By <a id="author" class="author" href="/us/authors/josh-recamara/">Josh Recamara</a> <br><a href="/us/companies/zurich/67052/">Zurich</a> North America has established a new specialties business unit, incorporating its construction, surety and financial lines businesses, to be led by Kelly Kinzer.<br>The company also announced the formation of a new customer and distribution management (CDM) function, which will be led by John Diaz, previously head of US middle market underwriting. Zurich has worked to strengthen its US distribution footprint in recent years, and unifying CDM under Diaz's leadership is part of the effort to optimize the organizational structure.<br>Both Kinzer and Diaz will report directly to Zurich North America CEO Kristof Terryn and join the company’s executive committee and the group leadership team.<br>The changes are effective immediately.<br>Kinzer brings a wealth of experience to her role. She began her career at Zurich in the construction underwriting training program and later worked at <a href="/us/companies/allianz/66992/">Allianz</a> Global Corporate & Specialty, <a href="/us/companies/marsh/399009/">Marsh</a> & McLennan and Willis Towers Watson. She joined Zurich in 2019, where she served in various leadership roles in the construction sector before becoming head of Zurich construction in 2022.<br>Under Kinzer’s leadership, Nora Hattauer will continue to lead financial lines, while Chris Nolan will remain in charge of the surety division.<br>Diaz, on the other hand, has a long history with Zurich, having previously served as chief operating officer for US Middle Market and held leadership roles in National Accounts. He joined Zurich 16 years ago from <a href="/us/companies/aig/66988/">AIG</a>, where he had leadership positions in operations, finance, and distribution.<br>The restructuring aligns with Zurich Insurance’s three-year business plan, introduced during the company’s Investor Day in London last November.<br>“These adjustments to our structure will position us to seize more opportunities for growth, simplification and innovation in North America, building on our strong results over the past three years,” Terryn said.<br>Zurich North America is a provider of insurance solutions and services to various businesses and individuals.<br><br><a href="https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMizwFBVV95cUxQTlRCNTVYdHlNbzM4QVlVT0J0Q2ZrYWNMeVFNRTFZUFcyNkxSMG9YTDEyWm5FRGZwdEVIbVhnQ0FTRUpNdWl6T0NNZkhSSGp5eVRvVU5LVUJYVFNaTTlDLW9FWTVhcUNoeklqNkZwZEVzQVI0bU9wRzZCdGhWQjhFbXNTTzJqTWplTDhzNDhiZGVlTkdFc0UtV1hHWGlVLWtWUjV2Vm1GRlk3NS1iMkNBdzFuWkplTFJjd0RHR0xOY1otREZ1Z3RBYnBHeUYzaWc?oc=5">source</a>
