Catalina hires new chief commercial/legal officer from CapSpecialty

Legacy specialist Catalina Holdings has hired a senior executive from CapSpecialty as its new chief commercial officer and chief legal officer.

Andrew Diaz-Matos will report to group chief executive officer Ian Parker (pictured). He takes over the chief commercial officer from Steve Ryland, who has moved internally to head of global distribution. As chief legal officer, he succeeds Keith Lyon, Catalina’s general counsel who will be retiring later in the year.

Diaz-Matos joins from CapSpecialty, where he was senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. He also oversaw the claims, HR, and IT functions for the Alleghany-owned specialty insurance company.

Prior to CapSpecialty, he held legal roles of increasing responsibility at The Hartford, with a particular focus on operations, transactions, strategy, and corporate governance. He began his legal career in the Mergers & Acquisitions practice of White & Case in New York.

Diaz-Matos commented: “I am thrilled to be joining Catalina at this juncture in its development. I have admired Catalina for many years, including from the 2017 sale of The Hartford’s UK P&C runoff business to Catalina. I look forward to working with the insurance companies’ CEOs in managing liabilities and improving operational efficiency and to building out a world-class legal organization, all in support of Catalina’s profitable growth.”

Parker said: “I am delighted Andrew is joining Catalina at such an exciting time. In my experience it is rare to find a lawyer that can lead both a legal team and a commercial one. Andrew’s extensive experience managing outside the legal function will be incredibly valuable and I have absolute confidence that he is exactly what Catalina needs.”