Reinsurance Faculty Advisory Board

Laura Wood is the Head of Reinsurance at Youi Insurance, based in Sydney. Laura brings 18 years of expertise towards her new role on the Reinsurance Faculty Advisory Board, having worked within re/insurance and broking across most of the industry’s key markets around the globe and across many lines of business.

She joined Youi Insurance in 2023 from global reinsurer Swiss Re, after an eight-year tenure with the firm. In her most recent role at Swiss Re, she served as Key Account Manager, and prior to that she was a Senior Client Manager within property & casualty (P&C) for Australia & New Zealand. Prior to joining Swiss Re, Laura has also held roles at Aon, where she held the role of Senior Actuary, Analytics, Reinsurance for Australia & New Zealand, as well as  Head of Actuarial at Odyssey Re’s London branch.

Laura holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with Finance, is a Fellow of the Institue of Actuaries, a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries Australia, and a Chartered Enterprise Risk Actuary.

Tani started in the industry in 2003 with a graduate position at Munich Re based in Sydney. After the graduate program, she commenced a formal role with Munich Re as a Casualty Treaty Underwriter based in Sydney and after a few years, as Treaty Underwriter in Princeton, New Jersey, USA. 

In 2009 she started as a Treaty Underwriter at Swiss Re. Tani worked at Swiss Re for 7 years working as a Senior Casualty Treaty Underwriter in Sydney and looking at alternative risk solutions across Asia Pacific.

Her current role at Berkley Re is Casualty Treaty Manager, and she has been with Berkley Re for 6 years.

Stephen has over 17 years of experience in both the international and local reinsurance markets and is currently a Treaty Account Executive for Gen Re, based in Sydney. His  responsibility includes managing all aspects of Treaty Client relationships, for Australia and New Zealand, on some of the most strategic and complex accounts.

Stephen started his career at NRMA Reinsurance in Underwriting and Claims, working on both inwards / outwards national and international reinsurance.

He occupied senior broking roles for Aon Re in Sydney and Blanch Crawley Warren in London, facilitating the broking of major national and international accounts into Australian, Asian, London (both Company and Lloyds) and North American clients and markets. It was during this time that he learned some of the key skills of product management, structuring, program design and placement strategy.

Mr Brunker is a graduate of UTS holding a Bachelor of Business and is a Fellow and Certified Insurance Professional (CIP) of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance, serving also as a lecturer and examiner for this organisation. He is also Lloyds Market Qualilfied broker.

With 10 years in the reinsurance industry, Emma has gained comprehensive experience in both underwriting and broking.

Currently managing reinsurance placements for large Australian clients at Aon. Previously, Emma developed her underwriting expertise at leading firms across property, casualty, and LMI portfolios. Emma is actively involved in industry committees to support and grow the reinsurance community.

When not working, Emma enjoys traveling, trekking, running marathons and spending time with her family.

Jurgen has over 35 years’ experience in the finance sector, including 16 years at the Australian 
Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in various Insurance Risk roles.

Prior to APRA, Jurgen held reinsurance positions with companies such as Allianz, Gerling and QBE. 

He lectured at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) for 8 years on Reinsurance, and is a strong 
supporter of continuous education. Jurgen recently formalised his love of training by completing the 
Diploma of Training and Development and is currently teaching at TAFE NSW, on a casual basis.

Attending RISC as a participant in 1984, Jurgen returned to RISC as a Syndicate Advisor in 1997 and 
has maintained that role ever since.

He joined the RISC Organising Committee in 2006 and ANZIIF’s Reinsurance Faculty Advisory Board in 2012.

Jurgen holds a lifetime membership of the Reinsurance Discussion Group in Sydney.

Bo Jiang is the Head of Public Sector Solutions, responsible for ANZ and China, at Swiss Re. He has over 15 years’ experience across the APAC insurance and reinsurance industry, spanning analytics, broking, underwriting, and client management across both property and casualty reinsurance.

Bo’s work focuses on the design and optimisation of reinsurance programmes for insurers and public-sector entities, with particular emphasis on natural catastrophe risk, casualty portfolios, and balance sheet resilience. He has worked with cedants, reinsurers, and government-related stakeholders across a range of reinsurance structures and arrangements.

Bo holds an MBA from UNSW (AGSM) and a Master of Commerce from Macquarie University, with a major in Actuarial Studies. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance. He has been involved as an organising committee member, a presenter, and a syndicate leader for the ANZIIF Reinsurance International Study Course (RISC) since 2017.

Paul Lacey is the Senor Underwriter at Hannover Re.

Stephen Punch is the Executive Manager Reinsurance Strategy & Placement at Suncorp Group

Leigh Roche is a highly experienced Client Manager, and has been with Munich Re Australasia for more than 5 years. With over 25 years’ experience in both primary Insurance and Reinsurance, Leigh is passionate about bringing colleagues together to create robust strategies and innovative solutions. She is driven to develop new profitable business, tapping into her deep understanding of the markets while keeping her clients evolving needs at the centre of all she does.

Leigh’s vast experience began in the claims environment and evolved into underwriting. She has strong expertise on all casualty classes, including Professional Indemnity, Construction Liability but predominantly General Liability before moving into Client Management. 

Leigh has previously served as an advisor on the esteemed Reinsurance International Study Course (RISC) as well as serving on the Reinsurance Discussion Group as a committee member.

Leigh’s love of learning, curiosity and tenacity has led her to another passion, and she has become a serial renovator, applying her love of problem solving to successfully completing a number of personal projects.