Santam Syndicate 1918 new COO to grow Lloyd’s market presence

Hina Shavdia has been appointed chief operating officer of Santam Syndicate 1918 (Image supplied)

Shavdia’s appointment highlights the Syndicate’s ongoing commitment to building a widely experienced and respected team as it continues to build its platform at Lloyd’s.

Her appointment follows a series of recent hires within the Syndicate, including Sam Geddes as CEO of the Syndicate and Nigel Tatlock as head of property.

London growth push: Sam Geddes to lead Santam 1918’s next phase

1 Jun 2026

Invaluable addition to senior team

Shavdia will report to Geddes.

“Hina’s reputation as an outstanding leader, a builder of high-functioning teams and her extensive industry expertise in managing insurance and wider financial services operations make her an invaluable addition to our senior leadership team.

“We are thrilled to welcome Hina to the Santam Syndicate leadership team and look forward to working with her,” says Geddes.

Shavdia says, The Santam Syndicate has made significant progress since launching, and I am excited to join the team at such an important stage in its development.

“My focus will be on ensuring we have the right operating model, capabilities and foundations in place to support continued profitable growth.

"I look forward to working closely with Sam and the wider team to build on this strong foundation as we continue to grow our presence in the Lloyd’s market.”

Property growth drives Santam Syndicate 1918 expansion with new senior underwriting appointments

27 Jul 2026

20 years of experience

Bringing more than 20 years of global insurance and reinsurance transformation experience to the role, she joins from Volante Global.

As Volante Global’s group COO, she led the transformation of operations and shared services across the group and established and chaired an exco-sponsored Global Change Board to drive strategic change and accountability.

Prior to this, Shavdia spent four years at AXIS Capital as global head of business change, where she built a global change capability, strengthening the organisation’s ability to deliver complex change and embed greater accountability for outcomes.