QBE North America, the New York-based division of one of the world's largest insurers, has tapped in-house lawyer Mark Pasko to step up and take over as chief legal officer. 

Pasko, who joined the commercial insurer in 2016 as senior vice president and general counsel of business unit support, now leads QBE's legal department in North America. He succeeds Jose Ramon Gonzalez, who left QBE earlier this year and joined CNA Financial Corp. as executive vice president and general counsel.

QBE North America is part of QBE Insurance Group, which is headquartered in Sydney and operates in 31 countries. Last year, QBE North America reported $4.7 million in gross net written premium income. 

Pasko, who worked alongside Gonzalez, will have plenty to do in his new role. He is expected to oversee corporate legal services and contracts, manage insurance regulatory and compliance matters, supervise legal investigations, anticipate and mitigate risks, and serve as the corporate secretary for QBE's holding companies and major insurance subsidiaries, according to the firm's job posting for the CLO position. 

He's also a member of the firm's executive committee and reports to QBE North America CEO Todd Jones and Carolyn Scobie, group general counsel and company secretary. 

Jones noted in a written statement that Pasko was appointed CLO after a "very competitive search of both internal and external candidates." Scobie added that Pasko's "deep legal, governance and management expertise, along with his wealth of insurance industry experience, make him a perfect fit for this important role."

QBE has not publicly named Pasko's successor for the positions he vacated. Attempts to speak with him and company representatives were unsuccessful.

Earlier in his career, Pasko was an associate with Riker Danzig Scherer Hyland & Perretti and practiced in the firm's insurance, government affairs and public utility groups. He went in-house in 2005, when he joined American International Group Inc. as assistant division counsel of specialty workers' compensation.  

Pasko stayed with AIG for more than 11 years, moving up the legal department ranks to serve as senior vice president and associate general counsel of the firm's global energy, excess casualty and liability groups before he joined QBE. 

Pasko is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School, London School of Economics and Political Science, and Georgetown University.

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