Brooklyn Underwriting Head Tim Fairbrother has resigned after almost a decade with the business, with Scott Jerome to take over the role as Acting Head, the Axa-owned agency has announced.

“We wish Tim the absolute best with his future endeavours and we thank him for close to 10 years of service with Brooklyn and Axa XL,” the agency said today on LinkedIn. The resignation is effective immediately.

Mr Fairbrother, a former professional rugby union player, joined Brooklyn in 2013, was appointed Manager Partnerships in 2016 and became head of the business in December the following year.

Mr Jerome takes over after most recently holding the role of Axa Operations Lead, Australia. Before joining Axa he had worked at firms including Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group, Aon and JLT.

“Scott brings with him a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the Brooklyn business, our products, our people, and our vision for the future,” the agency said. “We look forward to formally introducing Scott to our broker networks in the coming weeks.”

Brooklyn has been operating for nearly three decades and has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The underwriting agency was acquired by XL Group in 2016 and became part of Axa in 2018.

“Brooklyn remains critical to our Axa XL strategy in Australia and it is a testament to our bench strength to be able to appoint Scott as Acting Head of Brooklyn,” Axa Head of Australia Catherine Carlyon told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

Mr Fairbrother’s LinkedIn page says he is proud to have played a key role in building a highly profitable business, as it has grown from a niche specialist into a major player.

Mr Fairbrother told insuranceNEWS.com.au that he was unable to comment further at this stage, but he has a future opportunity, and the Brooklyn business is in good shape and in good hands.