People Moves: Aon Announces Leadership Promotions for EMEA and Latin America; Markel International Promotes Rice to Head of Global Development, Trade Credit

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Aon in EMEA and Latin America and Markel International.

A summary of these new hires follows here.

Aon Announces Leadership Promotions for EMEA, Latin America

Insurance broker Aon plc announced that Kai-Frank Buechter and Tracy-Lee Kus have been promoted to co-CEOs of EMEA, effective June 1.

Buechter will oversee Continental Europe and North Africa, while Kus will be responsible for the UK, Ireland, South Africa and the Middle East.

Additionally, Pedro Penalva will serve as CEO of Latin America, effective July 1.

Buechter, Kus and Penalva will report to Greg Case, president and CEO of Aon, and serve on the Aon Executive Committee.

In addition, Alfonso Gallego de Chaves was appointed deputy CEO of EMEA, effective June 1, while Andrea Parisi was named chair of Continental Europe, effective January 1, 2027, both reporting to Buechter.

The firm’s North America and APAC regions remain under the leadership of Anne Corona and Jennifer Richards, respectively.

Buechter brings a wealth of experience from his more than 26-year career with Aon, most recently serving as CEO of Aon’s DACH region with responsibilities across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Previously, Buechter served as CEO of Aon Risk Solutions Germany, chairman of the Management Board of Aon Holdings Deutschland GmbH and chief commercial officer of Aon Risk Solutions Germany, among other management and client-serving leadership roles.

Kus brings more than three decades of experience across underwriting and broking, with a global career spanning South Africa, the UK and Asia. Kus most recently served as CEO of Aon’s Global Broking Center, shaping market strategy, strengthening access to global capacity and delivering differentiated solutions for clients. Kus is supporting the process to fill her Global Broking Center responsibilities and will remain in this role until a new leader is identified.

Previously, Kus served as head of Commercial Risk for Aon’s APAC region and before that held a number of senior leadership roles across the firm, including head of North Asia, strategic account manager for some of the world’s largest financial institutions and leader of Aon’s Financial and Professional Services business in the UK. Kus also serves as chair of the London and International Insurance Brokers’ Association (LIIBA).

Since Penalva joined Aon more than 15 years ago, he has served in various client, country and regional leadership roles. Most recently, as head of Enterprise Clients for EMEA, Penalva helped to deliver Aon’s globally integrated capabilities to more than 150 enterprise clients across 10 countries in the region.

Previously, Penalva served as CEO of Iberia, Africa and Israel, chief commercial officer of multinational accounts for EMEA, Global Client Network Director for EMEA and CEO of Aon Portugal. Penalva is supporting the process to fill his EMEA Enterprise Client responsibilities and will remain in this role until a new leader is identified.

With this transition, EMEA CEO Julie Page and Latin America CEO Alejandro Galizia will serve as chairs of EMEA and Latin America through 2026, respectively, and then serve as senior advisers to Aon into 2027. Jane Kielty will be supporting with the transition of the leadership responsibilities in the UK, Ireland and South Africa.

“We are grateful to Julie, Jane and Alejandro for their leadership, the significant contributions they made in serving our clients and building our firm, and the teams they have developed who will carry our work forward,” commented Case.

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Markel International Promotes Rice to Head of Global Development, Trade Credit

Markel Insurance, the insurance operation within Markel Group Inc., announced the appointment of Sebastian Rice to head of Global Development – Trade Credit, effective immediately.

Reporting to Phil Amlot, global head of Trade Credit – International, Rice will work closely with him to drive innovative, solution-led underwriting and develop bespoke offerings that respond to evolving market conditions and client needs across Markel’s global hubs.

His role will include supporting clients navigating an increasingly complex trade environment shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain disruption and shifting credit risks.

Rice will also coordinate a global cohort of trade credit underwriters across Markel’s offices in New York, Singapore, Dubai and London to align with our key partner relationships. He will focus on business development and driving further profitable growth across the UK and Europe, with an emphasis on delivering greater capacity, tailored solutions and enhanced service for brokers and clients.

Since joining Markel two years ago, Rice has played a key role in developing new solutions, including Markel’s non-cancellable limits offering, which enables clients to operate with greater certainty in the event of non-payment. In his new role, he’ll build on this momentum to further strengthen Markel’s position as a trade credit insurer of choice for multinational businesses.

Rice brings more than 20 years of underwriting experience, having held roles at Euler Hermes, Atradius and QBE Europe. He joined Markel in January 2024 as head of Business Development Europe – Trade Credit, where he strengthened the International division’s non-payment protection offering across the UK and continental Europe.

“With demand for trade credit insurance at record levels and underwriting conditions becoming increasingly complex, Seb’s expertise and leadership will be invaluable as we help clients navigate increased risk and build enhanced resilience,” Amlot said. “He’s already strengthened our position across the London and European markets, and I’m confident he’ll bring the same discipline and commercial insight to this global role.”

Topics Leadership Aon