Ardonagh names Hesktra as Netherlands CEO

By Rebecca Delaney

April 17 - (The Insurer) - Ardonagh's Dutch arm has named Wim Hekstra as CEO, effective from June 1.

In his new role, Hekstra will be responsible for driving Ardonagh Europe’s growth strategy on a regional scale across the corporate, SME and high-net-worth brokerage markets.

He joins Ardonagh from Bain & Co, where he was a senior adviser involved in strategy and M&A projects in the financial sector.

Prior to that, he spent five years at Aegon Netherlands as a board member and chief operating officer. He also held senior management roles at Sun Life Financial and ING’s insurance and life operations in Hong Kong.

Hekstra succeeds Sunny Léons, who will continue to support Ardonagh Netherlands in an unconfirmed role.

Léons was named CEO of Ardonagh Netherlands in May 2024, having joined the group in 2022 following the broker consolidator's acquisition of Léons Group, which marked Ardonagh's first acquisition in continental Europe.

Ardonagh has since consolidated its position in the Dutch market, most recently by acquiring a significant stake in Private Insurance Assuradeuren and Private Insurance Nederland.

Hekstra will oversee the executive leadership team at Ardonagh Netherlands, made up of chief operating officer Valentina Visser and chief financial officer Robert de Vos, as well as Dov Rychter, Fred Willemze and Bart-Jan Kastrop, who are managing directors at Leons, Klap and PIA, respectively.