Gallagher Re, the global reinsurance broker, has appointed Alex McManus and Romain Kapfer to lead its index-based capabilities and specialty business in Bermuda, respectively, with immediate effect.
Alex will lead index-based initiatives on the island working closely with Gallagher Securities, the insurance-linked securities (“ILS”) arm of Gallagher Re.
Alex’s appointment will therefore enable industry loss warranty (“ILW”) and catastrophe bond capabilities to be readily available to the Bermudian business, to best serve Gallagher Re’s existing client base and provide its broader customer network across the globe with greater access to index-based capacity.
With extensive knowledge of the indexed space and having been instrumental in growing Gallagher Re’s ILW offering, Alex brings to his new role a breadth of experience across the direct, reinsurance and retrocession markets over the past 10 years. Capitalising on his strong connectivity to both London and North American colleagues, as well as Artex Capital Solutions within the wider Gallagher group, Alex will ensure clients gain access to the full suite of alternative capital solutions – a growing requirement in a more challenging reinsurance market.
Romain’s appointment to lead Gallagher Re’s growing specialty business in Bermuda reflects the strategy to build out a team that complements the direction of travel and growing diversification within the Bermudian reinsurance market.
Taking advantage of Gallagher Re’s strength in specialty lines, Romain is ideally positioned to assist in the continued development of this market on the island, assisting reinsurers as they look to pursue greater product diversification beyond property cat.
With over 15 years’ experience across London market and North American specialty treaty business, having worked in both London and New York, Romain most recently led on sales and strategy for the UK’s marine and energy division as Executive Director. He joined Gallagher Re as part of the Willis Re acquisition having led large international property & casualty programmes, and previously specialised in alternative risk transfer solutions.
Commenting on the appointments, Ben Radford, Head of Bermuda, Gallagher Re, said: “The Bermudian reinsurance market is intricate, exciting and one in which we see huge value and potential for growth.
“Having the expertise and experience of Romain and Alex in Bermuda speaks directly to our strategy of relevance – ensuring we have the right people on the island, with the right capabilities, for the right reasons. Individuals who can speak to multiple product disciplines and provide our clients with a product agnostic view of how best to access capital in a more capacity constrained marketplace is key to our approach.
“Clients and carriers alike in Bermuda tell us they want a more global, multi-class offering from brokers, one that not only has a deep understanding of specialisms but can connect business globally. Our ongoing investment is designed to deliver just that.”
