Global specialty (re)insurer Canopius is adding to its APAC operations, announcing the appointment of Mark Heydon as senior actuary to its recently-established branch, Canopius Australia & Pacific, based in Sydney.

Heydon is set to start his role on September 30, and will report to both Claudio Saita, head of Australia & Pacific, and to Thomas Delor, chief actuary Asia Pacific.

The new hire began his insurance career with Zurich Australia in 1993, and today brings 26 years of experience to the role. He is joining Canopius from the specialist underwriting agency Sura. He has also held positions that include chief actuary at Berkley Re Australia/Asia Pacific, and quantitative analysis leader at Benfield Advisory (Capital Markets) in London, according to a press release.

“With Mark’s appointment, Canopius continues to build an experienced and dynamic underwriting team, which will allow us to deliver a high level of service to clients in the APAC region,” commented Saita. “With extensive actuarial experience and local knowledge, Mark will be instrumental in providing clients with added actuarial insights that will help foster long-term partnerships and grow profitable portfolios. I am very pleased to welcome him to our growing team.”

Outside of Australia and Singapore, Canopius also has underwriting operations in the UK, Netherlands, Bermuda, and the US.