Shannon Lowry Bender is to be the new group general counsel at RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.

She will take up the role of senior vice-president, group general counsel and corporate secretary on January 1. She succeeds Stephen Weinstein, who holds the post and is also chief compliance officer, and will depart RenRe on December 31. Mr Weinstein will continue to serve as an adviser for 12 months.

Kevin O’Donnell, chief executive officer, said: “I am delighted to welcome Shannon to our global leadership team. She joins us at an exciting time, and I look forward to the external perspective and deep experience that she will bring as we execute our strategy into a strong market.”

Mr O’Donnell added: “I appreciate Steve’s significant contributions over nearly two decades with RenaissanceRe. He has served as a trusted adviser to our company as we have expanded our global platforms and diversified our business. In addition to his many accomplishments as group general counsel, Steve has also advanced our industry’s leadership in natural disaster risk mitigation, especially related to climate change. We wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”

Ms Bender will be based at RenRe’s Bermuda headquarters, pending Bermuda immigration approval. She has more than 25 years of experience in corporate law, governance and mergers and acquisitions. She joins from CIT, a publicly listed financial and bank holding company, where she was senior vice-president and chief corporate counsel.