Several senior leadership moves have been announced across the insurance and intermediary market, with major brokers and carriers adding or promoting executives.
Marsh has appointed Katrina Zafiriadis (pictured, left) to lead its newly established Service Delivery Practice (SDP) for the US and Canada, part of Marsh Risk.
In the new role, Zafiriadis will oversee efforts to streamline client service delivery, reduce complexity and improve the overall client experience across the region. The Service Delivery Practice brings together client service specialists across regions, client segments, risk practices and specialties to provide a more consistent service model throughout the engagement lifecycle, from onboarding and renewals to ongoing service and financial management.
The SDP’s core teams are based in Austin, Texas; Bogotá, Colombia; and Mexico City, with additional colleagues across the US and Canada.
Zafiriadis has more than 20 years of leadership experience in service delivery and operational resilience. She most recently served as chief of staff to Michelle Sartain, president of Marsh Risk, US and Canada. She joined Marsh in 2018 as business resiliency head of the Americas, having previously been regional head of operational resilience risk at Deutsche Bank and global operations and program manager at AllianceBernstein.
AXIS Capital Holdings Limited has confirmed that Matthew Kirk (pictured, right) has assumed the role of chief financial officer, effective March 31, 2026, completing a planned leadership transition first announced in August 2025.
Kirk reports directly to AXIS president and CEO Vince Tizzio, serves on the company’s executive committee and is based in New York. He had been serving as a strategic advisor to AXIS since October 31, 2025.
Kirk joined AXIS from Enstar Group Limited, where he served as CFO overseeing global finance functions, and previously as group treasurer responsible for treasury, capital management and investor relations. Before Enstar, he held senior roles at Sirius International Insurance Group, including group treasurer and president and managing director of Sirius Investment Advisors, and began his career at Arthur Andersen.
Counterpart, an AI‑native managing general agent focused on management and professional liability, has added three senior executives as it accelerates expansion into new specialty verticals using its Agentic Insurance platform.
The company has appointed Kelly North as vice president of revenue; Christina Melia as director, lawyers professional liability, and Sean Gleason as director, financial services.
“Attracting talent like Kelly, Christina, and Sean is an incredible reflection of what Counterpart has built,” said CEO and founder Tanner Hackett. “Our ability to systematically enter new markets, build the right infrastructure, and execute at a high level continues to draw top talent that want to define the next chapter in specialty insurance.”
The MGA has been rolling out new programs at pace. Its allied health professional liability offering, launched in November 2025, is currently running nearly 80% ahead of budget, while its architects and engineers program, launched two months later, is tracking at nearly double its initial budget target. Both businesses combine clinical risk modeling with Counterpart’s Agentic Underwriting systems to target fragmented niches.
The new leadership appointments are intended to extend that model into new markets, with North, Melia and Gleason bringing domain expertise in their respective segments as Counterpart looks to scale beyond its initial classes.
