Willis Group Holdings has appointed Brian Shea as head of Europe for Willis Capital Markets & Advisory (WCMA), the firm’s insurance investment banking division.
Reporting to WCMA co-CEOs, Rafal Walkiewicz and Michael Guo, Shea will join WCMA on 24 August 2015 and will be based in London.
Shea brings over 20 years of experience working with insurance companies within a capital markets context. He joins WCMA from global reinsurer, SCOR, where he was chief corporate strategy officer reporting to the chairman of the board and CEO.
Prior to SCOR, Shea was managing director and head of the European insurance equity research team for Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
WCMA advises clients in the insurance and reinsurance industry on merger and acquisitions, capital markets transactions and insurance-linked securities.
Its European division has recently advised on over €5 billion of transactions including the sale of Brit PLC to Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited and the sale of Cathedral Capital Limited to Lancashire Holdings Limited.
Walkiewicz commented: “We are thrilled that [Shea] is joining WCMA to lead our European team. WCMA’s investment banking value proposition is based on our superior understanding of the insurance industry and our clients expect us to combine top quality execution with world-class strategic advice.”
Shea added: “Willis’s positioning as the analytical broker is a strong attraction to me, as is WCMA’s deep expertise in both capital markets and insurance. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to provide value-added advice and solutions to Willis’s clients.”
