Tad Walker has taken over as president and chief executive officer of PartnerRe US, succeeding Scott Moore, who has announced his retirement.

Bermuda reinsurer PartnerRe last night said Mr. Moore would remain with the company's US operation until March 2009, as deputy chairman. Mr. Moore had been CEO of PartnerRe US since July 1998, having previously served as PartnerRe's chief financial officer from the inception of the company in 1993.

Mr. Walker took over as president and CEO of PartnerRe US, effective January 1. Mr. Walker joined PartnerRe in 2002 as head of the worldwide catastrophe underwriting operations. In July 2007, Mr. Walker assumed the role of chief underwriting officer for the US operations.

PartnerRe CEO Patrick Thiele said Mr. Moore had "fostered the growth and development of the PartnerRe US organisation from a small property reinsurer to the well balanced, diversified industry leader it is today".

He added that Mr. Walker's "reinsurance knowledge, operational experience and leadership skills, as demonstrated with the catastrophe unit and most recently in the US operations, position him well for this role".