Ariel Reinsurance Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Ariel Holdings Ltd., has appointed a new chairman and president in a management reshuffle.

George Rivaz has been named chairman, pending approval from the Bermuda immigration authorities, and he will continue in his current Ariel Group roles as chairman of Atrium Underwriting and president of Ariel Holdings Ltd.

Tom Hulst has been appointed as his successor to the position of president of Ariel Re.

Meanwhile Myles Orchard will join the company as senior vice-president of US property reinsurance in August.

Mr. Hulst joined Ariel Re in January 2006, within the first two months of its operation, having previously filled a number of roles at General Re Group, including property and casualty underwriting in both facultative and treaty form, capital and risk consulting, and derivatives.

He was also a member of the underwriting team forming Starr Excess Liability Insurance Co. (now AIG Cat Excess Liability) in Bermuda in 1993.

Mr. Hulst has a BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Mr. Orchard was formerly US property treaty underwriter with Arch Re. He has 15 years of experience in the Bermuda insurance market, the majority of which has been in property catastrophe underwriting and modelling.

A Bermudian, he has a BA from Trent University, as well as ARe and CPCU.

Don Kramer, chairman and CEO of Ariel Holdings, said: "I am delighted to recognise George and Tom, two of the key contributors to Ariel Re's outstanding underwriting performance to date, and to welcome Myles as an excellent addition to our team."