Enstar enjoys solid growth; reveals new CFO
Bermuda-based legacy business specialist Enstar Group has reshuffled its board and appointed a new CFO.
Enstar also said that Richard Harris, its CFO, would step down as chief financial officer in August for personal reasons and be replaced Mark Smith, a partner at Deloitte & Touche, Bermuda since 1988 and now the head of Deloitte's financial advisory practice.
Enstar also announced that it appointed Hitesh Patel to its board of directors on May 6, 2015. Patel served as chief executive of Lucida, a UK life insurance company, from 2012 to 2013, and prior to that as its finance director and chief investment officer since 2007. He is currently a non-executive director of Aviva Life Holdings UK.
The company made the announcement at the same time as its first quarter results. The firm enjoyed higher profits and net premiums earned in the first quarter of 2015.
The company reported consolidated net earnings of $44.8 million in the first quarter compared with $29.6 million in the same period a year earlier. Its net premiums earned for the quarter increased to $198.9 million compared with $61.6 million a year earlier.
Enstar's shareholders' equity at March 31, 2015 was $2.334.2 billion, a small increase on the year before.
Commenting on the new appointments, Dominic Silvester, CEO of Enstar, said: "Richard has been a key member of our executive leadership team since 2003 and we have an overwhelming amount of respect for him and his accomplishments.
"He has been an invaluable partner to me, and his passion, integrity and stewardship of our financial strength has been integral to our success during his tenure. I am pleased that Richard will remain with Enstar to support the business and Mark as we transition.
"I am very pleased that Mark will be joining us as chief financial officer. I have worked closely with Mark over many years, and he is very familiar with our company and our leadership team. He has significant financial and public accounting expertise, a depth of industry knowledge, and proven leadership abilities. I am confident he will be a tremendous asset and strategic partner as we continue to grow our business on a global scale."
Harris said: "During my 12 years with Enstar it has been extremely gratifying to assist with the company's significant growth and development. I believe that with the company in a very strong financial position, now is a good time to hand over the financial reins, which will allow me to spend more time with my family and eventually pursue other opportunities."
