Lloyd's Appoints Flaquet from Hiscox as Chief Operating Officer; Arch Insurance International Hires Byford as Senior Contingency Underwriter

Lloyd's appoints Stéphane Flaquet as Chief Operating Officer, effective September 1, 2025. Flaquet joins from Hiscox, where he held several roles, including group chief operations and technology officer. He will lead Lloyd's Operations function, delivering services to the market and Lloyd's Corporation. Arch Insurance International hires James Byford as a senior contingency underwriter, with immediate effect. Byford brings over 14 years of underwriting experience, most recently as a lead contingency underwriter at Worldwide Special Risks.

Lloyd’s, the world’s leading insurance and reinsurance market, has announced the appointment of Stéphane Flaquet as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO), effective September 1, 2025. Flaquet will join the Lloyd’s executive team and report directly to CEO Patrick Tiernan.

Flaquet’s appointment follows a series of recent leadership changes at Lloyd’s. He will oversee the market’s operations function, which provides services to both the Lloyd’s market and corporation. His responsibilities will include executing the operations strategy, managing technology, data, and change initiatives, and leading the corporation’s work on market infrastructure resilience. Additionally, Flaquet will be responsible for all activities connected to Blueprint Two, Lloyd’s modernization program [1].

Flaquet brings over 30 years of experience in building and leading high-performing teams while delivering complex change and driving profitable growth across international markets. He joins Lloyd’s from Hiscox, where he held several roles, most recently as Group Chief Operations and Technology Officer. Before Hiscox, Flaquet held senior positions at American International Group (AIG) and Capital One [2].

The new COO will take over from George Marcotte, who served as interim COO since September 2024. Tiernan expressed his confidence in Flaquet’s ability to lead Lloyd’s Operations function and execute the operations strategy, stating, “Stephane’s experience will be integral to delivering operational excellence, flexibility, and scalability to the Corporation and the market” [3].

Arch Insurance International has also hired James Byford as a senior contingency underwriter, with immediate effect. Byford brings over 14 years of underwriting experience, most recently as a lead contingency underwriter at Worldwide Special Risks [4].

References:
[1] https://www.lloyds.com/about-lloyds/media-centre/press-releases/lloyds-appoints-stephane-flaquet-as-chief-operating-officer
[2] https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/us/news/breaking-news/lloyds-names-stephane-flaquet-as-chief-operating-officer-545009.aspx
[3] https://www.lifeinsuranceinternational.com/news/lloyds-chief-operating-officer/
[4] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lloyd-names-chief-operating-officer-113842056.html