Argo CEO Jessica Buss exits in leadership shuffle
Argo chief executive Jessica Buss (pictured left), who has led the company since Brookfield Wealth Solutions’ 2023 takeover, has left the company.
She has been succeeded by Chris Donahue (pictured right), Argo’s CFO since the $1.1 billion takeover.
Buss succeeded chairman and CEO Thomas Bradley in November 2023 when the takeover was completed.
Donahue joined the company in November, 2023 as CFO. He was previously a senior vice president at Brookfield, the parent company of Brookfield Wealth Solutions.
“Chris has been integral to the transformation of Argo into a US-focused specialty property & casualty company,” said Jonathan Bayer, chair of Argo’s board of directors. “Argo has a focused strategy for its products and partners and is well positioned for future growth as Chris and the executive team continue to lead Argo.”
David Chan has been named as the company’s new chief financial officer, having been Argo’s chief accounting officer since 2022. Chan previously held senior roles at AmTrust Financial Services, Inc., Moody’s Investor services, and PwC.
“We greatly appreciate Jessica’s leadership through Argo’s transformation and her many valuable contributions,” said Bayer. “We wish her all the best in her next pursuit.”
According to Brookfield Wealth Solutions’ third-quarter report for the three-month period ending on September 30, 2024, its property and casualty operations made $161 million compared with a profit of $2 million in the same period in 2023.
Net premiums increased to $2.2 billion compared with $1.5 billion. The P&C figures include business written by Argo as well as by American National, another Brookfield acquisition which is primarily a life insurer.
Buss joined Argo as president of US insurance in 2022. She was previously CEO of GuideOne Insurance from 2017 to 2022.
She is also the chairman of Open Lending Corporation and became a director of Earnix, a provider of artificial intelligence-based SaaS pricing and rating solutions for financial services.
Argo was founded in Bermuda and has since redomiciled to the US. It continues to have substantial Bermuda operations.
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