Fairfax appoints Jennifer Allen new group chief financial officer

Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings, the property and casualty re/insurance conglomerate which includes OdysseyRe, Allied World and Brit, has appointed Jennifer Allen as new chief financial officer (CFO).

John Varnell, who was previously serving as  interim CFO of Fairfax following the sudden death of David Bonham in May 2019, will continue serving as vice president, corporate development of Fairfax.

Allen has been with Fairfax for over 13 years, most recently serving as vice president of Fairfax, and CFO of both Fairfax India and Fairfax Africa.

The insurer has also appointed Amy Sherk as new CFO of Fairfax India and Fairfax Africa. Sherk has been with Fairfax for over 15 years, most recently serving as assistant vice president of investment accounting.

Prem Watsa, chairman and chief executive officer of Fairfax, said: “We are so fortunate to have the executive depth within our group to continue, as we have in the past, to allow our personnel to move between roles. We thank John for his tireless dedication to Fairfax and serving as interim CFO.

"Jennifer has done an outstanding job for Fairfax in all her numerous roles over the past decade. We also know from our long relationship with Jennifer that she has both the knowledge and experience to seamlessly assume the CFO position at Fairfax.”

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