Chris Newby, a senior legal and operating executive at American Insurance Group for nearly two decades, has stepped down to join a specialty insurer whose rapid growth has the insurance industry buzzing.

Newby is joining Chicago-based Ryan Specialty Holdings as general counsel of its international division, which operates across the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Former Aon Corp. CEO Patrick Ryan founded the company in 2010 and took it public in 2021. Its share price has nearly tripled since.