PartnerRe names Miranthis as boss

Bermuda-based reinsurance group PartnerRe has named Costas Miranthis, currently chief executive of the firm’s non-US operations, as the successor to outgoing chief executive Patrick Thiele.

Miranthis has been promoted to president and chief operating officer of the company, and will take over as CEO on January 1 2011 following Thiele’s retirement on December 31 2010. PartnerRe announced Thiele’s retirement on May 4.

Miranthis will retain his position as CEO of PartnerRe Global, the firm’s non-US business, until a successor is announced. He was named CEO of the division in May 2008, after being appointed its deputy CEO in 2007. Miranthis joined PartnerRe in 2002 as chief actuary, before which he spent 16 years at actuarial firm Tillinghast-Towers Perrin in London, most recently as principal.

Miranthis’s promotion was announced on the same day as the appointment of Jean-Paul Montupet as chairman of PartnerRe’s board, replacing John Rollwagen, who will remain a board member.

“The selection of Costas as Patrick’s successor is the result of a long-term succession planning process focused on ensuring PartnerRe’s next leader has the experience, skill sets and intellectual capital to lead the Company forward, with the knowledge of the core values and strengths that make PartnerRe successful,” Montupet said in a statement.

“I fully support the Board’s decision to name Costas as my successor, and I am confident that I will leave PartnerRe in good hands when I retire at the end of this year,” Thiele added. “The fact that we are in the position to appoint PartnerRe’s next CEO from within the company is a testament to the strength and depth of talent at this organisation.”