ACE Limited yesterday announced the appointment of Sean Ringsted as chief actuary for the ACE Group of Companies, effective immediately. The appointment is subject to approval from the Bermuda Department of Labour and Immigration.

Mr. Ringsted will directly report to CFO Phil Bancroft and be based in Bermuda.

In his new role, Mr. Ringsted is charged with all major actuarial functions, including reserving, pricing and capital performance measurement. He replaces Susan Patschak, who had served as chief actuary since October 2002.

Prior to this appointment, Mr. Ringsted was chief risk officer for ACE Global Reinsurance where he was responsible for actuarial, risk management and information technology for ACE's global reinsurance operations.

Mr Ringsted joined ACE Tempest Re as senior vice president and chief actuary in April 1998, when CAT Limited was acquired by ACE. Previously, Mr. Ringsted worked as a consultant for Tillinghast-Towers Perrin in the United States.

Mr Ringsted holds a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Bristol University and a doctorate in biochemistry from Oxford University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (FIA).

Mr. Bancroft said: “Chief Actuary is a critical post at ACE and I'm very pleased to appoint Sean, who has already proven his calibre in our company. Sean joined ACE with strong credentials, and has since shown that he has the talent and ability needed to guide the actuarial function at ACE and ensure we are well positioned to meet today's challenges.”

In addition, ACE announced that David Drury had been named to take up Mr. Ringsted's previous post as chief risk officer to ACE Global Reinsurance, and will also be based in Bermuda. He will report to David Furby, president and CEO of ACE Global Reinsurance.

This appointment was also said to be subject to approval from the Bermuda Department of Labour and Immigration.

Mr. Drury joined ACE four years ago as senior vice-president and Chief Actuary for ACE Tempest Re, USA. Prior to arriving at ACE, Mr. Drury served for two years as manager of the London office of Stockton Reinsurance, a Bermuda-based finite reinsurer. Before that Mr. Drury was an actuary for Zurich Re in New York.

Mr. Drury holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Dartmouth College. He is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

The Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) has named Ana-Maria Critchley to the post of Communications Manager.

Ms Critchley will be responsible for managing the BHB's internal and external communications. Her duties will include planning and implementing a comprehensive communications strategy for the BHB that contributes to and facilitates the delivery of superior service.

Joan-Dillas Wright, CEO of the Bermuda Hospitals Board, said: “Ana-Maria's diverse experience in healthcare communications will be essential as the Bermuda Hospitals Board continues to moves forward with its commitment to open, consistent communication with our staff and various audiences in the community. We are delighted to have an in-house communications expert.”

Ms Critchley was mostly recently a senior consultant with an international public relations consultancy in Canada where she provided strategic counsel on topics such as stakeholder mapping and communications, media relations and crisis management to a wealth of organisations in the healthcare field.

Ms. Critchley, the spouse of a Bermudian, earned an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and a Public Relations Postgraduate Certificate from Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.

AdVantage Ltd. announced that Faye Farley has joined their team as a marketing and account manager.

AdVantage president Sheila Semos said: “Faye brings a unique skill set to the AdVantage team. And we are sure these skills will prove invaluable to both our clients and the agency.”Ms Farley's experience was said to comprise developing sales and marketing programmes for companies in the media, non-profit and private sectors. She also has extensive experience in marketing research, event planning, editing, advertising, television and project management.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism with an emphasis in Business Communications and Marketing at the University of Kansas. Before joining the AdVantage team, Ms Farley was involved in the creation of Ibermuda.tv, an insurance-specific television programme that airs in hotels on the Island.

She also was the managing editor of Destination Bermuda Magazine, wrote country-specific economic reports for both The Weekly Telegraph and The New York Daily News, and has worked on a variety of freelance projects on the Island.