LONDON: The Lloyd’s of London insurance market has appointed its first ever female chief executive, to replace Richard Ward who announced he was stepping down from the role in July.
Inga Bede, a 30-year indus¬try veteran who was pre¬viously CEO of insurer Cano- pius Group Ltd, “starts in her new role in January 2014,”
Lloyd’s said in a statement on Monday.
"Her CEO experience, underwriting background, international experience and operational skills, together with her knowledge of the Lloyd’s market, make Inga the ideal chief executive for Lloyd’s,” said Lloyd’s chairman John Nelson.
Bede inherits a 325-year- old institution in the midst of a modernisation drive started by her predecessor.
Ward introduced new tech¬nology and launched a push to make Lloyd’s relevant in the rapidly growing econ¬omies of .Asia and Latin America.
Lloyd’s, a collection of about 80 competing insurance syndicates housed in a landmark building at the heart of London’s financial district, started life in 1688 as a gathering of shipping merchants in a coffee house.
REUTERS