Hamilton CEO Pina Albo has been elected as the new Chairperson of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR), becoming the first woman to serve as ABIR Chair in its 30-year history.
She succeeded Marc Grandisson, CEO of Arch Capital Group Ltd., in the role, and started her two-year term on January 1.
Other newly elected ABIR officers are Deputy Chair Chris Schaper, the Group CEO of AIG Re, and Second Deputy Chair Stephen Catlin, Chair of Convex Group.
Albo has over three decades of experience in the re/insurance industry, having joined Hamilton as CEO in January 2018.
Prior to joining Hamilton, the new Chair, a lawyer, had a 25-year career with Munich Re, during which she held a series of increasingly senior positions, culminating in her role as a member of the Executive Board of the Munich Re Group.
Albo currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Reinsurance Group of America, is an Advisor to Overalls and serves as an ambassador for the Insurance Supper Club, an international organisation that aims to improve networking opportunities for women across the finance and insurance industries.
“I look forward to working with the ABIR board and fellow member companies to advance the interests of the Bermuda re/insurance market,” Albo said. “Together, we will continue ABIR’s proud legacy of leadership in the industry, advocating for insurance markets that are open, soundly regulated and competitive.
“As I step into the role, I’d like to recognize Marc’s invaluable service as ABIR Chair over the past two years. Under Marc’s leadership we have advanced many industry issues and he has ensured we are poised to take ABIR’s company interests forward.”
ABIR’s new Deputy Chair, Chris Schaper, also has more than 30 years of re/insurance experience. He joined AIG in 2019, as Group CEO for AIG Re, the global reinsurance business of AIG.
He is also a member of the AIG General Insurance Executive Committee, and on the Board of Fortitude Re, the legacy company initially founded by AIG in 2017.
Schaper joined AIG from Marsh & McLennan Companies, where he was CEO of Victor Insurance Holdings, Marsh’s global managing general agent business. Prior to that, he served as President of Montpelier Re Ltd and Underwriting Chairman of Blue Capital, Montpelier’s capital markets entity.
He has also held several leadership roles at Endurance Specialty Insurance Ltd., including Chief Underwriting Officer and Head of Reinsurance.
ABIR’s new Second Deputy Chair, Stephen Catlin, is the Chair and co-founder of Convex Group. He has previously served as ABIR Chair from 2015 to 2017 and was also the first Chair of the Insurance Development Forum from 2016 to 2018.
Catlin started his insurance career in 1973 with BL Evens & Others on Syndicate 264 at Lloyd’s. In 1984, he founded Catlin Underwriting Agencies, which went on to become part of Catlin Group.
Catlin led the company that bore his name until 1984, when the business was acquired by XL Group. Catlin served as Executive Deputy Chairman of XL Catlin from 2015 to 2017.
The news of these new appointments come as ABIR celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.
John M. Huff, CEO of ABIR, said: “The impressive leadership credentials of ABIR’s newly elected officers reflects the depth of world-class talent in the Bermuda re/insurance market. As ABIR embarks on its 30th anniversary year, Pina’s election as the first woman to serve as ABIR Chair is a significant milestone.
“ABIR and our member companies are committed to building diverse, equitable and inclusive teams to continue the Bermuda re/insurance market’s global leadership in addressing large and complex exposures in areas including natural catastrophe, climate, cyber, mortgage and specialty risks.”
ABIR member companies include Aeolus, AIG Re, Arch, Ariel Re, Argo Group, Ascot, Aspen, Assured Guaranty, Awbury, AXIS, Canopius, Chubb, Conduit Re, Convex, Everest Re, Fidelis, Fortitude Re, Hamilton, Hannover Re, Hiscox, Lancashire, Mosaic, MS Amlin, PartnerRe, Qatar Re, RenaissanceRe, SiriusPoint, Somers Re and Validus Holdings.
Broker advisory cabinet members include: Aon, Guy Carpenter/Marsh, Lockton Re and Willis Towers Watson.
