Chief Operations Officer, Wholesale & Specialty

markelcorp; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 317,000 - 387,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits

Supportive work-life balance

Job summary

Markel Group seeks a Chief Operations Officer for Wholesale & Specialty Insurance, a senior executive responsible for the US division's operational, technology, and executional performance. You will drive underwriting productivity, AI-enabled workflows, service excellence, and P&L delivery, leading a federated tech organization and setting the IT roadmap.

The role requires 10+ years in insurance operations leadership, deep underwriting/IT expertise, and a proven record driving large-scale change

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in insurance operations.
• Expertise in underwriting processes and IT systems.
• AI fluency to identify high-value use cases and scale AI-enabled workflows.
• Proven track record at senior leadership level driving large-scale change.
• Understanding of insurance business plans and growth ambitions.

Responsibilities

• Strategic Operations Leadership across regions and functions.
• Own W&S operating model, underwriting support, service, and workflow.
• Define future W&S AI-enabled operating model and roadmap.
• Lead transformation initiatives to improve speed, quality, and efficiency.
• Oversee federated W&S technology organization aligned to priorities.
• Modernize underwriting, workflow, portals, and automation (incl. AI).
• Ensure data accessibility and analytics support for decision making.
• Prepare for quarterly business reviews and regional P&Ls.

Skills

Leadership experience

Insurance operations

AI fluency

Senior leadership

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Insurance, Information Technology, or related field

Tools

IT systems

Job description

What part will you play? If you're looking for a place where you can make a meaningful difference, you've found it.

The work we do at Markel gives people the confidence to move forward and seize opportunities, and you'll find your fit amongst our global community of optimists and problem-solvers. We're always pushing each other to go further because we believe that when we realise our potential, we can help others reach theirs.

Join us and play your part in something special!

The Chief Operations Officer (COO) for the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Division is a senior executive accountable for the operational, technological, and executional performance of the US Wholesale & Specialty division - driving underwriting productivity, technology enablement, operational excellence, and broker service to deliver targeted combined ratio and growth outcomes.

Job Responsibilities

• Strategic Operations Leadership
• Own the W&S operating model across regions, underwriting support, service, and workflow
• Set the vision for the future W&S operating model, articulating a progressive, AI enabled end-state and the path to achieve it
• Lead transformation initiatives that improve speed, quality, and expense ratio
• Drive organizational clarity, decision rights, and process consistency
• Technology, Digital, and Data Ownership
• Oversee a federated W&S technology organization aligned to business priorities
• Set and own the W&S IT roadmap in partnership with enterprise architecture
• Lead modernization of underwriting, workflow, portals, and automation (including AI)
• Ensure data accessibility, MI/analytics support, and performance transparency
• Provide transparency on allocations/chargebacks and clearly articulate the value and outcomes delivered by any remaining central operations
• Execution of P&L-Critical Initiatives
• Improve underwriting productivity (referrals, cycle times, low-touch workflows)
• Enhance ease of doing business for brokers and underwriters
• Drive implementation of digital trading and small-risks automation
• Improve operational SLAs and service outcomes
• Governance, Cadence & Leadership
• Lead W&S Ops leadership meetings; co-own IT & Ops prioritization forums
• Drive alignment across underwriting, claims, Ops, IT, HR, and finance
• Ensure effective preparation for quarterly business reviews, regional P&L, and reserving meetings
• People, Culture & Talent
• Build a high-performing integrated Ops/IT/Data organization
• Mentor and develop operational and technology leaders
• Promote a culture of empowerment, speed, and continuous improvement

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Insurance, Information Technology, or a related field

Work Experience/Skill Set

• 10+ years of progressive leadership experience in insurance operations, with a focus on wholesale and specialty insurance
• Demonstrated expertise in underwriting processes and IT systems
• Demonstrated AI fluency, including the ability to identify high-value use cases, govern risk, and scale AI-enabled workflows across operations and underwriting
• Have a proven track record at a senior leadership level of driving and owning large scale change.
• Possess an excellent understanding of all aspects of our insurance business plans and growth aspirations
• Stay ahead of external trends and ensure creativity and innovation across all aspects of our operations
• Be confident in leading and influencing senior leadership teams from across the organization, along with managing multiple stakeholder groups at all levels
• Proven experience of driving process efficiency and an ability to define process excellence
• Have an ability to coach, mentor and inspire, both within direct team structure and across the organization

US Work Authorization

US Work Authorization required. Markel does not provide visa sponsorship for this position, now or in the future.

Pay information

• The base salary offered for the successful candidate will be based on compensable factors such as job-relevant education, job-relevant experience, training, licensure, demonstrated competencies, geographic location, and other factors. Title and salary will be commensurate with skill set/experience.
• The national average salary for the Chief Operations Officer, Wholesale & Specialty is $317,000 - $387,000 with 65% incentive and 35% LTI.

Who we are:

• Markel Group (NYSE - MKL) a fortune 500 company with over 60 offices in 20+ countries, is a holding company for insurance, reinsurance, specialist advisory and investment operations around the world.

We're all about people | We win together | We strive for better

We enjoy the everyday | We think further

What's in it for you:

• In keeping with the values of the Markel Style, we strive to support our employees in living their lives to the fullest at home and at work.
• We offer competitive benefit programs that help meet our diverse and changing environment as well as support our employees' needs at all stages of life.
• All full-time employees have the option to select from multiple hea