Rising Star: Leonard Rentrup
Leonard Rentrup was born in Germany but raised in Bermuda. He completed a BA in liberal arts at Vassar College and obtained an MSc. in economics from the University of Mannheim. After working briefly at Aeolus Capital Management, Rentrup joined Hiscox ILS as a junior analyst, later advancing to senior portfolio analyst after two years.
As part of the ILS investment team, Rentrup represents investor interests in portfolios of reinsurance risks. Responsibilities include designing portfolios for varying risk profiles, collaborating with the underwriting team to execute strategies, supporting the IR/BD team in marketing to investors and participating in all aspects of portfolio monitoring, reporting and systems design.
Can you start by telling us what inspired your career?
Growing up, most of the adults I knew worked in reinsurance, so it always felt like an obvious career choice. As I gained a better understanding of what the industry entailed, I realised it suited my academic interests well.
During my time at university, I was particularly drawn to courses focused on financial markets and modelling, which sparked my interest in capital markets. This developed further through internships at a mutual fund, which cemented my appreciation for asset management and gave me insight into how capital is deployed and managed.
Further, while I’m certainly no software engineer, I’ve long wanted a programming-adjacent career. I minored in computer science during my BA, and I’ve always enjoyed programming projects. The industry is as technical as you want to make it, demanding both analytical rigour and an ability to communicate complex ideas. It also requires discipline, people management skills and, most importantly, curiosity.
ILS has provided an ideal avenue to combine my interests in capital markets, reinsurance and tech into a rewarding career path.
What elements of your career do you enjoy most and why?
ILS sits at the crossroads between reinsurance risk and capital. Navigating these two distinct sectors means engaging with a broad spectrum of interests, all speaking their own language and bringing different perspectives and priorities to the table. Aligning these can be challenging but it makes my work interesting.
I particularly enjoy the challenge of translating investor appetite into actual underwriting. This process involves not only designing fit-for-purpose portfolios but also executing on those portfolios alongside the underwriting teams. There's a real satisfaction in seeing a strategy move from the theoretical to tangible results for investors.
Finally, I enjoy working alongside a team of intelligent and highly motivated colleagues. Work wouldn’t be this fun without them.
Can you share an example of a challenge you overcame that significantly shaped your career trajectory?
After two years at Hiscox, one of the senior analysts changed roles. I worked and was familiar with the role, but stepping into it posed the challenge of losing the “safety net” of an experienced analyst to fall back on.
However, I was very fortunate to be part of a team that recognised I was ready to take on this challenge and supported me in learning new skills and processes and taking on additional workload.
While the experience was a bit of a trial by fire, it proved to me (and my team) that I could be trusted with more responsibilities and demonstrated my ambitions within the company.
What are your career ambitions? And how will you work to achieve them?
I would like to stay within ILS and continue in a role where I can interact with both the risk and capital side. My very long-term goal is to lead my own ILS team (but I think that’s in the distant future for now!). In the interim, I am working toward becoming a portfolio manager. To achieve this, there are myriad skills to develop further – everything from commercial awareness to sales pitches to fostering relationships with investors.
I’m currently focusing on improving my ability to self-advocate and self-promote. This doesn’t come particularly naturally for me (and I’ve been quite lucky to work for people who have advocated for me), so it requires stepping out of my comfort zone.
How do you stay motivated and continue to learn in such a dynamic sector?
I’ve been quite fortunate at Hiscox to work with a team that’s been willing to take risks on me and constantly invest in my growth. From day one, I’ve had managers who have recognised my potential and encouraged my pursuit of professional qualifications. The recognition and constant feedback (even when brutally honest) keep me motivated to advance in the industry and keep learning.
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