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Zurich Financial Services Group has appointed Francis Bouchard as head of the Climate Office, effective May 1, 2009.

Bouchard will succeed Mike Kerner, who has recently been appointed to Chief Executive Officer of Global Corporate in North America.

In this position, Bouchard will work to institutionalize the company’s climate-related expertise across the organization and accelerate the development of new products.

Bouchard, who will maintain his current role as Zurich’s global gead of Corporate Communications, joined Zurich in 1998 as vice president of Federal Affairs in the United States. In 2005, he was appointed head of Government Affairs for General Insurance platform, followed by his appointment to Corporate Communications in the same year.