Leadership

David Carter was appointed Chief Strategic Officer for Sompo North America Commercial P&C Insurance in 2023, after serving as its Chief Underwriting Officer since joining in 2020. Mr. Carter has over 30 years of insurance industry experience with a focus on middle market, specialty and financial products. Prior to joining Sompo, he was most recently Chief Insurance Officer at an insurtech startup, and held various underwriting and leadership positions at Aetna, Travelers and The Hartford. Mr. Carter holds a Bachelor in Business Administration degree in Marketing from the University of Louisiana at Monroe.

Jim Mannello serves as the Global Head of Tax for Sompo, overseeing all aspects of tax planning and compliance for the company. With over 43 years of experience working with insurance companies, Mr. Mannello has held leadership positions at top global accounting firms. This includes his tenure at Anderson, where he directed the Insurance Tax Practice and the Captive Insurance Team, and at Deloitte, where he was a Tax Partner and led the Northeast Insurance Tax Practice and Captive Group. Mr. Mannello holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics-economics from Wesleyan University and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. He is a certified public accountant (CPA) and a member of the Connecticut Bar.

Jill Brewer joined Sompo in 2017 and currently serves as Manager, Human Resource (HR) Strategy. With over a decade of experience, Ms. Brewer has a strong focus on HR activities specific to Bermuda, including talent acquisition, employee relations, immigration, performance management, and organizational development. Recently, she broadened her scope by engaging in global strategic HR initiatives, exemplified by her involvement in Sompo Holdings, Ltd.’s “Restructuring Corporate Philosophy System Working Group”, which enabled her to contribute to the company’s HR team transformation. Ms. Brewer holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Northeastern volunteers as a reading buddy and swim instructor at a local Boys and Girls Club, reflecting her commitment to youth development and education.

Laura Haytman manages global corporate governance for Sompo and provides support on company transactions and other corporate matters. Ms. Haytman joined the company in 2005 as a corporate paralegal and has held positions of increasing responsibility, including management of public company SEC and New York Stock Exchange filings, coordination of corporate secretarial support for Sompo legal entities and oversight of US insurance regulatory reporting. Prior to joining Sompo, she held corporate paralegal positions at Alea North America, United Rentals and Verizon. Ms. Haytman holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Bucknell University.

Marji Guyler-Alaniz is the Chief Operating Officer of AgriSompo North America and President of AgriSompo, Sompo’s global crop insurance platform. Ms. Guyler-Alaniz joined AgriSompo in 2021 as a Senior Vice President and has led various aspects of the business. She transitioned to the Chief Operating Officer in January of 2023 with oversight and responsibility for all of the crop insurance business producing regions within North America and globally. Ms. Guyler-Alaniz has over 16 years of experience in the crop insurance industry, specializing in operations and risk management. In 2013 she founded and built FarmHer, a media platform that brings the stories of women to the forefront of agriculture, food and rural communities. Ms. Guyler-Alaniz holds a bachelor’s degree in graphic design and journalism from Grand View University, and an MBA in Business Administration with executive focus from Drake University.

Susie James joined Sompo in 2016 and is Senior Vice President and Deputy Head of Financial and Political Risk based in the UK. Before joining Sompo, Ms. James held financial and political risk underwriting at Houston Casualty and Liberty Mutual. She holds a bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Southampton, UK.

Christian Silies is President, Zurich Branch and Head of Global Specialty Reinsurance. With nearly 20 years of marine and energy reinsurance brokering and underwriting experience, he previously served as SompoRe’s Head of Global Aviation, Marine & Energy, Reinsurance. Before joining SompoRe, Mr. Silies was with AON Reinsurance Solutions in London, where he served as Head of Marine & Energy Composite and was a Member their Global Re Specialty Management Team and UK Reinsurance Executive Team. Prior to that, he had worldwide responsibility for the Marine and Energy Upstream business of a leading global reinsurer. Mr. Silies holds a degree in International Economics/Chinese from Eberhard Karls University in Tübingen, Germany and a Post-Graduate diploma in Marine Insurance from Lloyd’s Maritime Academy / World Maritime University.

Lee Murphy is the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for Sompo Asia Pacific and a member of the regional leadership team. A seasoned HR executive, Mr. Murphy has diverse global experience advising C-suite executives and boards, as well as leading teams to conceptualize and deliver strategic people strategies and HR initiatives.

In a career spanning more than 25 years, he has worked in senior roles for global technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and Nokia, and prior to joining Sompo, was Group CHRO at FWD. Mr. Murphy’s roles have encompassed the full breadth of the HR function from people and organization strategy to transformational change, leadership coaching, talent management, inclusion and diversity, HR technology, people experience and organizational development initiatives. He has lived in Sydney, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Helsinki.

Mr. Murphy holds an MBA in Business (Employment Relations) from the University of Technology, Australia.