Lloyd’s has appointed Gow-Gates Insurance Brokers CEO Chris Mackinnon as its new General Representative for Australia.

He replaces Adrian Humphreys, who resigned in October to join Steadfast as GM Business Development. 

Mr Mackinnon will take up the role in early February, reporting to Singapore-based Head of Asia-Pacific Kent Chaplin.

The appointment marks a departure from Lloyd’s previous preference for appointing the Australian representative from its London management group. 

However, Mr Mackinnon has considerable international experience. Prior to joining Gow-Gates in March 2013 he was based in London with Arthur J Gallagher for nearly four years, most recently as Executive Director Strategy & Development.

Before leaving Australia he worked as a broker for 21 years, with stints at Marsh, Aon, CT Bowring and Gallagher. 

Mr Chaplin said in a statement issued late today that Mr Mackinnon’s “extensive experience in the Australia insurance market, and his strong knowledge of Lloyd’s” makes him “the ideal person to lead Lloyd’s in Australia and build on our success as a specialist (re)insurer in the region”.

The Lloyd’s role involves managing the market’s relationships with brokers, underwriting agencies, service providers and regulators, overcoming barriers to placing business with Lloyd’s and identifying commercial opportunities.

Mr Mackinnon was featured in the June/July issue of Insurance News (the magazine) last year.

More details in our first regular bulletin for the year on Monday, February 2.