Zurich Canada has named Scott Thomas (pictured) as head of human resources – a role he has held on an interim basis since November 2018.

Thomas has cultivated a 30-year career at Zurich, most recently serving as head of risk services for Zurich Canada. He has also held over a dozen roles of increasing responsibility within the risk services division, including a three-year international assignment in Zurich, Switzerland as the global capacity and technical manager for Zurich Risk Engineering.

“He has not missed a beat since stepping into the head of HR role last fall,” said Zurich Canada chief executive officer Saad Mered. “He has embraced this challenge with passion, rigor and humility.”

Mered also commented that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Thomas has been “instrumental” in ensuring that all of the company’s employees are taken care of.

In addition to his appointment, Thomas will remain on the Zurich Canada executive committee, and will report to Mered. He will also functionally report to Zurich North America chief human resources officer Laura Rock.

A company release noted that Thomas’s previous role as head of Zurich Canada’s risk services has been filled by Chris Snider.