People Moves: Covéa Group Names Petit CEO as Derez Becomes Chairman; Howden UK & Ireland Appoints Kennedy to Succeed Shuker as CEO

The Board of Directors of Covéa Group, the French mutual insurer, has appointed Maud Petit as chief executive officer, while Thierry Derez has been named chair of the Board of Directors.

Derez succeeds Michel Gougnard who has been named vice chairman.

These appointments will take effect on July 1, 2025.

Petit has been deputy managing director of the group and CEO of Covéa Coopérations since February 2024. She joined Covéa in 2008 as chief consolidated financial statements officer. In 2013, she was appointed chief control, solvency, accounts and reporting officer, before becoming in 2015, chief accounts and financial communications officer. In 2018, Petit became group chief financial officer and deputy chief executive officer of Covéa. In 2022, she was appointed deputy CEO of Covéa Cooperations and director of PartnerRe.

She holds a Master of Business Administration from Panthéon Sorbonne and a master’s degree in accounting and management. Petit began her career in 1996 at PricewaterhouseCoopers and joined the French Accounting Standards Authority in 2005.

“I would sincerely like to thank the members of the Board of Directors for their trust and support. I am honored to take on this new responsibility alongside professional and committed teams,” commented Petit in a statement.

“By appointing Maud Petit as CEO of Covéa, the Board of Directors is recognizing a successful career within our group. I am therefore confident in handing over the reins to her to carry forward Covéa’s ambitions. I thank the board for its trust and salute the commitment of Michel Gougnard, who will continue to support Covéa as vice chairman,” Derez said.

“I have had the privilege of serving as chairman of Covéa for the past three years, and I would like to warmly thank the directors who supported me in this role. On behalf of the Board, I express full confidence in Maud Petit, whose exemplary career within Covéa is a valuable asset for the future,” according to a statement from Gougnard.

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Howden UK & Ireland Appoints Kennedy to Succeed Shuker as CEO

Howden, the London-based insurance intermediary group, announced the appointment of Robert Kennedy as CEO, Howden UK & Ireland.

Kennedy will take up his new position on Oct. 1, 2025, reporting to CEO David Howden, while Carl Shuker will become deputy chairman of Howden UK & Ireland.

Currently CEO of Howden Ireland, Kennedy joined Aston Lark in 2020. He also brings a depth of experience from previous leadership positions across the industry including at Aston Lark (prior to its acquisition by Howden), as well as at Aviva, RSA and Aon.

Shuker will transition into the role of deputy chairman, having spent 13 years as CEO of A-Plan and the subsequent four years as CEO of Howden UK & Ireland, following A-Plan’s acquisition by Howden in 2021. In his new position, Shuker will remain closely involved with Howden UK & Ireland and will continue to support Kennedy in the next stages of Howden’s growth journey.

“Rob has built a leading, full-spectrum broker in the Irish market over the last five years. With an incredibly exciting future ahead for our UK & Ireland business, I couldn’t be more pleased that we have extraordinary talent like Rob, an entrepreneur of our own, to lead it through the next phase of integration, growth and acceleration,” commented David Howden, CEO, Howden.

“He will take over a standout broking business from Carl, which is delivering solutions to millions of clients providing personal and commercial lines insurance, employee benefits and pensions advisory, and mortgage and wealth advice, operating from the high street and from offices the length and breadth of the country,” he added.

Kennedy’s appointment is subject to regulatory approval.