HDI Global has opened an office in Dubai led by Willem van Wyk, who has moved to the Middle East from Sydney.

Mr van Wyk has been market manager for Australasia since early 2020, and formerly spent 12 years at Allianz and three at Marsh.

He is joined in Dubai by John Morrell as head of engineering underwriting for the Middle East.

The new office is at Dubai International Financial Centre, which houses more than 100 registered insurers, reinsurers, captives and insurance-related entities.

“As part of the overall global vision and Asia-Pacific growth strategy, Dubai is an exciting opportunity for us to move closer to this expanding market,” HDI director David Hullin said.

The office will initially offer engineering, construction and property insurance.

Meanwhile, in Australia, HDI Global has promoted executives Karina Rodriguez Diaz and Stephen Jones.

Ms Rodriguez Diaz will lead the market management team, overseeing market strategy, broker partnerships, major account practice, communications and international programs in Australia and New Zealand.

Her career with HDI in Sydney began with an underwriting role in 2017, following seven years at Aon and six years at Marsh in Colombia.

Melbourne-based Mr Jones became head of Victoria, Tasmania and SA in April last year. That role will now expand to encompass all regions in Australia, and he will help grow HDI’s specialty lines.

He previously spent almost seven years at Marsh and more than 18 years at Ace Insurance. He was also CEO at Whitbread Insurance Brokers and a board member at Axis Underwriting Services.

Sydney-based Stevan Bonic has been promoted to technical underwriting manager engineering for Australasia.

“I am delighted with these appointments and wish all our colleagues the best with their new endeavours,” head of HDI Asia-Pacific and MD Australia Stefan Feldmann said. “Together, the team will continue to collaborate to ensure HDI delivers innovative solutions for our brokers and clients.