Guy Carpenter announced the promotion of Alton Byrd to the position of CEO of the firm’s South Africa operations, with immediate effect.
Most recently Senior Vice President for Treaty in the region, in his new role Mr. Byrd is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the ongoing management of the South Africa operations, as well as optimizing the growth strategy for the country. Based in Johannesburg, he reports to Ian Kerton, Head of UK Property & Casualty at Guy Carpenter.
Prior to joining Guy Carpenter in 2016, Mr. Byrd was Senior Broker, Treaty at Aon Benfield, having joined the firm in 2006. He has also held roles at PwC, Morgan Stanley and Ernst & Young. Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Kerton said: “Alton’s promotion to the post of CEO is well deserved and a key element of our strategy to strengthen and expand our business in South Africa.
Over the last two years, he has been one of the driving forces in enhancing our product offering to clients, differentiating Guy Carpenter from its competitors through the delivery of innovative capital structures and placement solutions. Under his leadership the team will continue to focus on the core areas of technical broking excellence, strategic advisory and analytics.
We are confident that GC South Africa will go from strength to strength and remain the broker of choice for clients and employees alike.” James Nash, President, International, Guy Carpenter, added: “South Africa is a key market for us and we have made substantial investment in recent years both in terms of our expertise and service capabilities to bolster our overall client offering. At Guy Carpenter, we are always looking to raise the leadership bar across our regional operations, and I am extremely pleased that Alton, who holds such a strong and respected position within the market, will be leading our activities in the country.”