Vantage Group commences operations under leadership of Greg Hendrick

Vantage Group Holdings and its wholly owned re/insurance subsidiary, Vantage Risk, have commenced operations, under the leadership of former AXA XL chief executive Greg Hendrick, who serves as chief executive.

Dinos Iordanou, formerly president and chief executive of Arch Capital Group, serves Vantage as non-executive chairman. Other executives include: Chris McKeown, chief executive of reinsurance, innovation and ILS; Jack Kuhn, chief executive of insurance; Aurora Swithenbank, chief financial officer; Peter Hahn, chief data and analytics officer; Gail McGiffin, chief information and operations officer effective from January 2021; Bobbi Andersen, general counsel; Nikki Gonzalez, chief talent officer; Peta White, president of Vantage Risk from January 2021; and Nick Pritchard, head of property catastrophe underwriting.

Vantage underwrites risk where existing capacity is shrinking and seeks to add creativity to tech-enabled efficiency and robust analytics to address its clients’ risks. In 2021 it intends to launch insurance products in both the Bermuda and North American markets.

Vantage Risk provides property catastrophe reinsurance, covering predominantly North America, Europe, Japan and Australia, as well as specialty reinsurance across property and casualty classes. These include marine, energy, aviation, crop, workers’ compensation, property per-risk and mortgage.

The Carlyle Group and Hellman & Friedman (H&F), together with management, have invested $1 billion of equity capital in Vantage, with the option to increase their investment as growth opportunities arise.

Carlyle’s equity capital comes from Carlyle Partners VII, an $18.5 billion fund that focuses on buyout transactions in the US, and Carlyle Global Financial Services Partners III, a dedicated financial services buyout fund.

H&F has deployed capital from Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners IX, a fund with $16.5 billion of committed capital targeting investments in select sectors across North America and Europe.

Hendrick said: “Risk changes constantly, and we in the insurance industry must demonstrate our ability to evolve with it, to offer clients coverage that meets their current challenges. To do that, we brought together some of the brightest, most experienced minds in re/insurance to approach the new world of risk in a fresh way -- with curiosity at its core and creativity as its engine.”

David Tunnell, partner at H&F, said: “For the first time since 2001, the global re/insurance markets are clearly demanding fresh capital and fresh thinking.”