Zurich Construction Leadership

James Savage

U.S. Head of Construction
Zurich U.S.

James Savage is Zurich U.S. Head of Construction, responsible for managing the company’s commercial Construction Property, Casualty, Excess and Professional Liability underwriting portfolio and executing growth plans across the U.S. business. He works closely with customers, brokers and internal teams to address the evolving opportunities and risks facing the construction industry. He also works closely with the Global Head of Construction and Surety Kelly Kinzer.

Savage previously was Head of Construction Casualty for Zurich U.S. Since joining Zurich in 2014, James has held roles including Regional Vice President of Construction Casualty for the South Region, Head of Middle Market Construction and manager of the Great Lakes Construction team.

Prior to joining Zurich, James worked at National Interstate Insurance in its underwriting and group captives units.

James received an MBA from Walsh University and undergraduate degrees from Allegheny College in Economics and History.

He can be contacted at james.savage@zurichna.com.

Matt Wagner

Head of Construction Property
Zurich U.S.

Matt Wagner is Senior Vice President and Head of Construction Property at Zurich U.S., where he leads the company’s Construction Property business. In this role, he is responsible for business strategy, underwriting performance, product development, distribution management and talent leadership for Zurich’s construction property portfolio.

Since joining Zurich, Matt has held multiple leadership roles within the Construction business, including East Region Construction Property Regional Vice President, E&S Construction Leader and Business Execution Leader. Before joining Zurich, Matt worked on the brokerage side of the industry, advising clients on complex construction property risks and insurance programs.

Based in New York, Matt leads a national team focused on delivering underwriting excellence, market-leading customer solutions and sustainable profitable growth across Zurich’s Construction Property business.

Wagner holds a bachelor's degree in Business Leadership and Management from the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business.

He can be contacted at matthew.wagner@zurichna.com.

Kolter Knutson

Head of Construction Professional Liability
Zurich U.S.

Kolter Knutson is the Head of Construction Professional Liability at Zurich U.S. He is responsible for managing the Construction Professional Liability portfolio, including developing and executing diverse multidimensional strategies across the portfolio and ensuring all key performance metrics are achieved. Kolter joined Zurich in 2007 and previously held roles as Assistant Vice President of Construction Casualty for the West Region and Construction Defect Claims Team Manager. Prior to joining Zurich, he worked at Travelers Insurance as a toxic tort claims adjuster.

Kolter holds a B.A. in Business Finance & Management from Carroll College in Helena, MT.

He can be contacted at kolter.knutson@zurichna.com.

Kevin Butler

Head of Construction Excess
Zurich U.S.

Kevin Butler is the Head of Construction Excess at Zurich U.S., where he leads the company’s Construction Excess Casualty business within the Specialties division. With more than 25 years of experience in casualty underwriting and management, Kevin is responsible for underwriting strategy, portfolio performance, market development and risk selection for some of the industry’s most complex construction exposures. Prior to joining Zurich, Kevin held various excess casualty management and underwriting leadership roles at Chubb Insurance. He began his insurance career in casualty facultative underwriting at Gen Re.

Recognized for his deep expertise in large construction projects, wrap-up programs, data center development and emerging industry risk trends, Kevin is a frequent participant in industry forums and discussions focused on construction risk, casualty insurance and evolving market dynamics.

He can be contacted at kevin.p.butler@zurichna.com.

Minhaj Ashraf

Head of Underwriting, US Construction
Zurich U.S.

Minhaj Ashraf is Head of Underwriting for US Construction at Zurich. Minhaj is responsible for improving underwriting performance, portfolio strategy and execution, risk selection and pricing, portfolio stewardship and product management. Since joining Zurich in 2015, he has taken on a variety of key roles, most recently serving as Head of Portfolio Insights for U.S. National Accounts.

Minhaj holds a Bachelor’s in Information Technology from Cochin University in India and a Master’s in Data Science from Northwestern University.

He can be contacted at minhaj.ashraf@zurichna.com.

Alicia Pavelko

Head of Construction Innovation and Sustainability Regional Vice President, Construction Property - West 
Zurich U.S.

Alicia Pavelko is Regional Vice President of Construction Property for the West Region and the Head of Construction Innovation and Sustainability. Alicia manages the growth of Zurich’s innovative, sustainability-inspired construction-solutions. She is also responsible for developing and deploying new product solutions for Construction. Previously, Alicia held leadership positions in the Construction practice at Willis Towers Watson and Marsh, as well as Construction and Marine underwriting positions of increasing responsibility at Hanover Insurance and Zurich U.S.

Alicia graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota.

She can be contacted at alicia.pavelko1@zurichna.com.

Jay Bell

Head of Operations, Construction 
Zurich U.S.

Jay Bell is the Head of Operations for Construction at Zurich U.S. Jay drives strategic transformation across underwriting frameworks and operational excellence, aligning innovation with execution to deliver measurable impact across the organization.

With over two decades of experience in the insurance industry, Jay has held pivotal roles including Vice President, National Middle Market Construction Consultant for Zurich, Divisional Vice President at Great American Insurance Group, and Head of Middle & Large Commercial Programs at The Hartford. His expertise spans underwriting, operations, risk management and strategic business planning, consistently contributing to growth, profitability, and innovation.

Jay holds certifications from Vanderbilt University in Prompt Engineering, Generative AI Automation, Leadership & Strategy and AI Assistants.

He can be contacted at jay.bell@zurichna.com.

John Priebe

Regional Vice President, Construction Property - South
Zurich U.S.

John Priebe is Regional Vice President of Construction Property for the South Region. Within his role, John oversees financial performance, analyzes market trends, and implements strategies to drive profitable growth. He is also responsible for broker and client relations within the region.

John has been working for Zurich for over 11 years. Prior to his current role, he served as the National Construction Property Energy Underwriter; responsible for growing the energy portfolio within Construction Property, with a focus on our sustainable energy book of business. John holds a BS degrees from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.

He can be contacted at John.Priebe@zurichna.com.

Alex Donnelly

Regional Vice President, Construction Property – Midwest
Zurich U.S.

Alex Donnelly is Regional Vice President of Construction Property for the Midwest Region. In his role, Donnelly manages profitability, growth and implementation of underwriting initiatives throughout the region. In addition, he is responsible for broker and client relationships, focusing on delivering solutions to complex Construction Property risks.

Alex joined Zurich in 2020, having previously held the role as Team Lead for Zurich Construction Property Midwest where he handled key relationships in the region, and was responsible for the training and mentorship of the underwriting team. Throughout his career, he has had a construction industry focus, with a specialization in large Builder’s Risk underwriting at multiple large carriers. He is a graduate of Illinois State University, with a degree in Business Information Systems.

He can be contacted at alexander.donnelly@zurichna.com/

Joe Riela

Regional Vice President, Construction Casualty – East
Zurich U.S.

Joe Riela is Regional Vice President of Construction Casualty for the East region. He is responsible for delivering underwriting sales execution and talent management strategies for staff, broker partners and customers in the East region.

Riela has worked at Zurich since November 2009 and has over 28 years of diversified construction experience within the insurance industry. He began his career as a surety underwriter with Seaboard Surety. He subsequently joined AIG, where he held positions of increasing responsibility in Surety, Construction Casualty, and as Real Estate Practice Leader for their Lexington Insurance and Risk Management divisions. Riela also served as Senior Vice President of Construction Brokerage Group in New England for Willis Towers Watson. Riela graduated from Providence College with a degree in Finance.

He can be contacted at joseph.riela@zurichna.com.

John Vang

Regional Vice President, Construction Casualty – West
Zurich U.S.

John Vang is Regional Vice President of Construction Casualty for the West region. He is responsible for delivering underwriting sales execution and talent management strategies for staff, broker partners and customers in the West region.

Prior to joining Zurich, Vang spent six years with Hartford Construction, where he held various roles with the most recent being Assistant Vice President for the West and Midwest territories. He started his insurance career and spent 11 years with the combined company of St. Paul and Travelers Construction.

Vang holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of the Pacific.

He can be contacted at j.vang@zurichna.com.

Rudy Leon

Regional Vice President, Construction Casualty – South
Zurich U.S.

Rudy Leon is Regional Vice President of Construction Casualty for the South Region. He is responsible for delivering underwriting sales execution and talent management strategies for staff, broker partners, and customers in the South Region.

Prior to joining Zurich, Rudy spent five years with Hartford Construction, where he held various underwriting roles within their Construction unit. Throughout his career, he has had a construction industry focus, with a specialization in Construction Casualty underwriting. Most recently at Zurich, Rudy was the Construction Casualty Underwriting Manager for the Southeast.

Rudy graduated from Westmont College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Business.

He can be contacted at Rudy.Leon@zurichna.com.

Tony Zins

Head of Middle Market Construction Regional Vice President, Construction Casualty – Midwest
Zurich U.S.

Tony Zins is the Head of Middle Market Construction and Regional Vice President of Construction Casualty for the Midwest region. He is responsible for managing the Middle Market Construction Casualty portfolio, including developing and executing diverse multidimensional strategies across the portfolio and ensuring key performance metrics are achieved. He is also responsible for delivering underwriting sales execution and talent management strategies for staff, broker partners and customers in the Midwest region.

Zins started with Zurich in 2005 where he held various underwriting roles in New York, including Property, Large Casualty, Wrap-ups and Subcontractor Default products. He then spent 8 years as Construction Casualty Underwriting Manager for multiple offices throughout the Midwest, including Kansas City, Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee. In 2021 he became RVP for Construction Casualty in the Midwest. Zins holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering from Kansas State University.

He can be contacted at anthony.zins@zurichna.com.

Chris Parkinson

National Construction Property Energy Underwriter
Zurich U.S.

Chris Parkinson is the National Construction Property Energy Underwriter at Zurich U.S. In this role, Chris collaborates with key stakeholders to drive growth and enhance product deliverables in the Energy Construction sector, with a focus on sustainable energy initiatives.

Chris brings extensive experience in Construction Property underwriting, most recently serving as a Senior Construction Property Underwriter in the West region. Chris began his career with Zurich directly out of college as part of the Underwriting Training Program (UTP) in Builder’s Risk underwriting. Over the past 7 years, Chris has taken on roles of increasing responsibility, managing some of the largest and most complex relationships in the San Francisco market.

A native of San Francisco, Chris earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business Economics from the University of California, Irvine.

He can be contacted at chris.parkinson@zurichna.com.

Paul Orsi

National Construction Property Underwriter
Zurich U.S.

Paul Orsi is a National Construction Property Underwriter and has been with Zurich since February 2004. Orsi has 30+ years of experience in the insurance industry. His career began at Travelers in 1987 as a domestic multi-line underwriter. In 1994, Orsi joined Royal Global, later becoming Royal & Sun Alliance. There he administered global property programs for U.S. multi-national corporations. Since 2004, Paul has held both underwriting and managerial positions within Zurich Construction.

In his current position, Orsi’s focus is Master Builders Risk programs for Zurich’s largest customers including Bechtel, Turner Construction, Hensel Phelps, Skanska, and DPR Construction. His other areas of focus include complex captive arrangements and reinsurance structuring. Orsi also enjoys acting as a coach and mentor to the newer team members throughout Construction Property. Orsi holds a BS degree from St. Francis College. He earned the CPCU designation in 2001, completed the Munich Re Advanced Engineering Seminar in 2007, and is Board Member of IMUA. Orsi is a native New Yorker residing in Brooklyn.

He can be contacted at paul.orsi@zurichna.com.

Natia Swan

Underwriting Manager Construction Business Execution Lead
Zurich U.S.

Natia Swan is the Construction Business Execution Leader and Upper Midwest Underwriting Manager specializing in Construction Casualty. She combines strategic growth leadership with deep underwriting expertise to help clients and brokers navigate complex risks while driving profitable results.

Natia has built a strong personal brand in the marketplace, known for her collaborative style, responsiveness and ability to deliver innovative solutions. Her reputation for trust and consistency makes her a valued partner across the industry.

She is passionate about developing high-performing teams, fostering a culture of excellence and creating strategies that strengthen relationships and expand market presence.

She can be contacted at natia.swan@zurichna.com.

Doug Stohlman

Vice President, Head of Construction
Zurich U.S.

Doug Stohlman is Head of Construction for Zurich Resilience Solutions, where he provides leadership and strategic direction to Construction Risk Engineering teams in U.S. and works closely with Construction Customers and industry associations to provide relevant risk solutions, awareness, understanding and management of construction risk.

Doug has been in the insurance industry for 37 years, including leadership roles at Zurich and most recently as Zurich VP of Casualty Construction. His experience of ZRS, including the Construction Industry, have attributed to him contributing to key national initiatives and business strategies.

Doug holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from California State University Sacramento

He can be contacted at doug.stohlman@zurichna.com.