AXA XL appoints global chief underwriting officer for cyber

Michael Colao has been named as AXA XL’s global chief underwriting officer for cyber, based in London.

Colao joins from AXA Group operations where he was corporate chief security officer, overseeing information and physical security and operational resilience for multiple entities within AXA Group, including AXA XL.

He also served as chief security officer for AXA UK and Ireland for nearly a decade, managing cyber security for 15 AXA-owned companies globally. He represents the insurance industry in the Bank of England’s Cross-Market Operational Resilience Cyber Coordination Group, and serves on the steering committee of the UK government Financial Services Cyber Coordination Centre, advising on regulation.

In his new role Colao reports to Libby Benet, the recently promoted global chief underwriting officer for financial lines. He manages aggregate cyber exposure across AXA XL’s products globally and helps develop and implement strong underwriting standards and drive innovation.

Benet said Colao’s knowledge of the cyber security market and technical expertise will complement AXA XL’s global cyber team and provide “a unique perspective into cyber risk.”