Wixtead moves into the executive chairman role to focus on governance oversight and strategic counsel for Chubb's global reinsurance operations. O'Donnell, previously division president of Chubb Tempest Re USA, assumes day-to-day executive management responsibility, both top and bottom line.
O'Donnell will report to Evan G. Greenberg, Chubb chairman and chief executive officer, and John Keogh, Chubb Group president and chief operating officer.
Greenberg said Wixtead had set the standard for how the business operates. "Michael is an exceptional underwriter who has led our US reinsurance operation with distinction for more than a decade. His command of this business and its complexities give me full confidence in his ability to grow our global reinsurance franchise," he said.
Wixtead brings nearly 40 years of insurance industry experience to the role. Before ACE's acquisition of Chubb in January 2016, he served as president of ACE Tempest Re Group. He was named senior vice president of ACE Group in July 2014.
From 2005 to 2014, he served as division president of ACE Tempest Re USA. He continues as an adviser on the ABR Re board and holds a Bachelor of Arts in government from Bowdoin College.
O'Donnell joined Chubb Tempest Re in 2006 as a casualty treaty underwriter. He began his career at General Reinsurance Corp. as a casualty facultative underwriter. He has led Chubb Tempest Re USA since 2014.
O'Donnell holds an MBA from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Science in finance from Villanova University.
Chubb Tempest Re writes traditional and specialty reinsurance products for primary property and casualty insurers. Chubb Limited operates in 54 countries and territories and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
MS Reinsurance moved its outgoing group chief underwriting officer to a strategic advisory role in March 2026. A successor assumed full operational control on the same date. The structure at Chubb Tempest Re follows the same logic: experienced leadership retained at governance level, operational authority passed to the next generation.
Large internationally active reinsurers have adopted this model with greater frequency. Rating agencies and regulators have pressed for clearer separation between board-level oversight and day-to-day management. The approach allows institutional knowledge to remain without concentrating governance and execution in a single role.
