Zurich appoints former Prudential exec as UK CEO

Zurich has appointed Tulsi Naidu as CEO of its UK business. She will report to Gary Shaughnessy, CEO for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Naidu joined Zurich as head of business development for EMEA in September this year. She has over 20 years of financial services experience, most recently with Prudential where she held a number of executive positions in their UK and Europe business.

In line with global structure changes announced earlier this year, Naidu will lead the overall UK business as its General Insurance and Life functions are further integrated. The respective heads of Zurich's General Insurance, Global Corporate, and Life businesses in the UK (Conor Brennan, Vinicio Cellerini and Anne Torry) will be part of her UK leadership team.

Before joining Prudential, Tulsi worked for Credit Suisse First Boston Investment Banking in Singapore, ICICI in Mumbai, and began her career at Arthur Andersen.

Zurich EMEA CEO Gary Shaughnessy said: "As we continue to transform Zurich, I believe Tulsi has the right mix of business knowledge, fresh perspective and strong and engaging leadership skills required to drive us forward in the UK.

"The UK is a hugely important market to Zurich and having an integrated business here under single leadership will help us operate in a less complex and more sustainable way. The landscape is changing, and Tulsi will lead our commitment to distributors and customers to make sure we continue to serve this market from a position of strength."

Naidu, said: "I've only been with Zurich for a short time, but can already see what a fantastic organisation it is. I'm really looking forward to leading the teams as we build on this strong business in the UK."