Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. has appointed Rupert Villers as head of its newly-combined financial and professional lines insurance segment.

Mr. Villers, who starts his new job on April 27 and will be based in London, will report directly to Aspen's CEO Chris O'Kane.

Mr. Villers has most recently been chairman of APJ Continuation Ltd., a company he co-founded in 2005, whose major subsidiary, APJ (Asset Protection Jersey Ltd.) writes a specialist book of kidnap and ransom insurance. He also co-founded SVB Holdings, which was subsequently renamed Novae Holdings. In his 17 years there, he was CEO for 11 years and underwriter of Syndicate 1007 for three.

In conjunction with Villers' appointment, Aspen has combined its financial institutions, professional lines, and management and technology liability insurance underwriting units into a new business segment to utilise the company's expertise and capture growth opportunities in those lines.