Swiss Re’s Head of Client Markets for Australia and NZ Russell Higginbotham is returning to London in May after nearly four years in Australia to become Head of Swiss Re UK and Ireland.

He will be replaced by an Australian, Mark Senkevics, who has run Swiss Re’s South Korean operations since 2007.

Prior to that Mr Senkevics managed Swiss Re’s property and casualty operations in Taiwan, having joined the company in 2003.

Mr Higginbotham departs after eight years in the Asia-Pacific region. He initially led Swiss Re life and health operations in Japan before taking on the Australasian role in 2006.

Swiss Re employs around 150 staff in its Australia and NZ operations.