Willis unveils RSA's Holmes as new Middle East boss

Willis has appointed Paul Holmes as managing director of Al Futtaim Willis Middle East.

Holmes, based in Dubai, will start the new role on 9 February 2011 and will report to Scott Pickering, chief executive of Willis Central & Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Holmes replaces Marc Slatter who, pending approval by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, will take up the position of general manager for Willis Saudi Arabia.

Holmes joins Willis from RSA Insurance where he was most recently chief executive of the company’s Middle East operations. He has spent 14 in the Middle East.

Willis’s Pickering said: “The Middle East is an area of huge opportunity for Willis and Paul is ideally placed to drive our growth there.

“With his diverse experience of underwriting, marketing, operational and sales management in the region, his impressive knowledge of the local market and his clear comprehension of Middle Eastern cultural dynamics, Paul will help us take our business to the next level.”

Willis has three offices in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Al-Khobar, Jeddah and Riyadh. Slatter will be based in Al-Khobar and replaces Willis Saudi Arabia’s former general manager Murray McLachlan who has left the group.