Aon has appointed Cole Mayer as head of parametric, leading initiatives to accelerate the delivery of index-based solutions. Based in San-Francisco, Mayer will report to Paul Schultz, CEO of Aon Securities. In his new role, Mayer will manage a global centre of excellence for parametric products, coordinating their structuring and distribution across regions. He will lead a team in North America, EMEA and APAC to identify opportunities across reinsurance solutions and commercial risk solutions, as well as Aon Securities. He will also deliver parametric products to clients while utilising capital from associated markets. Additionally, Mayer will work across risk capital, one of two primary categories of client need which unifies Aon’s capabilities across commercial risk and reinsurance solutions. Mayer joins Aon after a 15-year tenure at Swiss Re, where he most recently served as senior vice president and senior structurer within its innovative risk solutions division. Before that he held senior underwriting roles at the firm. Aon says: “Parametric triggers, which have long been a feature of insurance-linked securities, particularly catastrophe bonds, have become popular with cedents seeking to base their coverage on factors other than company or industry losses.” Andy Marcell, CEO of risk capital for Aon, comments: “There is increasing demand from commercial risk and reinsurance clients for innovation around risk transfer, and so to continue to deliver client value Aon needs to be ever more coordinated in its global network and approach.” He adds: “Cole’s new role evidences our quick progress in this regard, enabling the more efficient delivery of parametric solutions through global collaborative initiatives.”