WR Berkley appoints SVP

US insurer WR Berkley has appointed Matthew Ricciardi as senior vice president and general counsel.

Ricciardi succeeds Ira Lederman, who was recently promoted to the office of executive vice president. He will be responsible for the legal affairs of the company and will report to Lederman.

Most recently, Ricciardi served as chief counsel, general corporate for MetLife. Prior to joining MetLife, he was a partner in a New York law firm, where he specialised in mergers and acquisitions, securities and capital markets transactions and general corporate governance issues.

William Berkley, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, said: “We are pleased to have Matt join our team with such a broad range of both insurance and public company experience. His familiarity with both our business and the environment in which we operate will be invaluable to our operations.”