Markel Corporation has today announced that Simon Wilson will succeed William Stovin as president of Markel International, a wholly-owned subsidiary. The succession, which is part of a planned transition, will take full effect no later than January 01, 2022, pending regulatory approval.
Stovin, who has led the Markel International division since 2008 first joined Markel as part of its acquisition of Terra Nova Holdings, Ltd. in 2000. The deal was part of Markel’s strategy of expanding its footprint beyond North America to become a global player in specialty insurance and Stovin played a leading role in helping the company expand to more than 60 insurance offices in 16 different countries.
In a Press release, Markel noted that it was under Stovin’s leadership that GWP profitably increased at a compound annual growth rate of roughly 7%—more than doubling the size of the division.
“Markel is a truly remarkable company,” Stovin said, “and having the opportunity to help expand it to new frontiers has been a great honour. I will always admire this organization, and I know that Markel International will be in great hands under Simon’s leadership.”
Robert Cox, president and chief operating officer of insurance operations for Markel, noted that the company’s global expansion was one of the most important decisions in its history, and that Stovin deserves significant credit for making it a success.
“His disciplined approach to profitably growing our wholesale business while also establishing and expanding our international retail operations has laid the foundation for tremendous growth in the future,” he said, “and I’m confident that Simon will leverage this foundation to successfully lead our international operations in achieving our profitable growth goals.”
Meanwhile, Wilson comes to the role of president with almost 20 years of experience in scaling the international operations of large specialty insurance organizations. Before joining Markel, he led the Lloyd’s Asia platform in Singapore. He started with Markel in 2010 to spearhead international business development, taking on responsibility for its national markets division with operations in Europe and Canada, which has grown from $121 million to $402 million in annual GWP over the last decade.
Wilson currently serves as the managing executive of global strategy for Markel.
“I’m honoured to have been selected for this role,” Wilson said, “and look forward to building upon William’s legacy. Markel seeks to be a leader in each of our pursuits, and our 90-year history has proven that the best way to do this is through deep expertise and exceptional service. Our commitment to understanding our customers’ needs while exceeding their expectations will continue to be at the forefront of our minds as we further scale our international operations.”
Wilson will report to Cox and work from the London office. Meanwhile, Stovin will remain with the company in an advisory capacity into next year.
