Effective 2 August, Vanessa Maher will move into the role of Chief Risk Officer Australia whilst also remaining the Head of Digital for Asia Pacific. Robert Mercer will take over Vanessa’s Head of Claims for Asia Pacific responsibility, retaining the same high level of local claims authority.
This year Vanessa marks her 20th year with Liberty, and she has held a wide variety of senior leadership positions over that time, which have included Claims, Legal, Operations, Technology, Strategy, Change Management and Digital functions at various stages throughout her career with Liberty.
“With the compliance and risk environment evolving so quickly for the industry, it’s a critical time for Vanessa to be assuming the risk management responsibilities since she has a deep understanding of our operations and a proven track record within the region,” said Michael Abdallah, President and Managing Director of Liberty Specialty Markets Asia Pacific. “We also send our best wishes to Michelle Smith, our outgoing Chief Risk Officer for Australia, who has also been an instrumental part of our team over the past two decades.”
Rob joined Liberty in 2015 to lead the Professional and Financial Risks claims team. In April 2020 Rob was promoted to the role of Deputy Head of Claims, and we are delighted that he will now lead Liberty’s regional team of 40 claims professionals.
“We’re known for our leadership role in managing some of the largest and more complex commercial claims in the region,” said Abdallah. “Rob has demonstrated his ability to navigate the ever-changing business environment and consistently deliver mutual advantage for our broking partners and their clients.”
“Vanessa and Rob have worked side-by-side in our claims team for the past six years, and I have every expectation that the continuity of having them both perform critical roles within our leadership team will be welcomed by our partners.”
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