Io.insure, an online merger and acquisition ( M&A ) insurance marketplace for small and medium-sized enterprise ( SME ) transactions, has appointed Ian Hutchinson as its senior partner in Asia-Pacific with responsibility for developing strategic partnerships and leading the distribution, sales and product development to enable multiple partners to efficiently leverage the platform’s technology.

The platform, which also digitizes financial lines and other specialty insurance products, was created, the company notes, in response to the growing demand from brokers and insurers, as well as legal, accounting and private equity professionals and banks to digitize insurance and deliver a better customer experience.

Hutchinson, who will be based in Singapore, brings over 15 years’ experience across business development, merger and acquisition ( M&A ) law, in-house counsel, product development, strategy, operations, and general management roles. 

Based in Asia over the last six years, he was most recently the general manager of Hyphen Group, a Singapore-based fintech, where he was also responsible for the company’s insurance brokerage. He previously held the roles of general counsel and chief of staff at Hyphen. Prior to this, he practised as an M&A lawyer, including stints at the Dublin offices of law firms William Fry and Eugene F. Collins.

“Hutchison joins us at this exciting time as we develop new solutions to meet the needs of Asia-Pacific’s growing SME M&A and financial lines insurance markets,” says Killian McDermott, io.insure co-founder and executive partner. “His expertise in fintech, M&A and insurance will support the significant momentum in our growth and our wider business goals in this very important market.”