Westfield Announces Henning Haagen as Chief Underwriting Officer
Westfield, a U.S.-based property and casualty insurance company, today announced Henning Haagen as Chief Underwriting Officer (CUO). Haagen brings a distinguished global track record to this pivotal leadership role, where he will build on Westfield’s strong underwriting foundation to further enhance portfolio management capabilities and ensure high-quality, consistent performance aligned with strategic enterprise goals.
“Henning brings deep expertise and leadership that will strengthen our enterprise underwriting strategy and portfolio management capabilities,” said Ed Largent, CEO and Board Chair. “His impressive experience in underwriting leadership, global distribution, and portfolio performance will enhance our ability to deliver disciplined, profitable growth and advance our commitment to underwriting excellence.”
Assuming the role Sept. 2 and based in Westfield’s New York City office, Haagen will oversee the development and execution of enterprise underwriting strategy, standards, and governance across Westfield’s global portfolio of personal, commercial, surety, and specialty lines. His responsibilities will include chairing the Enterprise Underwriting Portfolio Strategy Committee, managing risk appetite and aggregation across the global portfolio, enhancing underwriting quality, underwriting talent management, enterprise ceded reinsurance strategy, and providing strategic insights to drive profitable growth and return on equity.
Haagen joins Westfield from HIVE Underwriters Limited where he was Chief Development Officer and board member. Previously, Haagen held various executive leadership roles in Underwriting and Distribution at Allianz Commercial in Munich, London, and New York, where he most recently led global sales and distribution, global multinational underwriting, and claims operations across Europe, the UK, Asia Pacific, Australia, Africa, and South America—overseeing nearly 1,800 professionals. Under his leadership, Haagen successfully led a major transformation, turning a non-performing portfolio into a lean, growing, and profitable operation.
His strategic leadership included defining regional and global underwriting strategies, aligning risk appetite with enterprise goals, and enhancing multinational capabilities.
“I’m thrilled to join Westfield and contribute to an organization with a strong heritage and bold ambitions for the future,” said Haagen. “Together with our underwriting teams, I’m looking forward to partnering across the enterprise and to shaping strategies that deliver consistent underwriting excellence, profitable growth, and accelerate our impact in the marketplace.”