trader for a firm specialising in damaged commodities.

Groupama InsurancesGroupama Insurances has appointed Graham Gibson as claims director with responsibility for the operational effectiveness of the UK group's claims operations. Gibson moves up from his previous position as claims operations director and succeeds claims technical director Mick Booth who, after more than 40 years with the group, retires on 15 July 2004.Gibson joined Groupama Insurances in 1995 and has subsequently held a number of senior claims appointments. He has also participated in a variety of market claims initiatives and he is currently a member of the ABI strategic claims committee. In addition, he has a substantial involvement with the Civil Justice Council, particularly in the area of claimants' costs.

Markel ReMarkel Corporation has appointed J Ruffin Branham Jr as president and chief operating officer of Markel Re.Branham joins Markel Re from Palmer & Cay, headquartered in Georgia, United States. He has been in the industry for 35 years. He began his career with Aetna C&S, and held leadership roles at Johnson & Higgins for 24 years.

CDL CDL has appointed Ian Arnold as solutions consultant to develop a specialist advisory service. Arnold has been at CDL for 13 years, most recently as a senior account manager. Before joining CDL in 1991, Arnold spent five years with Ainsbury Insurance, both as an operator and computer operations manager.

DWF North West law firm DWF has recruited five new members to its personal injury team .The new associates include Rob Gray, who specialised in handling multi-track claims at Keoghs; Anwen Rees Roberts, from BLM; Andrew O'Connell, from James Chapman; Richard Matthias, from Silverbeck Rymer; and Bill Radcliffe, from Weightman Vizards.

Health & Case ManagementHealth & Case Management Ltd (HCML), a rehabilitation case management specialist, has appointed Wayne Herbert to the new role of client development manager. Herbert previously worked for the NHS Litigation Authority, where he spearheaded the authority's rehabilitation project. He has 13 years' experience in the insurance industry.

The Rubicon CorporationDiane Bromley has joined The Rubicon Corporation, a source of insurance services and solutions, as group human resources director.Bromley has more than 20 years' experience in insurance, working primarily in HR and training. She joins Rubicon from Britanic Retirement Solutions, where she was head of HR.

SubmissionsWe welcome submissions for the Going Places page. Please send details of new appointments to: Going Places, Insurance Times, 30 Cannon Street, London EC4M 6YJ. You can also fax us at 020 7618 3499 or email going.places@instimes.co.uk .Photographic prints must be good quality. Digital images must be 300 dpi resolution or above.