BMS Group (“BMS” or “the Group”), the independent specialist (re)insurance broker, today announced the appointments of Dominic Addesso as Non-Executive Chairman and LoriAnn Lowery-Biggers as an independent Non-Executive Director of BMS Intermediaries Inc., the Group’s US reinsurance intermediary arm. Addesso and Lowery-Biggers also join as independent Non-Executive Directors of BMS Investment Holding Company, the holding company for BMS Group, effective immediately.
Addesso brings more than 41 years of experience in the (re)insurance market to BMS. His most recent role was as President and CEO of Everest Re Group since January 2014 before retiring at the end of 2019. Starting in June of 2011 he assumed the duties as President of Everest Re Group, leading group operations, after serving as CFO since 2009. Prior to Everest he held various roles at Munich Re America beginning in 1997 including President of US Treaty. Addesso first began his insurance career in 1978 at Selective Insurance after attaining his CPA designation while at KPMG.
Lowery-Biggers has over 30 years of global financial and insurance experience, most recently at The Navigators Group, Inc., first joining as President of the Group’s Field Operations in 2009 and most recently serving as Group Chief Marketing Officer. Lowery-Biggers was also President of Lloyd’s of London, North America, leading its business operations across the US and Canada. She has previously held senior positions at Wells Fargo Insurance Services and Marsh and McLennan Companies.
Lowery-Biggers is currently CEO of BellaVaughan, Inc. and serves as a Non-Executive Director at Protective Insurance, Co., CopperPoint Mutual Insurance Holding Company and Brown and Riding. She is also a board member of several non-profit organizations, to include A21, an anti-human trafficking global 501 C3 and a recipient of the Mother Teresa Harmony Award.
Nick Cook, CEO at BMS Group, said: “The appointments of Dom and LoriAnn are testament to our determination in attracting industry leading talent and to the scale of our ambition in North America. Dom’s distinguished career in the reinsurance market will contribute greatly to our business as we continue to invest and grow in this sector; LoriAnn is a highly-respected leader with a global reputation and extensive market relationships. The opportunities created by these hires are evident to us and I look forward to working with them and Pete Chandler, our US CEO, in growing our business.”
John Hastings-Bass, Chairman of BMS Group, said: “Dom and LoriAnn are major influencers in our industry with the wisdom and peerless experience to make an invaluable contribution to BMS as we grow in the US and more broadly. I warmly welcome both.”
Addesso said: “BMS’s driven and ambitious team is focused on developing innovative and individualised solutions for clients. The executive leadership has a clear reinsurance strategy and invests time and resources in supporting all employees in developing their value to clients. I’m excited to join such a talented and close-knit team, and I’m particularly looking forward to working with them to further accelerate the development of the US reinsurance platform.”
Lowery-Biggers said: “BMS’s clear vision and dynamic culture has made it one of the fastest-growing companies in the market and a genuine global choice for clients whose options are becoming increasingly limited. It’s an exciting time to join and I look forward to working with the executive team in the US and the wider group on executing a strategy that serves the best interests of its global clients.”