Howden Re appoints John Philipsz as Managing Director, Head of Australia and New Zealand

London, 11 June 2025 – Howden Re, the reinsurance and risk advisory arm of Howden, today announced the appointment of John Philipsz as Managing Director, Head of Howden Re Australia and New Zealand, effective 1 July 2025.

In his new role, Philipsz will lead the next phase of Howden Re’s growth in Australia and New Zealand, building on its core strengths in Facultative, Treaty, MGA, and Advisory services. He will play a key role in expanding the firm’s capital markets advisory presence in the region, leveraging the strength and expertise of Howden Capital Markets & Advisory.

Philipsz brings more than 25 years of experience across reinsurance, capital markets, and strategic advisory. He joins from Lockton Advisory, where he served as CEO and led the development of its advisory proposition in the region.  His career also includes senior leadership roles at global reinsurance and investment banking firms, spanning both regional and international mandates.

He succeeds Stuart Beatty, who, after 38 years in the industry and five years leading Howden Re Australia and New Zealand, is scaling back his role with Howden Re. Beatty will continue to support the business by working with Stephen Greener on Howden Re’s market leading programme and MGA offering. Philipsz will report to Andy Souter, Head of Asia Pacific, Howden Re International.

Andy Souter commented, “I am delighted to welcome John to Howden Re. His appointment reflects our ambition to build a truly differentiated platform in Australia and New Zealand — one that combines deep local insight with global capability, and that delivers specialist solutions across reinsurance, MGA, and capital advisory. This market presents a clear opportunity for innovation and investment, particularly at the intersection of risk and capital, and John’s experience makes him ideally placed to lead this next phase. I’m equally pleased that Stuart will continue to play an important role in shaping our MGA proposition and supporting the broader business.”

John Philipsz said, “The opportunity to build a future-focused platform, delivering Howden Re’s multi-disciplinary capabilities in a region that embraces innovation is hugely exciting. I look forward to working with the team to expand our presence and deliver solutions that help our clients grow and thrive.”