Itasca MGA appoints new CEO
A managing general agency specialising in underwriting secured commercial aviation financing risk has appointed a new chief executive officer to succeed Kostya Zolutusky, who is retiring this week.
Gareth John will become CEO while maintaining his position at The Fidelis Partnership as head of bespoke economic lines, having initially joined in April 2024 as head of bespoke economic lines.
Itasca MGA was created in 2023 by Pine Walk Capital, a specialist MGA platform and wholly owned subsidiary of The Fidelis Partnership, and Castlelake, a global alternative investment manager.
Itasca sits within the Pine Walk platform and specialises in underwriting, structuring and managing risk associated with secured commercial aviation financing on behalf of The Fidelis Partnership and Itasca Re, a Bermuda-licensed reinsurance company established by Castlelake that specialises in insurance-backed financing solutions for buyers and owners of commercial aircraft assets.
John previously served as the global head of aviation for Natixis, and as the head of transportation finance Americas at Deutsche Bank. John will continue to support The Fidelis Partnership‘s economic lines of business, including across portfolio credit, mortgage, and political risk insurance, as well as asset-backed finance.
Since its launch in 2017, Pine Walk Capital Limited has established eight MGAs providing custom underwriting and operational and regulatory frameworks to support specialist and innovative underwriting offerings.
Zolutusky helped to found Itasca Re having previously led the Integrated Finance Linked Insurance (IFLI) division of Piiq Risk Partners, an insurance broker focused on the aviation sector associated with The Ardonagh Group.
Rinku Patel, Group COO of The Fidelis Partnership and CEO of Pine Walk, said: “We’d like to thank Kostya for his leadership of Itasca MGA, which has helped to further expand Pine Walk’s distribution into the specialised aviation sector. We wish him all the best for a long, happy, and fulfilling retirement.
"I’m also delighted to welcome Gareth to the Pine Walk platform, where his deep industry experience and network will help to expand our overall reach, capabilities and capacity across commercial aviation financing.”
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