Colao named AXA XL’s global chief underwriting officer for cyber

AXA XL has appointed Michael Colao as global chief underwriting officer for cyber.

Colao reports to Libby Benet, the recently promoted global chief underwriting officer for financial lines and is based in London.

He was previously corporate chief security officer within AXA Group operations, overseeing information and physical security and operational resilience for multiple entities within AXA Group, including AXA XL.

Before that he served as chief security officer for AXA UK and Ireland for nearly a decade, managing cyber security for 15 AXA-owned companies globally.

Colao represents the insurance industry in the Bank of England’s Cross-Market Operational Resilience Cyber Coordination Group, and serves on the steering committee of the UK government Financial Services Cyber Coordination Centre, advising on regulation.

In his new role Colao manages aggregate cyber exposure across AXA XL’s products globally and helps develop and implement strong underwriting standards and drive innovation.

Benet said Colao’s knowledge of the cyber security market and technical expertise will complement AXA XL’s global cyber team and provide “a unique perspective into cyber risk.”