Hamilton Insurance Group Ltd., the holding company for Class 4 P&C reinsurer Hamilton Re, has hired Conan M. Ward to head the group’s U.S. operations. Ward brings more than 20 years of insurance and reinsurance experience to the position.
Hamilton Insurance has been making headlines in the past fews months. In December, Hamilton Insurance Group Ltd. completed its acquisition of S.A.C. Re, Ltd., a property/casualty reinsurer, and the acquired company is being renamed Hamilton Re Ltd.
In early December, Hamilton President and CEO Brian Duperreault told Bloomberg the company will focus on catastrophe risks and will seek opportunities in other types of coverage. It partnered with Two Sigma Investments LLC, the quantitative hedge fund-firm with about $16 billion in assets, according to Bloomberg.
“I am delighted to welcome Conan to Hamilton Insurance Group,” said Duperreault. “His depth of experience, as well as his enthusiasm for the business that we’re doing, make him a natural fit. I’m looking forward to working with him as he develops our insurance operations in the US.”
Prior to establishing a consulting firm in 2012, Ward spent 11 years in Bermuda, most recently as CEO at Validus Reinsurance Ltd. He held the position of chief underwriting officer of Validus Re from its founding until 2009, during which time he built and managed a $1 billion property and specialty reinsurance business.
“This is an exciting opportunity to create something new in the insurance and reinsurance industry,” Ward said. “Hamilton Insurance Group’s combination of visionary management, global experience and big data capabilities is unique in the sector. I’m looking forward to building a cutting edge team who knows how to marry the products we’ll be selling with the risks of the future.”
From its formation in 2001 until 2005, Ward was an executive VP of Axis Specialty Ltd., where he built and ran portions of its treaty portfolio and served on its management board, Hamilton added. From 1992 to 2001, he held a variety of positions in insurance and reinsurance broking and underwriting.
