Gail P. Norstrom
President and CEO
Gulf Reinsurance Limited
Gail P. Norstrom is the President and CEO of Gulf Reinsurance Limited, Dubai, UAE. Gulf Re is a specialist reinsurer founded in May 2008 in the Dubai International Financial Centre and is regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority. Prior to joining Gulf Re in February of 2008, Mr. Norstrom spent six years as a Managing Director, in Aon’s National Property Broking Group in New York.
He was also a member of the team coordinating Aon’s Terrorism Risk Management activities.
Before joining Aon, Mr. Norstrom spent thirty plus years in the property insurance business, all with Industrial Risk Insurers (IRI), Hartford CT. He retired in June of 2001 after eight years as President and CEO. As CEO he had overall responsibility for the property insurance and risk management services organization.
Alaa El Zoheiry
Managing Director
ArabMISR Insurance Group
Mr. El Zoheiry has been in the Insurance Market for more than 20 years. Moving through the Reinsurance Department at MISR Insurance Company to practicing all lines of Engineering Business within Suez Canal Insurance Company. He also gained his experience of the Professional Indemnity Insurance in the US market. Starting with ACE Egypt as a Technical Manager in the year 2001 and heading Arab MISR Insurance Group (AMIG) as a Managing Director as of 2005.
In his carrier life he has dealt with a number of Multinational accounts, with an enphasis on putting together comprehensive Insurance programmes for the largest projects in Egypt including but not limited to: Al Azhar Tunnel, City Stars Complex, Ezz Steel Factories, CEMEX and a good many other key projects and developments at the forefront of the sector.
Dr. Finn Göldner
Senior Management Committee
Health Authority Abu Dhabi
Finn started working for the Health Authority Abu Dhabi in April 2007 and is a member of its Senior Management Committee. He is responsible for all rules and regulations concerning the implementation of the health insurance law in the Emirate including the authorization of insurance companies and intermediaries, the setting of rules for claims and reimbursement as well as the enforcement of the law through inspections.
Before joining the Health Authority, he worked for Lazard in Frankfurt (2004-2007) and for Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt (2001-2003). Finn started his career with McKinsey & Company in their Health Care & Pharmaceutical Practice Group in Germany. Finn received a Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) in Neurosciences from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas in 1997.
Ian Hayward
Director, Life Medical & TPA
Arab Insurance Group (Arig)
Ian is currently Director Life Medical & TPA at Arig, based in Bahrain. He joined Arig in July 2007 following their purchase of Scottish Re's Middle East life portfolio. He has a brief to develop product lines and geographical scope and to position Arig as the life and medical reinsurer of choice in the region.
Ian has 23 years experience in the insurance and reinsurance industries, over half of which has been in the Middle East markets. In addition to his time at Arig and Scottish Re (where he was Director Middle East based in Dubai) he spent 8 years at GE Insurance Solutions in a variety of roles. At the time of leaving he was their Service Delivery Leader tasked with delivery of their brand promise throughout the UK, Europe and Middle East. Prior to that, he held positions as International Marketing Manager and International Sales Manager.
Murtadha M. Jawad Ibrahim Al Jamalani
Associate
Chartered Insurance Institute
Murtadha is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute, UK and an Omani entrepreneur. He has also attended various advanced management programmes in reputed international companies & institutions including Lloyd's of London, and INSEAD –France.
Murtadha has been associated with insurance and reinsurance programmes of Aviation class of business and large projects in the energy and construction sectors. He has been an active founding promoter of Oman Qatar Insurance Company "SAOC" and was its General Manager then an Advisor to the Chairman and Board of Directors.
Murtadha is a founder and investor of OMAN Reinsurance Company "SAOC" – "OMAN Re". Murtadha is an Executive Director and Board Member of "OMAN Re".
Graham Morrall
Head of Zurich International Solutions - Middle East
Zurich Financial Services Group
Graham has been the regional head of distribution for Zurich International Life (Zurich) since 2006.
He is responsible for all distribution in the Middle East and Africa – a region which is responsible for generating approximately one third of Zurich’s new business. Graham operates out of the Dubai International Finance Centre and oversees a team of over 10 distribution managers.
In 2007, Graham was appointed branch manager in Dubai for Zurich Life Insurance Company Ltd.
Graham started his career with Eagle Star Life’s UK operation as a graduate trainee broker sales consultant in 1988, was appointed unit sales manager in 1990 and then branch sales manager in 1993.
Bassam Adib Chilmeran
General Manager
Al Wathba National Insurance Company
Joined the company in the year 2000 and prior to that, had worked for the Arab Insurance Group since 1989. Currently, Mr. Chilmeran is also serving under the following:
Managing Director- Vision Insurance Company, Muscat.
Chairman of the Reinsurance Committee of the Emirates Insurance Association since 2003
Member of the Technical Committee of the Arab War Risk Insurance Syndicate. "AWRIS" since 2006.
Member of the Technical Committee of the Co-ordination Commission for the Gulf Insurance & Reinsurance Companies since 2003.
Mr. Chilmeran is a holder of a BSc. Degree in Economics and Masters Degree in Business Administration and holds the title "Chartered Insurer".
Mohammed Iqbal Mankani
Chief Operating Officer
Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance Co
Mr. Mohammed Iqbal Mankani is a highly respected veteran of almost 40 years in the Insurance industry, 32 of which have been spent in Dubai where he is currently based as an Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance Co (Aman), one of the largest Takaful operators in the Middle East. Mr. Mankani was the Deputy General Manager of Alliance Insurance Co, Dubai where he worked for 27 years before joining Dubai Islamic Insurance & Reinsurance Co (Aman) to help set up what is now the leading Takaful Company in the UAE. He was instrumental in building up the infrastructure of the company and set up the team responsible to run it. Mr Mankani is well known throughout the Reinsurance industry both in Europe and the Middle East.
James Portelli
Executive Vice President, Risk Audit Department
Oman Insurance Co PSC
A Chartered Insurance Practitioner, James Portelli is also a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute (UK), The Institute of Risk Management (UK) and a Senior Member of the Malta Insurance Institute. Currently heading the Business Development Unit of Oman Insurance Co PSC (an interactively "A-" S&P-rated company and the largest insurer in the UAE), James oversees broker business development, managing a multi-million dollar portfolio of broker-generated premiums. He was previously the CEO of the Malta International Training Centre. James is a regular contributor to regional and international insurance industry publications including POLICY magazine, Insurance Day (UK) and CII Journal (UK).
Kevin Willis
Director , Financial Services Ratings
Standard & Poor's
Kevin is a director of Standard & Poor's Financial Services Ratings and a chartered certified accountant. He has worked at Standard & Poor's for over 15 years and is sector specialist for Middle East & African insurance ratings, coordinating a growing team of analysts working in this region. Kevin is also heavily involved in developing and applying Standard & Poor's credit analysis to the Lloyd's syndicate insurance market, and the European credit insurance market. He established the Standard & Poor's European Insurance Credit Training programme in 1996, and is part of the analytical team that now provides credit training facilities throughout Europe and beyond. Kevin regularly produces articles and speaks at conferences concerning the rapidly developing Middle Eastern insurance market.
SOME PREVIOUS SPEAKERS THAT HAVE PARTICIPATED IN INSUREX INCLUDE…
Ian Hayward
Director, Life Medical & TPA
Arab Insurance Group
Graham Morrall
Head of Zurich ME International Solutions
Zurich Financial Services Group
James Portelli
Executive Vice President, Risk Audit Department
Oman Insurance Co PSC
Kevin Willis
Director, Financial Services Ratings
Standard & Poor’s
