Newly-launched media, tech and cyber MGA Nirvana has appointed industry veteran Thomas M. Mannsdorfer as part of its leadership team to build out a European underwriting business.
Mannsdorfer has over two decades of experience as a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) underwriter across European markets.
In the new role, he is tasked with leading a pan-European team of underwriters to develop a Warranty and Indemnity (W&I) portfolio focussed on small-to-medium-sized deals on the continent, an under-penetrated niche of the global W&I market, according to Nirvana. He will also take responsibility for the European business.
Nirvana has disclosed that the team will be based in Barcelona, will focus on local products in local languages as well as English, and will be built upon strong relationships with regional and global brokers alike.
Before joining Nirvana, Mannsdorfer headed up European Specialty underwriting at Sompo International.
He also led Sompo’s Barcelona branch and underwriting hub, having previously served as Director of M&A Insurance and Chief Underwriting Officer (International) with ANV in Barcelona.
Kabir Chanrai, Nirvana’s Founding Director, said, “Thomas is one of the most experienced M&A underwriters in Europe, and we are delighted that he has joined the founding team at Nirvana.
“We have ambitious plans to grow our European team, and Thomas’s successful track record of building out teams will play an important role in helping us to achieve this.”
Rob Jones, who has 25 years of underwriting expertise in the London and global markets, formed Nirvana Risk Partners in 2017 as a division of the Castel Underwriting Agencies MGA formation platform.
In March 2023, Jones and Chanrai purchased Nirvana from Castel in a management buyout and launched the platform.
Commenting on his new role, Mannsdorfer said, “Nirvana’s ‘underwriting first’ mindset was a major attraction for me, and I am thrilled to be joining Rob and Kabir to help them grow the European W&I business.
“With Rob’s deep underwriting experience and Kabir’s financial expertise, Nirvana is well positioned to grow a profitable book of business providing protection for entrepreneurs involved in European M&A deals.”
