Markel International has hired Andrew McMellin (pictured above) as managing director of its wholesale division, effective Jan. 17 and subject to regulatory approval.

Based in London, McMellin will report to Simon Wilson, president of Markel International. In his new role, McMellin will draw on his market knowledge and longstanding relationships to help Markel grow its Lloyd’s platform and presence in other key wholesale specialty markets. McMellin will also use his operational experience to support the simplification of systems and processes as Markel strives to improve its broker and customer experience.

McMellin has more than 30 years of experience in specialty insurance, and he joins from Pioneer Underwriters, where he was CEO. Prior to that, he was CEO for UK and Ireland at XL Catlin. In these roles, he managed multibillion-dollar portfolios of specialty product lines and helped accelerate growth in new and existing markets, including Asia.

The move is part of a concerted effort to drive market leadership across its international wholesale operations, Markel said.

“Andrew brings a breadth of experience and relationships that will allow him to hit the ground running here at Markel,” Wilson said. “His ambitious spirit matches our own, and I am confident that he will play a leading role in helping Markel scale our international operations.”