Swiss Re has appointed Ms Kera McDonald as group CUO and member of the Group Executive Committee, subject to regulatory approval and Ms Katie McGrath as CUO. Both appointments are effective 1 June 2025.
Ms McDonald has more than 30 years of experience. In her new role, she will be responsible for driving underwriting excellence across all business units, steering the Group capacity allocation, defining mid-term underwriting ambitions and approving very large or complex transactions.
Ms McDonald joined Swiss Re in 2006 and has been a member of the Corporate Solutions Executive Committee since 2019 and CUO since 2022. She holds a bachelor in mathematics and economics from Cornell University and a master of business administration in international business from the University of Washington.
Ms McGrath has more than 25 years of experience. She joined Swiss Re Corporate Solutions in 2019 and has served as CEO North America since 2022.
Swiss Re also unveiled a new organisational structure to serve corporates and brokers more closely at country level with the introduction of Market Units with their respective heads.
In APAC, the heads are Mr Robert Hunziker in Asia and Mr Kevin Bates in Australia and New Zealand. Both appointments are also effective 1 June 2025.
Mr Patrick Raaflaub, group CRO, has also decided that he will retire by the end of September 2025 after a 25-year tenure at Swiss Re.