Former Ace veteran Susan Rivera has been named president of Praetorian Financial Group, a specialty insurer and subsidiary of Hannover Re.

As president and president and chief executive of Ace USA, Ms Rivera was Ace Limited?s most senior female executive until departing last January amid a regulatory probe led by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. Ms Rivera was not accused of any wrong in the probe into allegations of illegal bid rigging between insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos. and several insurers, including ACE, but several ACE employees who worked under her were fired in connection with the matter.

An e-mail also cited in Mr. Spitzer?s suit against Marsh alleged that Ms Rivera had known prior to the investigation that ACE?s casualty risk unit, which fell under her watch, was being pressured to illegally rig bids. And later, another broker, Willis, revealed in its settlement with Mr. Spitzer, that Mrs. Rivera allegedly approved an advance payment of $500,000 from Ace to Willis in exchange for a promise of increased business the next year. In January, Marsh settled charges brought in a lawsuit by Mr. Spitzer, establishing an $850 million fund to compensate affected US customers. Eight Marsh employees were last month indicted on charges related to the matter. After departing Ace, Ms Rivera performed a brief stint as a consultant for Quanta Capital Holdings Ltd.

?Susan Rivera is one of the most experienced and respected executives in the insurance industry,? said Rod Fox, Praetorian?s CEO. ?She has a rare talent for both management and execution, which will help Praetorian solidify its leadership role in the specialty insurance market.?

In addition to her time at Ace, Ms Rivera spent 15 years at AIG where she started as an actuary and progressed to positions of increasing responsibility, with her last assignment being president of American Home Assurance Company.

?Joining Praetorian is very exciting for me in that it offers the best of both worlds,? said Ms Rivera. ?Though it is a new company, it has a solid foundation of specialty business and producer relationships that can be built upon to generate tremendous value for our customers and shareholders.?