Howden taps WTW for senior Swedish hires

Howden has appointed Marie Gustafsson as chief executive officer, Sweden. Jesper Bretz, the incumbent CEO, will oversee the transition of the business before stepping down at the end of the financial year.

Gustafsson will join Howden from Willis Towers Watson, where she spent 14 years and most recently held the role of head of sales for Large and Complex business. 

Previously, she was a Senior Marketing Executive for the firm’s global Risk & Analysis team, and also spent six years with its global Captive Practice in Guernsey.  She started her insurance career in PPI insurance in a Swedish bank. 

The broker has also hired Kristoffer Haleen as an executive director on the board of Howden Sweden.

Haleen also joins from Willis Towers Watson, where he has held the roles of lead relationship manager and Cyber Practice Leader since 2013. Before this, he was with Zurich as a Financial Lines underwriter and has a background in law.

Jesper Bretz commented: “The time is right for me now to hand over to Marie, who will build on our success and drive the business forward to the next phase of its growth.”