Aiming high
PwC Bermuda has a long history on the Island, tracing its roots back to the 1930s, when one of its predecessor firms was founded there. Now based in Hamilton, it became PricewaterhouseCoopers Bermuda in 1998 and is now simply known as PwC Bermuda.
It also has a long track record in attracting some of the best talent on the Island, and a number of programmes that engage with young people have ensured some of the very brightest stars have ended up at PwC.
Part of this latest generation of talent, Sean Kelly is a senior manager in PwC Bermuda’s Insurance & Reinsurance Group, specialising in providing assurance and advisory services to the reinsurance sector.
Already embracing the way risk transfer is changing, Kelly has extensive experience with special purpose insurers and insurance-linked securitisation (ILS) products, including US Securities and Exchange Commission registrant considerations concerning equity interests and consolidation. He performs a variety of regulatory and transaction related services, including internal control readiness assessments, regulatory compliance reviews and due diligence transactional work on behalf of publicly listed entities.
"PwC’s HeadStart programme offered me the opportunity to pursue my professional designation and gain valuable experience working with the industry’s leading professional services provider.”
Kelly chose the insurance industry partly because of its high profile on the Island. As a global hub for risk transfer, it was a natural choice for a young, ambitious professional returning home to work.
“For a Bermudian it’s hard to miss the impact the industry has here,” he says. “Having studied finance and accounting and in looking to return home to Bermuda to embark on a career, re/insurance seemed to me to be a natural fit.
“I was fortunate that PwC’s HeadStart programme offered me the opportunity to pursue my professional designation and gain valuable experience working with the industry’s leading professional services provider.”
Kelly started out as an associate at PwC Bermuda in 2007, before being promoted to senior associate in 2009. In 2011 he was appointed manager at PwC Bermuda, before becoming senior manager there in 2014.
Kelly holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and an MSC in accountancy from the University of Notre Dame in the US and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Chartered Professional Accountants of Bermuda.
A dynamic place
After almost 10 years in the industry, he says that as it involves living and working in one of the major global reinsurance hubs, the Bermudian industry should be attractive to young professionals.
“It is an industry shaped around a market that is constantly evolving, and that dynamism makes it exciting to be a part of. Despite its being interconnected with events occurring every day around the world, it’s not an industry that is widely promoted as a ‘great career choice’ outside the traditional markets.”
However, he does believe that the re/insurance industry offers good opportunities and career development to young professionals.
“The world continues to evolve, and the industry has had to adapt to keep pace with market demand. We’ve seen that specifically in Bermuda with the increase in alternative capital and the rise of the ILS market.
“Being a part of an innovative market provides great learning and growth opportunities for young professionals within their companies and opens doors to career development and progression. The industry here in Bermuda is connected with the major financial service centres around the globe, and that often provides cross-border mobility opportunities, on both a short- and a long-term basis.”
To find out more about PwC’s HeadStart programme contact Lesley Cox at: lesley.cox@bm.pwc.com or Risa Hunter at: risa.hunter@bm.pwc.com
