Hamilton Hires Barrett, Garber to Fill New Leadership Slots; O’Donohoe to Depart

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Hamilton Insurance Group, moving full-speed ahead with its growth strategy, is hiring two executives in newly-created roles, and a third leader is leaving the company.

The Bermuda-based insurance and reinsurance holding company said it had hired Peter Barrett, a former chairman of Lloyd’s insurance broker Bell & Clements, for the newly-created position of Global Head, Specialty Insurance. Additionally, Christi Garber, former Tax Director of the Americas at Validus Group, is joining the company for its first-ever Senior Vice President, Tax.

At the same time. Hamilton announced that Dermot O’Donohoe is leaving his position as CEO of Hamilton at Lloyd’s. He joined Hamilton in 2015 and oversaw the April 2015 acquisition of Sportscover Managing Agency and Syndicate 3334, as well as the subsequent transformation of both into a fully functioning specialty Lloyd’s player recognized in the market for its talent, Hamilton said.

Hamilton said that O’Donohoe had agreed to stay with the company until it finalized plans to buy Liberty Mutual’s Pembroke Managing Agency at Lloyd’s and its Ironshore Europe DAC business, a milestone that hit on March 14, 2019.

The New Executives

Barrett will be based in London and report to Hamilton Group CEO Pina Albo. He’ll oversee the integration of the Lloyd’s and non-Lloyd’s, which also includes two MGAs – one in the U.S. and one in Dubai.

Also, Barrett will guide development of a broader insurance strategy that builds on the operations associated with the pending acquisition.

Barrett began his insurance industry career in 1976 and joined Bell & Clements in 1986. He was appointed the broker’s Managing Director in 1989 and Chairman in 2004, Hamilton said. He’s also served as a board member of the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) and participated on various National Association of Surplus Lines Offices (NAPSLO) committees. AAMGA and NAPLSO merged in 2017 to form WSIA.

Garber will be based in New York and report to Group CFO Jonathan Reiss. In her new role, she’ll be a key member of Hamilton’s finance team and oversee all taxation matters including, but not limited to, developing and maintaining an overall approach for taxation efficiency and operations that support Hamilton’s growth strategy. She will also be responsible for all aspects of Hamilton’s global tax compliance.

Previously, Garber was with Validus Group where she was Tax Director of the Americas. Her 25 years’ experience in the insurance and financial services sectors also includes eight years as Tax Director and Senior Vice President at Sirius Group, and three years as Vice President, Financial Guaranty Insurance Company.

Albo said in prepared remarks that Hamilton’s two new executive hires will be important pieces of the company’s expansion plans.

“Their impressive skills and valuable experience are going to be critical as we complete our transaction and plan for the subsequent integration of the operations we’re acquiring,” Albo said. “The establishment of these two new positions are key developments in achieving our goal of establishing a leading diversified global specialty insurance and reinsurance company.”

As far as O’Donohoe’s departure, Albo said the executive “has steered our agency and syndicate with steady hand.”

Source: Hamilton Insurance Group

This article first appeared in Insurance Journal’s sister publication, Carrier Management.

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