(Bloomberg) --QBE Insurance Group Ltd. hired Eric Pruss to help run the property-casualty operations in North America as the company revamps operations in the continent.
Pruss will lead personal-insurance products and also oversee the farm and ranch insurance business, Sydney, Australia-based QBE said in a statement Monday. He previously worked for Fireman’s FundInsurance, which was acquired by Ace Ltd.
QBE is “bringing in top talent to drive profitable growth,” Alan Driscoll, president of standard lines property casualty, said in the statement. “We are committed to becoming a superior competitor.”
Chief Executive Officer John Neal has been reshaping international operations for QBE after worse-than-expected results in the U.S., including at a home insurer that the company agreed last week to sell at a loss to National General Holdings Corp. Acquisitions by Evan Greenberg’s Ace and other insurers have created disruption in the industry as executives seek to cut costs at companies they acquire.
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. last week announced the hiring of Mary Boyd and Casey Campbell as senior vice presidents from Ace. Greenberg’s company completed the purchase of Fireman’s Fund in April and announced a deal this month to buy Chubb Corp., saying that the transaction will lead to $650 million in annual cost savings.
Pruss, 46, will be a senior vice president based in New York and report to Driscoll. A graduate of Cornell University with an MBA from Emory University, Pruss previously worked at Chubb, according to the statement.
Jeffrey Zack, a spokesman for Ace, declined to comment. Amanda Taylor, a spokeswoman for QBE, said the position that Pruss will be filling was created last year as part of a plan to centralize leadership of personal lines businesses.
