Marsh strengthens Panama presence with Semusa acquisition

Marsh has strengthened its presence in Panama after it acquired a majority stake in broker Semusa, a company that has acted as the local representative of Marsh for 15 years.

The transaction is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2014 and following that, the new operation will be named Marsh Semusa.

Samuel Urrutia, president of Semusa group, will become chairman of the board of Marsh Semusa, reporting to Ricardo Brockmann, CEO of Marsh Latin America and Caribbean.

Emanuel Abadia, currently CEO of Semusa, will become CEO of Marsh Semusa, reporting to Jose Vergara, head of Marsh Central America and the Caribbean.

Peter Zaffino, president and CEO of Marsh LLC, says: “Panama is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and I am excited that Marsh’s first office in Central America will be located in one of its most dynamic business environments. The country has seen significant expansion across the financial services, infrastructure, construction, energy, logistics and transportation sectors. We look forward to offering companies in Panama the full range of our global and regional capabilities.”

Urrutia adds: “Strong economic growth in recent years has increased the demand for a higher level of risk advice from companies looking to expand. By further cementing our relationship with Marsh, we will strengthen and enhance the capabilities that Semusa has built up over many years and present the most comprehensive risk and insurance offering in the local market.”