Insurer and reinsurer XL Catlin has added a key Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert, with the appointment of Ashish Umre as the new London-based partner of its Accelerate AI team.
Accelerate was set up in November 2016 as XL Catlin’s internal innovation team to leverage new technologies to grow market reach, while working with business leaders to promote bigger thinking, efficient execution and innovation.
Vincent Branch, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Accelerate, commented on the appointment; “Getting the right talent around the table is key to us achieving our goals and this has to be a mix of insurance industry talent and talent from outside the industry.
“With experience at Tesco and long-standing academic achievements across AI, cognitive/neuroscience and machine learning, as well as his ability to lead innovation projects, Ashish is a great addition to the team and XL Catlin.”
Umre’s appointment has brought the team up to five innovation experts, spread across London and New York, including Paul Brand, Accelerate Chairman, Vincent Branch, and partners Jenny Williams, Lauren Tennant Pollock, and newly appointed Ashish Umre.
Umre joins XL Catlin from Tesco where he worked as Lead Scientist of Marketing Data Science & Optimisation.
As the new Accelerate AI partner, Umre will head up XL Catlin’s AI projects and partnerships with start-ups to develop their technical capabilities and translate these into improved business solutions.
Branch said one of the team’s current major focus’ includes working in partnership with tech-firm Oxbotica, which focuses on mobile autonomous systems, on a project called the DRIVEN consortium; “DRIVEN is a ground-breaking project to deploy a fleet of autonomous vehicles.
“It is helping us to truly understand, and find ways to understand and assess the emerging risks associated with this exciting leap forward in technology.”
He added, “with the team further strengthened we are even better equipped to drive change for the industry and for our clients.”
