Howell to take over as ALAS board chairman

Donald Howell, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Attorneys' Liability Assurance Society (Bermuda) Ltd. (ALAS), announced the unanimous nomination of John Bouma to be the new Chairman of the Board.

Mr. Bouma will begin his two-year term at the close of the Annual General Meeting which will be held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada on June 21, 2002.

Mr. Howell said: “We are fortunate to have a person of John's stature in the profession to provide leadership for ALAS at a time of uncertainty in the insurance industry. John has served the ALAS Board with distinction and enthusiasm since 1986, having been Chairman of the Claims Management and Loss Prevention Committee for many years as well as serving currently on the Nominating & Compensation, Planning, and Audit Committees of the Board.”

Mr. Bouma is the Chairman of Snell & Wilmer L.L.P. of Phoenix, Arizona. He graduated from the University of Iowa, with highest honours, in 1960 where he was the Editor in Chief of the Iowa Law Review.

He has been awarded the Arizona Bar Foundation's Walter E. Craig Distinguished Service Award, the Community Legal Services Decade of Dedication Award, and the Arizona State University College of Law's Distinguished Achievement Medal. ALAS is a mutual insurance company with its head office located in Bermuda and its principal operating subsidiary, ALAS, Inc., A Risk Retention Group, located in Chicago and is the largest single provider of Lawyers' Professional Liability Insurance to US law firms that have 35 or more attorneys.

ALAS currently insures 258 law firms and provides coverage to more than 53,000 attorneys.

Renaud leaves Foster Wheeler

Foster Wheeler Ltd. (NYSE:FWC) announced that Gilles Renaud, senior vice president and chief financial officer, has resigned his position to pursue other opportunities.

“Mr. Renaud has made a number of valuable contributions to Foster Wheeler during the past two years, and we wish him well in his future endeavours,” said Raymond J. Milchovich, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Foster Wheeler Ltd.

Mr. Renaud joined Foster Wheeler in March 2000. He was previously vice president and treasurer of United Technologies Corporation.

The company is conducting a search and evaluating internal candidates for a successor. In the interim, Robert D. Iseman, vice president and treasurer, has been named the acting principal financial officer, and will continue to work closely with other financial executives of the company as well as previously retained financial consultants to Foster Wheeler.

“I am very confident that with our team of highly capable personnel and our external consultants, we have the necessary set of financial skills available to very professionally manage all of our financial issues during this transition period,”added Mr. Milchovich.

Foster Wheeler Ltd. is a Bermuda-based global company offering, through its subsidiaries, a broad range of design, engineering, construction, manufacturing, project development and management, research, plant operation and environmental services.

The corporation is based in Hamilton, Bermuda, and its operational headquarters are in Clinton, New Jersey.

Price's new role at St. Paul Re

Michael D. Price, 35, has been appointed chief underwriting officer at St. Paul Re, the reinsurance operation of The St. Paul Companies, and eventually will hold the same post at Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd., the Bermuda-based reinsurer to be formed from The St. Paul's ongoing reinsurance operations.

The initial public offering for Platinum Underwriters was announced on April 25 and is in registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jerry Fadden, St. Paul Re president and chief executive officer, said Price will assume his post on June 3.

“Michael brings the experience and expertise we need to pursue our financial and operating goals,”Mr. Fadden said.

“He will be instrumental in implementing the business plan and developing the long-term strategies for Platinum Underwriters.”

Since last year, Mr. Price has been chief operating officer for Global Aerospace, a prominent aviation insurer. Previously, he was chief underwriting officer for Underwriters Reinsurance Company and for Swiss Re (Americas), where he worked with Steven H. Newman, who is now chairman of Platinum Underwriters.

“I'm delighted to be reunited with Michael,” Mr. Newman said. “We have always worked well together and we look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.”

From 1996 to 1998,Mr. Price was president of London Life & Casualty Reinsurance Corporation.

He is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society as well as a member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and holds a bachelor's degree in mathematical statistics and economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The St. Paul Companies, Inc., is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and provides commercial property-liability insurance and asset management.

A registration statement relating to Platinum Underwriters Holdings, Ltd.'s securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective.

•Company Moves compiled by Mairi Mallon