Bermuda-based Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. has announced the appointment of Mario Vitale as president, US Insurance.The appointment is expected to strengthen Aspen’s leadership team in America further as the company seeks to leverage the investment it has made in developing its US operations to build its franchise in that insurance market.Mr Vitale has 34 years of global experience in various industry leadership positions and joins from Zurich Financial Services where he was CEO, global corporate with responsibility for all Zurich’s corporate business globally and a member of the Zurich Group Management Board.As president of Aspen US Insurance he will be a member of the Aspen Group Executive Committee and will report to John Cavoores, who was appointed co-CEO of Aspen Insurance in October 2010 and has executive oversight for Aspen’s US insurance operations.Mr Vitale’s appointment starts on March 21 and he will be based in New York.Mr Cavoores said: “Mario is a seasoned industry veteran, whom I have known for a number of years. I have tremendous respect for the breadth and depth of his knowledge and understanding of the insurance industry.”