QBE has revised its group executive structure, with Vince McLenaghan moving on from COO and Acting CEO Australia to become CEO of a new Australia-Asia-Pacific division.

The other operating divisions are Europe and the Americas. Australia will no longer operate as a separate division.

The Group COO position has been retired, with each division now responsible for its region’s operational issues.

Mr McLenaghan will report directly to Group CEO Frank O’Halloran, alongside European operations CEO Steven Burns and the Americas CEO John Rumpler.

Current Asia-Pacific CEO Mike Goodwin, who remains in Singapore, retains his role and will continue to report to Mr McLenaghan.

The four executives join Global Head of Distribution Terry Ibbotson as part of the new Group Operations Executive.

A group head office management team features a further seven executives responsible for financial, investment, actuarial, reinsurance, human resources, risk and legal functions.

QBE disclosed the changes last week saying the restructure follows the company’s “continuing expansion worldwide”.

The group now operates in 49 countries and employs 13,500 staff. Last month it moved to reporting in US currency after originally flagging the proposal in November last year.

Last week it recast its financial results between the years 2007-09 in US dollars to assist investors and analysts ahead of its upcoming half-year results, which will be announced on Thursday.

Credit Suisse analyst Arjan van Veen believes the management of the business continues to be sound. “Given the macro-economic and pricing conditions, the numbers coming out are very good relative to their peers,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“The declining share price is a reflection of market expectations that were too high, with our expectations materially lower than the rest of the market ahead of the recent announcements.”