By Isha Marathe

April 22 - (The Insurer) - Markel's U.S. and Bermuda operations, previously known as Markel Specialty, will be divided into a wholesale and specialty segment and a programs and solutions segment, following the appointments of Andrew McMellin as president of international, Glenn Harris as chief commercial officer and Henry Gardener as chief risk officer.

U.S. wholesale and specialty will be responsible for all U.S. specialty insurance business that flows through the company's core wholesale and retail channels.

Wendy Houser will lead the division as president, U.S. wholesale and specialty. She has been with Markel for 16 years and served as chief wholesale officer for Markel Specialty for the last two years. She sits on the board of the Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association.

The programs and solutions division will include Markel's personal lines, Bermuda, surety, workers' compensation, small commercial general package, programs, alliances and insurtech businesses.

Alex Martin, formerly president of Markel Specialty, will lead this division as president, programs and solutions. Martin has been with Markel for 19 years, during which he held leadership positions in operations, underwriting, business development, strategy and finance.

McMellin, who brings more than 35 years of experience in specialty insurance and previously served as chief executive roles at Pioneer Underwriters and XL Catlin, will become president, international. He succeeds Simon Wilson, who was appointed to lead Markel Insurance in March.

As chief commercial officer, Harris will coordinate with major trading partners to develop and maintain key strategic relationships. He has been with Markel for 15 years in a range of business development roles, most recently as managing executive, global distribution strategies and business development.

In the chief risk officer role, Gardener will focus on delivering Markel's risk culture. He has been with Markel for 11 years, most recently serving as senior managing director of legal and chief risk officer, international.

In March, Wilson was named CEO of Markel Insurance, the overarching division for the firm's three primary underwriting businesses of Markel Specialty, Markel International and Markel Global Reinsurance.

Jeremy Noble, who had served as president of insurance at Markel for more than two years, left as part of the leadership transition.