Michael van der Straaten is the new chief executive officer of Qatar Re.

He succeeds Gunter Saacke, who announced in January that he intended to step down in March.

Mr Van der Straaten has been the acting CEO for the past few months. He joined the Bermudian-based reinsurer in 2016 and became chief underwriter officer, long-tail and speciality classes, in February 2017. He was previously with Ace Tempest Re.

Sunil Talwar, chairman of Qatar Re, said: “Mike has fitted seamlessly into the position, building on his achievements as our former chief underwriter for long-tail and specialty classes. We are convinced that Mike will bring Qatar Re’s ongoing transition to a business model based on lower volatility and more reliable profitability to a successful conclusion.”

Mr Van der Straaten said: “I am excited to take the helm at Qatar Re at a time when our company is increasingly generating its own business from market segments that we understand thoroughly. We embarked on this course more than two years ago and are starting to reap the benefits.

“Our expertise in these areas is obviously a major boon for us against the backdrop of stubbornly tough trading conditions in global (re)insurance. I am looking forward to working with the Qatar Re team towards positioning our firm as a profitable enabler of innovative and entrepreneurial business models in insurance.”

Qatar Re has also announced the appointment of Pantelis Koulovasilopoulos as chief underwriting officer, long tail and specialty classes.