Markel, the insurance operations within Markel Group Inc, has announced that Bryan Sanders, president of its Markel Specialty division, plans to retire by December 31, 2024.

Effective December 1, 2023, Mr Sanders will transition to the role of chairman, Markel Specialty.

Alex Martin, currently Markel's chief financial officer, will become president, Markel Specialty.

Brian Costanzo will become CFO of Markel, reporting to Jeremy Noble, president, Markel.

Mr Noble said: "Bryan Sanders is retiring after a highly successful insurance career spanning four-plus decades, during which he has led several major initiatives that have transformed our US and Bermuda operations to best meet the needs of our clients.

"Thanks to Bryan's leadership and the extensive industry relationships he has built, and with a strong team in place led by Alex Martin, Markel Specialty is well positioned to continue to build on our solid brand and reputation, as well as deliver against our long-term profitable growth ambitions."

Mr Sanders joined Markel in 2013 as part of the Alterra Capital Holdings Ltd acquisition.

Before assuming his current position in 2020, he served as president of Markel Wholesale from 2014 to 2017 and president of Markel Assurance from 2018 to 2020.

He said: "Serving as president of Markel Specialty has been an honour, and I am committed to working with Alex and the Markel Specialty leadership team to achieve a seamless transition as we continue to execute on our strategic priorities and plans.

"I look forward to helping the team build on our progress so far, including our strong industry relationships and our outstanding positioning in the marketplace."

In other moves within Markel Specialty, Guenter Kryszon has been named chief underwriting officer and Ryan Oosterheert has been named chief operations officer. Both will report to Mr Martin.