As of June, Nelson Castellanos (pictured above) has taken on the role of vice president global markets, HDI Enablers. He reports to Eric Joly-Pottuz, head of HDI Global SE – Enablers, who in turn reports to Dr Dirk Höring, a member of the HDI Global SE executive board responsible for property insurance, engineering insurance, marine insurance, and HDI Risk Consulting.
Castellanos was most recently chief partnership officer at HDI Embedded. In his new role, he will work with global business partners and support communication strategies for risk finance initiatives, including representing the division at industry events.
According to Joly-Pottuz, Castellanos will play a key role in supporting the division's positioning in the market through his engagement with external stakeholders.
Also appointed is Fabien Guilhot, who will serve as insurance technics director, HDI Enablers. Guilhot also reports to Joly-Pottuz. He joins the team with a background in property underwriting and will oversee compliance, policy wording and coverage matters.
His responsibilities include contributing to the development of risk finance products across HDI Global's markets. Joly-Pottuz said Guilhot’s technical knowledge will support the division's product development in multiple countries.
The appointments come after a leadership transition within the HDI Enablers unit. Eric Joly-Pottuz took over as head of the division in October 2024, succeeding Etienne de Varax, who led the team from its inception in 2022.
De Varax continues to serve in a senior advisory capacity and is expected to retire by the end of 2024. Joly-Pottuz assumed leadership with a mandate to drive further growth and geographic reach of the Risk Finance offering.
Under Joly-Pottuz's direction, HDI Enablers has identified Asia as a key region for expansion, with a particular interest in Malaysia as an emerging hub for captive insurance solutions.
The appointments within HDI Enablers also follow a series of other leadership moves by HDI Global in 2025. These include the appointment of Phil McDowell as global sales & distribution lead for international programmes and captives, and Dr Christian Wegener as Head of investment management.
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