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Beazley Group plc has announced that it has appointed Martin Bride as Group Finance Director.

He joins Beazley from Zurich Financial Services (Zurich) where he was CFO of the UK Life business.

Martin Bride, 45, has extensive top level experience in the insurance sector. Prior to joining Zurich, he was CFO of Aviva France and his career includes a number of senior level finance and general management roles in insurance.

He has also held directorships at Société Foncière Lyonnaise and Union Financière de France Banque. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries and has an MBA from INSEAD and an MA in Mathematics from Oxford University.

Mr Bride will be taking up his position by the second quarter of 2009. He takes over from Andrew Horton, who joined Beazley as Group Finance Director in 2003 and was appointed Chief Executive in September this year.

Commenting on the appointment, Andrew Horton said:
“We are delighted that Martin will be joining the Beazley senior management team. He brings a wealth of experience and skills to the position of Group Finance Director that will be invaluable as we continue to focus on building our business and underwriting profitably through a rapidly changing market.”