Israel Bonds’ Insurance Division Holds Annual Luncheon, Honors Two Influential Industry Professionals

Insurance Advocate In The Associations

Development Corporation for Israel/Israel Bonds, the underwriter of debt securities issued by the State of Israel in the United States, held its Insurance Division Luncheon on October 17, 2018. Spanning over several decades, the annual event drew more than 255 industry professionals to the St. Regis Hotel in New York, and honored Keith J. Wolfe, President, U.S. Property & Casualty at Swiss Reinsurance Company and Thomas Hughes, Executive VP & General Counsel, Corporate Secretary for Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company.

L-R: Asaf Shariv, senior Israeli diplomat and political advisor; Martin Minkowitz, co-chairman Israel Bonds Insurance Division, partner of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP; event honoree Keith J. Wolfe, President, U.S. Property & Casualty at Swiss Reinsurance Company; Israel Maimon, President & CEO of Israel Bonds; event honoree Thomas Hughes, Executive VP & General Counsel, Corporate Secretary for Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company; Andrew Chase, Executive Director, Greater New York Region of Israel Bonds. *PHOTO CREDIT: SHAHAR AZRAN*

Distinguished guests included the Honorable Robert Abrams, former attorney general of New York, and Asaf Shariv, senior Israeli diplomat and political advisor as guest speaker. Event honorees Keith J. Wolfe and Thomas Hughes both received the 2018 Israel Bonds Insurance Division Leadership Award at the luncheon.

As President of Swiss Reinsurance Company, Keith J. Wolfe is focused on serving the needs of US-based P&C insurance companies through brokers and direct client channels. He is based in the company’s Americas Division headquarters in Armonk, NY.

Wolfe spent the first half of his 22-year career in primary property insurance, holding various sales, operations and underwriting leadership roles at GE Insurance Solutions. In 2006, he joined Swiss Re via acquisition and relocated to Switzerland to focus on serving large, multinational insurance companies as part of the reinsurance business. He has been back in the US since 2009, leading the regional business since 2013.

L-R: Stuart Garawitz, VP for Sales, Israel Bonds; Israel Maimon, President & CEO of Israel Bonds; Michael Zaremsky, Regional Head for New York Private Banking at Bank Leumi. *PHOTO CREDIT: SHAHAR AZRAN*

Thomas Hughes, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Corporate Secretary for Greater New York Mutual Insurance Company, has been with GNY for over 19 years. Prior to joining, Hughes was the New York State Assistant Solicitor General in charge of the Attorney General’s New York City Appeals & Opinions Bureau. While there, he briefed and argued nationally-significant appeals before state and Federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

Before practicing law as an appellate attorney at law firms specializing in insurance law, Hughes served as a Law Clerk to United States District Court Judge Joe J. Fisher. He spent 10 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Foreign Counterintelligence Division, earning a commendation from the FBI Director for “his exemplary service with respect to a security matter of great interest to the Bureau and the Nation.”