'Business as usual' at Arch

It's business as usual at Arch Capital despite the sudden departure of chief executive officer Marc Grandisson, according to his successor. 

Nicolas Papadopoulu called Grandisson's departure last month “a personal decision of his” and noted that “certainly Marc's departure is not performance related” and asserted that Arch had performed “amazingly well” under Marc’s leadership. 

The new CEO said Arch Capital will hold a steady course through its ongoing leadership transition with no change noticeable for clients, partners, brokers or others.  

“My message to our shareholders, employees, brokers, clients and business partners is that it is business as usual at Arch,” he told his company’s third quarter analyst call yesterday. 

Papadopoulo added: “I've worked very closely with Marc in the last five to six years setting up strategy, looking at operational changes, looking at culture. 

 “He and I were extremely aligned. I would not expect any changes in the way we operate.”

A pending investor day should reinforce the message of continuity, but will make a focal point out of the newly installed top executive, CFO François Morin added. 

“Nicolas will be the focal point,” Morin said. “but I wouldn't message that there is anything unusual or a new revelation that you should expect to hear from us in a couple of weeks.”

Papadopoulo added: “Arch is bigger than any one of us and we have a lot to do and we have a lot of exciting things to continue to do in the coming years.” 

Did you get value from this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.