A former economist with the Bank of England has been made group chief operating officer at insurer and reinsurer Aspen Insurance Holdings.

Richard Thornton will add the newly-created role to the job of group head of strategy, but will give up his role as group chief risk officer.

Chris O’Kane, group chief executive officer, said: “In this new role, Richard will be responsible for leading our operational strategy across our business segments, platforms and our corporate functions.

“Richard will bring strategic vision, new ideas and strong momentum to ensure that our operational activities are developed further and are even more effectively aligned to support our underwriting teams globally.

“I am delighted that we have someone of Richard’s considerable ability and experience to take on this important role.”

Mr Thornton joined Aspen as group head of strategy early in 2014 and was appointed group chief risk officer six months later.

Aspen plans to appoint a new group chief risk officer within the next few months.

Mr Thornton, who worked in the Bank of England’s monetary analysis division, later joined Oliver Wyman in London as a partner, leading the firm’s development of its general insurance business in the UK and Europe.

He worked on projects encompassing life and general insurance, ranging from retail to global corporate and from strategy to operations, risk and finance.