Reinsurance Association of America elects new chair

Brian Young, president and CEO of Odyssey Group, was elected chairman of the board of directors of the Reinsurance Association of America (RAA’s) at its annual meeting on 28 April.

Justin O’Keefe, chief underwriting officer for global property at RenaissanceRe, was elected vice chair, and Jim Williamson, chief operating officer (COO) and head of reinsurance for Everest Re Group, was elected secretary-treasurer.

During his 25 years at Odyssey, Young has held several senior underwriting and management roles, including the oversight of Odyssey’s Canadian, Latin American, London and Lloyd’s operations. In 2009, he became COO and was responsible for all reinsurance and insurance operations worldwide. He was appointed president and CEO in April 2011.

O’Keefe joined RenRe in 2004 and held a series of senior underwriting roles before assuming his current position in 2013. He also serves on the board of directors of Top Layer Reinsurance, DaVinci Reinsurance and Vermeer Reinsurance. He is a member of the board of directors and executive committee of the RAA and is involved with multiple

Williamson is responsible for advancing underwriting excellence, digital transformation, innovation, operational efficiency and data and analytics capabilities across the Everest Re group, and for leading the company’s reinsurance division. Prior to joining Everest, he was division president of small business at Chubb, where he also held various senior executive roles within the company’s North America and international operations.