Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance (BHSI) says Mark Lingafelter is taking over as Australasia President from Chris Colahan, who is moving to Europe to assume a newly created role.

Mr Lingafelter, most recently QBE’s Asia-Pacific Chief Underwriting Officer based in Singapore, will return to Sydney for the position. Previously, he was Chubb Australia MD from 2004 to 2015.

“With more than 30 years of experience in the global insurance market, Mark is well qualified to lead our ongoing profitable growth in Australia and New Zealand,” BHSI CEO Peter Eastwood said.

As reported in a Breaking News bulletin earlier today, Mr Colahan, who has led BHSI Australasia since its inception in 2015, will move to London to become President of the specialty insurance operations in the UK and Europe.

“BHSI has been operating in Europe for around two years, and up until now we have been organised into two regions, northern Europe and southern Europe. My new role will cover all of Europe,” Mr Colahan told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Under Mr Colahan, BHSI Australasia has expanded to five permanent offices. It employs around 100 people and offers six product lines.

“We have made great progress building BHSI in Australasia, but we are just getting started,” he said.

“It’s been a wonderful experience working with the team in Australasia, and I am looking forward to watching them as they continue to grow and thrive under Mark’s leadership.”

The two appointments are effective immediately and involve a transition period before Mr Colahan relocates permanently to London next month.

“Chris has been a superb leader of BHSI in Australasia and we look forward to adding his energy and expertise to our expanding European team and operations,” Mr Eastwood said.

Before joining BHSI Mr Colahan was RSA Asia CEO, with responsibility for operations in China, Hong Kong and Singapore and joint ventures in India and Thailand.

Investment and insurance giant Berkshire Hathaway launched BHSI in the US in 2013. The group opened a new London office early last year.