By James Thaler
March 24 - (The Insurer) - Argo has named CFO Chris Donahue as its new CEO following the departure of Jessica Buss, who led the insurer for the last year and a half.
The Insurer was first to report the news earlier on Monday that Buss was leaving the company to take up another role elsewhere.
Donahue has been with Brookfield Asset Management for the last three-plus years and has served as Argo’s CFO since the investment firm took the company private in November 2023.
He previously held investment banking roles at Lazard, Morgan Stanley and Citi, in addition to working as a consultant at Cambridge Associates.
“Chris has been integral to the transformation of Argo into a U.S.-focused specialty property and casualty company,” Jonathan Bayer, the chair of Argo’s board of directors, said in a statement.
“Argo has a focused strategy for its products and partners and is well positioned for future growth as Chris and the executive team continue to lead Argo,” he added.
Argo also named David Chan, who has been the insurer’s chief accounting officer since 2022, as its new CFO.
Chan previously held senior roles at AmTrust Financial Services, Moody’s Investor Services and PwC.
“We greatly appreciate Jessica’s leadership through Argo’s transformation and her many valuable contributions. We wish her all the best in her next pursuit,” Bayer added.
Buss originally joined Argo in August 2022 as its president of U.S. insurance before being elevated to CEO with the closing of Brookfield’s $1.1 billion acquisition of the company.
The executive’s next destination could not immediately be confirmed.
She previously spent five years as CEO of Iowa-based mutual company GuideOne.
Other industry roles she has held include head of specialty, CFO and COO at State Auto-owned Rockhill Insurance Group as well as CFO of Citizens Property Insurance, the Florida insurer of last resort.
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