Root Insurance made some executive changes, including hiring a new chief financial officer. AXIS Re, the reinsurance business segment of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited, named a new head of property for an area including Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.
***
Root Insurance, an auto insurance InsurTech startup, hired Daniel Rosenthal as its new chief financial officer, effective Nov. 11, 2019.
In the interim, Cindy Powell will continue to serve as CFO and then transition to a new role as Senior Executive Vice President of External Affairs, where she will continue to drive Root’s expansion plans.
Root said that Rosenthal has spent most of his career in leadership positions at innovative firms in the aviation industry. In 2009, he co-founded Milestone Aviation Group, a “clean-sheet” aviation finance company. Milestone was acquired by GE Capital in 2015 for $1.8 billion. Subsequently, Rosenthal served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Milestone — growing the fleet to more than $5 billion in assets today — as well as EVP of Financing and Products for GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the $42+ billion global commercial aircraft finance and leasing business. Before Milestone, Rosenthal spent four years at NetJets, where he held various leadership roles, and worked as an attorney at Williams & Connolly LLP.
Additionally, Lauren Norelli joins Root as Managing Director of Capital Markets and Corporate Development. Norelli previously served as Chief Operating Officer of Milestone, leading the company’s finance, operations, corporate development and fleet management functions. In 2014, she successfully led the dual track IPO and private sale process for Milestone culminating in the sale of the company. She previously held strategic and financial planning roles at Nike Inc., Tiffany & Co., and Godiva Chocolatier, and began her career as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank.
***
AXIS Re, the reinsurance business segment of AXIS Capital Holdings Limited named Gino Smith as Head of Property for EMEA LatAm, effective November 2019.
In this role, Smith will oversee AXIS Re’s Property Treaty reinsurance business in Europe, Middle East and Africa, as well as Latin America. Smith will be based in Zurich and will report to Andy Hottinger, President EMEA LatAm.
Smith will join AXIS Re following 19 years in various underwriting roles at AXA XL Re. Most recently, he was Head of Property Retro for International Re and Chief Underwriting Officer of XL Re Europe SE, based in Zurich.
Prior to this, Smith was Chief Underwriting Officer of XL Re Latin America, based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Smith also held several progressively senior underwriting roles for XL Re in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Bermuda, commencing his career in Buenos Aires as a Property Treaty underwriter.
Sources: Root Insurance, AXIS Re