Peter A. Appel
President and Chief Executive Officer
Arch Capital Group Ltd.
Greenwich, Conn.
Age: 40
Achievements: Peter Appel obtained a law degree from Harvard University in 1987 and joined New York law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where he was named a partner in 1994. He joined Risk Capital Holdings the next year as general counsel and managing director in charge of overseeing and building the reinsurer's private equities portfolio.
In 1999, he was named chief operating officer and executive vp, with responsibility for helping transform the company-renamed Arch Capital Group Ltd.-into a fee-based operation with an underwriting platform. He was named president and CEO in May 2000, and in October 2001 he began helping transform Arch Capital into a "full-blown" insurance and reinsurance operation. Mr. Appel also is member of both the board of overseers and the executive committee of the School of Risk Management, Insurance & Actuarial Science at St. John's University in New York.
Next challenge: "We are close to completing the transformation of Arch into a significant participant in the global insurance and reinsurance marketplace. When the transformation is complete, I'm sure I'll be thinking about other challenges."