Argo beefs up surety team with hires from RLI, Markel and Zurich

Former RLI Insurance surety chief Greg Chilson will head up Argo’s surety insurance business after acting as a strategic advisor to the company since May.

Chilson, who spent 27 years at RLI, will report to Bermuda-based Argo’s president of US insurance Jessica Snyder.

His appointment follows the appointments of Rod Williams as head of contract surety and Paul Drakontaidis as the head of commercial surety earlier this month.

Snyder said: “Greg joins the company with a tremendous amount of industry experience as we look to build on Argo Surety’s track record as a very profitable, growth-oriented business.

“Over the past few months, Greg has assisted us as we worked to implement our strategy to evolve the business, including the evaluation of Argo’s in-force portfolio, reviewing underwriting guidelines and providing guidance on organisational design.

“He was very much involved in building this leadership team. The quality of the team and the positive momentum we are seeing in this business is a testament to Greg’s leadership and promising future potential for Argo Surety.”

Chilson led the surety business and held various other roles during his 27-year tenure at RLI. He also served as controller at Underwriters Indemnity and in financial reporting at American General. Chilson attended the United States Military Academy West Point and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas.

Williams and Drakontaidis will report to him.

Williams previously served as vice president and director, Enterprise Risk Management at Markel Surety. Prior to that, he held similar roles at Liberty Mutual Surety, Safeco and Aetna. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and his master’s in business administration from Middle Tennessee State University.

Drakontaidis has more than 17 years of experience in surety underwriting, serving most recently as senior regional vice president-commercial surety bonds at Zurich Surety. Prior to that, he held similar roles at Liberty Mutual Surety and Safeco. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University of Chicago.

Argo is due to be taken over by Bermuda-based Brookfield Re in the second half of this year.