W R Berkley has appointed Joseph Sullivan as president of Facultative Resources, succeeding Gerald King, who has been promoted as vice-chairman of Berkley Facultative Reinsurance Services.

Sullivan will take charge of the new role with immediate effect.

Having over 20 years of expertise, Sullivan has spearhead a number of firms operating in property casualty reinsurance, the insurer said.

Sullivan, most recently served as Fac Re’s executive vice president and chief operating officer after joining W R Berkley in 2010.

Fac Re is a broker market property casualty facultative underwriting manager, which underwrites reinsurance on behalf of Berkley Insurance, a US domestic professional reinsurance company and a member company of W R Berkley Corporation.

W R Berkley chairman of the board and chief executive officer William Berkley said, "Fac Re, a market leader with expertise across many lines of facultative business, will continue to provide outstanding service to its clients under Joe’s leadership."

Established in 1967, W R Berkley is an insurance holding and is one of the largest commercial lines writers in the US.