Axis Re taps former Argo exec as chief underwriting officer

Axis Re, the reinsurance business unit of Axis Capital Holdings Ltd., has named former Argo Group International Holdings Ltd. executive Katie Partington Howarth chief underwriting officer and head of the reinsurance products division.

Ms. Partington Howarth will head the global underwriting approach and portfolio management for all lines of business across Axis Re and be a member of the reinsurance leadership team, the company said Friday in a statement.

Ms. Partington Howarth, who was most recently group head of ceded reinsurance at Argo, will be based in Bermuda and report to Axis Re CEO Steve Arora. She succeeds Megan Thomas, who held the role before being named CEO of Hamilton Re Ltd., the Bermuda reinsurance and insurance platform in Bermuda of Hamilton Insurance Group Ltd.

In a separate statement Friday, Argo named Tom McCartney as Ms. Partington Howarth’s successor, based in Chicago. He was most recently Argo’s vice president of ceded reinsurance for the Americas.