W. R. Berkley Corporation Appoints Matthew M. Ricciardi Senior Vice President & General Counsel

GREENWICH, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

W. R. Berkley Corporation WRB today announced that Matthew M. Ricciardi has been named senior vice president and general counsel. The appointment is effective today. He succeeds Ira S. Lederman, who was recently promoted to the office of executive vice president. In this role, he will be responsible for the legal affairs of the Company and report to Mr. Lederman.

Mr. Ricciardi has nearly 20 years of legal experience in the insurance industry and most recently served as chief counsel, general corporate for MetLife, Inc. Prior to joining MetLife, he was a partner in a major New York law firm, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions, securities and capital markets transactions and general corporate governance issues. He graduated summa cum laude with an A.B. in history from Princeton University and earned a J.D. from Yale Law School.

William R. Berkley, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, said: "We are pleased to have Matt join our team with such a broad range of both insurance and public company experience. His familiarity with both our business and the environment in which we operate will be invaluable to our operations."

For further information about W. R. Berkley Corporation, please visit www.wrberkley.com.

Founded in 1967, W. R. Berkley Corporation is an insurance holding company that is among the largest commercial lines writers in the United States and operates in three segments of the property casualty insurance business: Insurance-Domestic, Insurance-International and Reinsurance-Global.

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