HDI Global Specialty has appointed Jamie Bowes as Head of Aviation, overseeing its new Melbourne-based aviation team.

Mr Bowes was previously with QBE for 10 years, joining in 2009 as an international aviation underwriter before taking on the international aviation manager role last November, according to his LinkedIn profile.

HDI Global Specialty aims to become a major player in the regional aviation market.

“We are extremely pleased we could get [him] to head up our new aviation venture,” Head of Branch Mark Fleiser said. “He has an excellent background in this market, and we look forward to leveraging his market knowledge and connections. We hope to launch our offering as soon as possible.”

The company says Australia is central to its bid to mirror its aviation underwriting successes in Europe.

“When looking at how we could expand and build on our successful general aviation operations in Europe, Australia was quickly identified as an area where we saw great potential,” MD Scandinavian Branch Mats Westerborn said.

“We identified the need to have an active presence in local aviation markets and it was therefore important for us to establish a team on the ground in Australia.”