AXIS Capital announces two appointments

Mike Cueman (pictured above) has been named head of construction – US, while Anna Tan has been appointed head of wholesale casualty.

Mike Cueman

In his newly created role, Cueman will lead AXIS’s entry into the domestic US construction market. He will be responsible for establishing a strong trading presence for the company’s launch in the market and for ensuring profitable growth in the construction physical damage market segment (builders’ risk) in the US.

Cueman will be based in New York. He will report to Steve Cross, global head of construction, and through a matrixed structure to Michael McKenna, head of North America.

“In specialist, often complex areas of risk such as construction, it is essential to have the underwriting expertise, leadership and deep market knowledge to successfully expand into new markets,” Cross said. “Mike brings knowledge, skills and drive that will help us to establish our US presence, develop our existing global construction portfolio, and elevate the specialty solutions we deliver to customers globally.”

Cueman has more than 20 years of experience. He joins AXIS from Liberty Mutual Insurance, where he served as vice president. Prior to that, he held senior underwriting and management positions at Zurich North America in the construction, engineering and inland marine divisions.

“The establishment of a presence in the US domestic construction market represents demonstrable progress in our strategy to harness new opportunities in lines of business and territories where we can add value for our customers and build profitable growth with distribution partners,” said Mark Gregory, head of global markets at AXIS. “Attracting and retaining high-caliber individuals is essential to our ambitions, and we’re delighted to welcome Mike Cueman to AXIS.”

Anna Tan

In her new role as head of wholesale casualty, Tan will lead the primary and excess wholesale casualty teams. She will report to McKenna.

“Anna brings extensive E&S casualty expertise in addition to strong leadership skills that are integral to building our positions in the wholesale casualty market,” McKenna said. “These qualities will assist as we deepen our existing broker relationships, pursue additional sectors for profitable growth, and bolster our underwriting strength. Anna joins AXIS North America at an exciting point in our journey as we target growth opportunities to support customers and partners by leveraging experienced underwriting talent and tailored specialty insurance solutions.”

Tan joins the company after more than 12 years at Navigators, where she most recently served as head of excess casualty. Prior to Navigators, Tan spent nearly eight years at Starr Insurance in underwriting positions.

Cueman and Tan are the latest additions to the AXIS roster. Earlier this month, the company announced the appointment of Eric Paglieri as head of environmental for its North America division. In December, the company appointed Cliff Gallant as head of investor relations and corporate development.

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