Nippon Life’s acquisition of Resolution Life completed

Nippon Life Insurance Company, a Japanese life insurer and asset manager, has finalised its acquisition of Bermuda-based re/insurer Resolution Life, boosting growth for both companies in the multi-trillion-dollar global life and annuity consolidation market.

Nippon’s acquisition of Resolution Life was announced in 2024 after it announced that it would be consolidating its ownership interest by acquiring the remaining shares from Resolution Life’s investment limited partnership.

Resolution Life’s Australasian business will be combined with Nippon Life Insurance Australia and New Zealand to form Acenda Group. Acenda is a new primary life insurer open to new business and will be run as a joint venture between Nippon Life and Resolution Life.

According to a statement, Resolution Life and its board will continue under the leadership of Sir Clive Cowdery as chairman and CEO, and Moses Ojeisekhoba (pictured left) as president.

With the acquisition, three new directors have been appointed to the board; Ojeisekhoba, Betsy Ward (pictured right) and Shinsuke Hashizume. As part of the transaction, Gilles Dellaert, Michael Hovey and Ida Hoghooghi from Blackstone have resigned from the board.

Ojeisekhoba joined Resolution Life as president in October 2024. He is responsible for the leadership of the market-facing division driving strategy, growth, profitability, and value creation.

Prior to joining Resolution Life, he spent over 12 years in multiple senior executive positions at Swiss Re. He was most recently CEO global clients and solutions where, amongst other things, he was responsible for managing relationships with some of Swiss Re’s key clients.

Before his tenure there, Ojeisekhoba held a number of senior leadership positions at Chubb Group and Unico American Corporation.

He is also a member of the board of directors of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated.

Ward has spent more than 35 years in the insurance sector, and brings extensive leadership and expertise. She recently retired from MassMutual where her most recent position was that of chief financial officer, overseeing strategy and corporate development in addition to traditional financial areas.

She is a member of the board of directors of The Hanover Group, a fellow of the Society of Actuaries and member of the American Academy of Actuaries (MAAA). Furthermore, she is also a trustee on the board of the University of Rochester. Rochester, NY and the Community Music School of Springfield, MA.

Hashizume is the president and CEO of Nippon Life Americas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Life Insurance Company. He previously served as the general manager of the global business risk and control department of Nippon Life in Japan from 2022 to 2025.

He has been a fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Japan since 2005.

Resolution Life said it will continue its mission of being a global custodian to the life insurance and annuity industry by providing capital for growth, removing stranded costs and mitigating long-term risks so that the industry can continue to respond to the needs of policyholders.

It is subject to group regulation by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and has a strong group capital position, high solvency ratios and investment grade ratings.

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