The announcement is the latest in a series of changes at Zurich; which have seen Zurich Insurance Group exit general insurance the Middle East, Martin Senn step down as Zurich’s group chief executive, and Zurich International Life leave Singapore.
Shaughnessy was appointed to his current position in June 2012, assuming the additional role of country head for Zurich in the UK in 2014. He is also currently chief executive Global Life EMEA on an interim basis.
He will assume his new role on 1 January 2016. He replaces Kristof Terryn who was appointed chief executive of Zurich Global Insurance on 1 October 2015.
“I am delighted to welcome Gary in our group executive committee,” said Zurich’s interim chief executive Tom de Swaan. “Gary steps up to his new role having made a significant contribution across our UK business.
“He is a great leader with a wealth of industry experience which makes him perfectly suited for the role. The appointment demonstrates the strength of our internal talent pipeline.”
Prior to joining Zurich, Shaughnessy was at Fidelity Worldwide Investment where he was managing director, UK defined contribution and retail business. He spent nearly a decade in senior roles within the Prudential Group, including the role of UK managing director, retail life & pensions and chief executive UK retail at M&G investments.
De Swaan said: “I would also like to pay tribute to Kristof Terryn, who has overseen both the Global Life and General Insurance businesses over the last few months. He will now concentrate solely on the important task of managing the ongoing recovery in General Insurance.”
