Moede brings more than 20 years of commercial insurance experience to the role, with a background in specialty lines underwriting. Most recently, he led a global underwriting segment at a major multinational insurer, the company said. He succeeds John M. Goodwin, who joined Berkley Risk in 2012, served as executive vice president, and was named president in 2014.
After more than a decade leading the business, Goodwin has been appointed chairman.
Berkley Risk manages workers' compensation, liability, and property claims nationwide for public entity pools, professional associations, and self-insured groups. Growth in captive and self-funded programs has accelerated as nuclear verdicts and social inflation push commercial insurance costs higher, according to industry analysts.
The Moede appointment is one of several subsidiary leadership changes W.R. Berkley announced this month, including new appointments at Berkley Re America and Berkley Specialty London.
The broader W.R. Berkley organization posted record gross premiums written of $4.1 billion in Q2 2026, with operating return on equity of 20.5%. Insurance segment net premiums written grew 3.7%. AM Best upgraded the company's long-term issuer credit rating to 'a' (Excellent) in 2026, citing strong underwriting results and consistent surplus growth.
W. Robert Berkley, Jr., chairman, chief executive officer, and president of WRB, said Moede brings "broad experience in developing risk solutions for customers." Berkley said Goodwin made "numerous contributions" to the business over more than a decade and would continue as chairman.
Goodwin's move to chairman provides operational continuity for an incoming president stepping into a program management operation built over 12 years.
