Houqin Zhu, Mike Xin and David Song join in senior roles covering treaty, agriculture and retrocession, with China marked as “a strategic priority” for the reinsurance broker
Howden Re has strengthened its China market capability with three senior appointments across treaty, agriculture and retrocession.
Houqin Zhu (right of photo) has joined as managing director, head of China treaty.
Mike Xin (centre of photo) will join as managing director, head of agriculture, APAC, on 13 July.
David Song (left of photo) will join as managing director, head of retrocession, Greater China, in October, after completing contractual obligations to his previous employer.
All three will be based in Hong Kong. Howden Re said the appointments strengthen areas central to the continued development of China’s reinsurance market.
The broker said the hires will enhance its ability to connect clients with global sources of capital, expand specialist expertise and support the development of future market talent.
Zhu joined Howden Re on 17 June from Aon Re, where he was managing director responsible for property and casualty reinsurance across Hong Kong and China.
He brings more than four decades of experience across the Chinese and international reinsurance markets.
Zhu has also held senior roles at rival brokers Willis Re and TigerRisk, prior to TigerRisk’s acquisition by Howden Group and subsequent rebranding as Howden Re.
As head of China treaty, Zhu will lead the expansion of Howden Re’s treaty capabilities in China and act as a senior mentor to the next generation of treaty professionals.
Xin joins from Gallagher Re, where he was executive director responsible for China agricultural reinsurance and APAC regional business.
He has more than 20 years’ specialist experience in agricultural reinsurance, including previous senior roles at JLT Re and Aon Benfield.
As head of agriculture, APAC, Xin will support the growth of Howden Re’s agricultural capabilities across the region, with China a key market.
Howden Re said the role will help clients in one of the world’s largest agricultural insurance markets access reinsurance capacity worldwide.
Song joins from Guy Carpenter, where he was deputy head of Hong Kong and senior vice president responsible for retrocession, China state-owned enterprise clients and Hong Kong local clients.
Before his 14 years at Guy Carpenter, Song spent eight years at Aon Re China.
Howden Re said he played a key role in establishing a sustainable book of property and casualty and agriculture business.
Song brings nearly 30 years of experience in reinsurance broking and strategic planning, with expertise across property and casualty, agriculture, retrocession and ILS.
He will focus on strengthening Howden Re’s retrocession offering and supporting reinsurers in accessing broader sources of capacity across Hong Kong and China.
Andy Souter, head of Asia Pacific, Howden Re International, said: “China is a key reinsurance market, driven by its scale, growing demand for risk transfer and increasing importance within the global insurance landscape.
“It remains a strategic priority for Howden Re. Houqin, David, and Mike each bring deep market expertise strong client relationships and highly complementary capabilities.
“Working alongside our established Hong Kong team, they further strengthen our ability to bring the full breadth of Howden Re’s expertise to clients, delivering solutions tailored to their individual needs.
“Their appointments reflect Howden’s collaborative approach to client advisory and reinforce our long-term commitment to China and the wider APAC region as the market continues to evolve.”
Zhu said: “China’s insurance and reinsurance market continues to evolve, creating significant opportunities as clients navigate an increasingly dynamic risk environment.
“Howden Re’s combination of local expertise, global reach and specialist capability creates a strong platform to support clients as the market develops.
“I am pleased to be joining the business and look forward to working with clients and colleagues to help deliver innovative solutions and long-term value.”
Howden Re said the appointments follow a series of senior hires across Hong Kong, China and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Recent moves include John Philipsz as head of ANZ, Cynthia Cui’s promotion to head of Asia-Pacific facultative, Henry To as chairman of Hong Kong, Candy Wong as managing director and head of treaty Hong Kong, Roy Wong as managing director in Hong Kong, and Jimmy Tsai as managing director in Taiwan.
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