Zurich promotes Chris Nolan to Head of Surety in U.S.
Nolan, who previously was Head of Large Contract Surety at Zurich North America, succeeds Bob Murray, who retired this summer.
Zurich North America, one of the top writers of surety bonds in the U.S., has elevated Chris Nolan to Head of Surety in U.S. National Accounts, succeeding Bob Murray, who retired in June.
Nolan previously was Head of Large Contract Surety at Zurich, leading a team that provides bonds to contractors performing public works projects as well as private construction projects. Nolan now will oversee both contract and commercial surety, which provides both account-based and transactional surety bonds for Zurich customers across many industries.
“Chris has earned this promotion through nearly 25 years in surety, including two successful years leading our Large Contract Surety business,” said Paul Lavelle, Head of U.S. National Accounts at Zurich North America, to whom Nolan now reports. “He will draw on broad knowledge and experience in both contract and commercial surety as he now takes on responsibility for the overall direction, management and performance of our longstanding Surety business.”
Zurich is one of the top writers of surety bonds in the U.S., according to the Surety & Fidelity Association of America. Since 1890, surety bonds from Zurich and companies it acquired have helped provide the financial and performance guarantees necessary to build the Hoover Dam and other landmarks, including skyscrapers, highways, bridges and canals, both across the country and around the world. In recent years, Zurich Surety has introduced user-friendly tools such as the Surety Bond Validator, designed to help quickly confirm the legitimacy of a bond for a project.
Nolan joined Zurich in 2022 from Berkley Surety, where he served as Chief Risk Officer and Head of Commercial Surety. He began his career as an underwriting trainee at Chubb, where he advanced to Senior Underwriting Officer. Nolan holds an MBA in accounting from Seton Hall University and a bachelor's degree in political science from Rutgers University. Both are in New Jersey, where Nolan is based.
His promotion is effective immediately.