Global property and casualty insurance company Liberty Mutual Insurance has announced the appointment of Defne Turkes as president and managing director (MD) of Liberty International Insurance (LII), the international division of Global Risk Solutions (GRS), effective July 1, 2026.
She succeeds Phil Hobbs, who most recently served as President of GRS Underwriting.
In her new role, Turkes will lead strategic growth for international commercial insurance as well as the Asian retail market.
She will report directly to GRS President Matthew Moore, who commented: “Defne brings a strong combination of skills and deep international insurance expertise.
“She is an outstanding leader with extensive experience delivering operating platforms in complex multi-jurisdictional environments, as well as commercial experience running multinational operations.”
Turkes has been with Liberty since 2006, initially joining the company as Chief Financial Officer of Türkiye. She has since held various senior leadership roles in Asia, culminating in her role as President of Liberty’s Asia Retail Business.
Most recently, she served as Chief Operating Officer of Liberty International Insurance, a position she held for two years.
Prior to joining Liberty, Turkes served as corporate finance manager at Global Menkul Değerler and as manager of transaction advisory services at EY.
