Resilience, WTW and the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) announced leadership appointments this week, according to company news releases.
ICMIF has appointed Ylva Wessén (pictured), president and CEO of Folksam in Sweden, as chair for a four-year term. The announcement came at the federation’s General Meeting in Toronto, held at the start of the 2026 ICMIF Biennial Conference. She succeeds Rob Wesseling, president and CEO of Co-operators in Canada, who became chair in Rome in October 2022.
Wessén has led Folksam since 2019 and has chaired Insurance Sweden, the Swedish insurance industry organization, since 2022.
“I am very pleased and honoured to have been given the trust to lead ICMIF. The mutual and cooperative way of doing insurance is built on trust and a long-term perspective,” Wessén said.
“I am delighted to welcome Ylva Wessen as ICMIF chair and look forward to working closely with her over the next four years,” said Liz Green, ICMIF’s CEO.
ICMIF said the mutual and cooperative sector generated record premium income of US$1.61 trillion in 2024, up from US$1.50 trillion in 2023. It also announced a 2027–2030 strategy, Trusted to Deliver.
Resilience has named Chris Pitcher head of North America underwriting strategy and operations, with strategic oversight of distribution and operations across the US and Canada. The cyber risk company has also promoted Alex Carleton to US distribution leader, according to a news release.
“By aligning North American distribution, underwriting strategy, and operations under Chris’ leadership, we are giving brokers a clearer view of our appetite and a quicker path to coverage that fits their clients’ risk,” said George Kotsiopoulos, president of insurance at Resilience.
Pitcher, who reports to Kotsiopoulos, will build broker-facing processes, a performance framework and a relationship cadence for the region, the release said. He joined Resilience in 2025 and previously spent a decade at Arch Insurance, most recently as assistant vice president and head of cyber at Arch Insurance Canada. Insurance Business Canada also listed Pitcher among its 2024 Rising Stars.
Carleton, who joined in 2022 as western regional manager, will lead relationships with retail and wholesale broker partners across the US.
WTW has appointed Phil Traicus senior director in its Insurance Consulting and Technology business, effective Oct. 26. He will be based in Toronto and provide corporate actuarial support to Canadian insurers and reinsurers, reporting to Nicolas Beaudoin, head of Canada P&C Insurance Consulting and Technology.
Traicus rejoins WTW from Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Co., where he served as chief risk officer and vice president, according to the release. He previously spent more than 13 years at WTW providing actuarial consulting services to insurers, reinsurers and captives across Canada, the US and the Caribbean.
“We are delighted to welcome Phil back to WTW and to our Canadian team. His distinctive combination of actuarial expertise, risk management leadership and deep knowledge of the North American market will be a tremendous asset as we continue to grow our business and help clients navigate an increasingly complex risk landscape,” Beaudoin said.
