IRELAND - Dermot Browne has been appointed as Hibernian Life & Pensions new managing director, the Hibernian insurance group and one of the largest in Ireland, announced today.

Joining from Eagle Star Life Assurance Company, where he was director of sales, marketing and IT, Browne will take up his new position early in 2007 and will be based in Dublin, a spokeswoman said.

"Our ambition is to become the leading provider of life and pension products in the Irish market," Browne said in a statement. While Hibernian is the largest Irish general insurer, it only ranks among the top three for life and pensions business.

Hibernian L&P and Ark Life are subsidiaries of Hibernian Life Holdings, a joint venture between Hibernian and Allied Irish Banks.

Browne, who will lead the Hibernian Life and the Ark Life businesses, will be responsible for maintaining and building relationships with brokers, Allied Irish Bank and other business partners.

He will replacing Hibernian group deputy chief executive Stuart Purdy, who took over running the life and pensions business additionally from former managing director Tony O'Riordan in September last year.

Elsewhere, Morgan Stanley has nabbed Credit Suisse's Jonathan Garner, who will become the firm's new managing director and head of global emerging market strategy.

Garner, who held a similar position as head of global emerging market strategy at Credit Suisse, will be based in London.

Catherine Gronquist, associate director of research at Morgan Stanley, said: "The emerging markets continue to be a key area of focus for the firm and also our clients".

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