WR Berkley’s Nautilus elevates COO and CUO

US commercial excess and surplus (E&S) and specialty lines insurer Nautilus Insurance Group, a part of WR Berkley, has promoted its chief operating officer (COO) and chief information officer (CIO), and chief underwriting officer (CUO) to the position of executive vice president.

Trish Buckhardt will retain both COO and CIO positions. Since joining Nautilus in 2016, she is said to have led the implementation of several large-scale business transformation initiatives. She oversees the day-to-day administrative and operational functions of the company, as well as the technology and service offerings. She has 35 years of experience in the industry.

Tom Joyce will retain the CUO responsibilities. He joined Nautilus in March of 2015 as SVP of the claims division before taking over as CUO in 2018. Joyce has more than 35 years in the insurance industry in various technical and leadership roles.

“These two leaders are taking Nautilus to the next level,” said Tom Kuzma, president and CEO of Nautilus Insurance Group. “Together, they will focus on the continuous improvement in all areas of the business to make Nautilus Insurance stand out as the best in the industry.”

Buckhardt commented: “Ignoring every thought of ‘You can’t’ or ‘That’s not possible,’ we constantly challenge the status quo and strive to be anything but ordinary. With our collective drive, business acumen, and willingness to keep asking ourselves, ‘How could we do this differently?’ the possibilities are endless.”

Joyce added: “I look forward to this opportunity to continue building upon Nautilus’ reputation for underwriting expertise and strengthen our partnership value. Our agency partners expect a highly responsive and solutions-oriented market, and will continue to deliver on that promise.”