Senior appointment at Willis North America

Willis North America has appointed Alastair Swift as chief placement officer.

He will report to Don Bailey, chairman and chief executive, Willis North America, and will relocate from London to New York.

Swift will lead a team of placement officers across North America. He has been at Willis since its merger with Hilb Rogal and Hobbs in October 2008, most recently holding the position of managing director, WNA London property, where he was charged with leading the combined London market property team of WNA London and Bermuda. Before joining Willis, he was with BSK, a London market property broker.

Bailey said: “Alastair is one of the best property brokers this industry has ever seen. His appointment fills a critical role that is central to our growth strategy. Over the past year we’ve been working together, Alastair has demonstrated strong leadership, broad knowledge of the placement function, a respected reputation among the carrier community and a refreshing perspective and systematic approach to his work that will complement the depth and breadth of our existing team of highly talented placement professionals.”

Swift said: “This is a unique opportunity and I am excited about joining a team which I have come to highly respect. Placement is the lifeblood of what we do as a company and I look forward to building on our success and delivering even better service and value to our North American clients.”