Hiscox CEO Masojada to Retire at Year End, Succeeded by CFO Hussain

Specialist global insurer Hiscox announced that after 21 years as group chief executive, Bronek Masojada plans retire at the end of the year. In January 2022, he will be succeeded by Group Chief Financial Officer Aki Hussain, subject to regulatory approval.

Hussain joined Hiscox in 2016 as CFO for the group. He was appointed to the Hiscox board in 2016 and is also chair of Hiscox Re & ILS. He is responsible for ensuring the group’s ongoing capital strength, overseeing the group’s investment portfolio of $7.63 billion and leading a team of 250 finance experts across multiple geographies.

Recently, Hussain successfully delivered a complex, multi-year finance transformation program to overhaul outdated legacy systems and vastly improve financial insight and reporting across the group.

Hussain has more than 15 years of financial services experience gained across insurance, accounting and banking. Prior to joining Hiscox, he was CFO of Prudential plc. UK & Europe. He has also held a number of other senior roles in the financial services, media and telecoms sectors, serving as finance director for the Consumer Bank division at Lloyds Banking Group, and finance director for the Consumer division of NTL (now Virgin Media).

Hussain is also a chartered accountant, having trained with KPMG. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Leeds, an Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and is a fellow of the ICAEW. In addition, he serves as an independent non-executive director and audit committee chair at Visa Europe Ltd.

Masojada’s Career

After working for McKinsey & Co., Masojada joined in 1993 as managing director when Hiscox was a Lloyd’s underwriter, with fewer than 200 people in one location. Hiscox listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1995 with a market cap of £150 million. Masojada was appointed CEO in 2000, and by 2020, mainly through sustainable, organic growth Hiscox had become a balanced international insurance group with a market cap of around £3 billion.

During his tenure, Hiscox has pursued a diversification strategy, and established itself as a multi-market, multi-channel insurance and reinsurance company. Under Masojada’s leadership, Hiscox has built leading digital insurance businesses in the UK, U.S. and Europe, which now accounts for nearly $600 million of gross written premiums.

Throughout his career, Masojada has championed the modernization of the insurance industry, serving as deputy chairman of Lloyd’s, president of the Insurance Institute of London and master of the Worshipful Company of Insurers. He has been on the board of the Association of British Insurers since 2012. He is currently alderman for the Ward of Billingsgate in the City of London.

“I would like to thank Bronek for his outstanding contribution to the Hiscox Group. His energy and passion to move the business forward has resulted in three decades of strong growth and transformed Hiscox into a leading diversified specialist insurer with a great future ahead of it,” commented Robert Childs, group chairman of Bermuda-headquartered Hiscox.

“We are delighted that Aki will be our new CEO and the board were unanimous in endorsing this appointment. Aki’s ambition, drive and knowledge of the Hiscox Group, combined with his many years’ experience delivering for a variety of financial services organizations, makes him well placed to capture the many opportunities ahead,” added Childs.

“It has been an incredible privilege to lead Hiscox and be part of its journey over the last 28 years. The business is on a very strong footing with market conditions the best we have experienced for many years and the time is right to hand over to new leadership. I have worked closely with Aki for the last five years, and his impressive banking, telecoms and media experience make him a great choice to lead the business,” said Masojada.

“I look forward to delivering our half year results on the 3rd of August and building on the strong performance we set out in the Q1 trading update,” he continued.

Masojada will remain in place until the end of the year allowing for a smooth transition while a search for a new group CFO is conducted.

Hussain appointment followed a full and independent process led by the Nominations and Governance Committee, supported by a leading search firm, said Hiscox, noting that this involved a global search and the assessment of internal and external candidates.

Hussain will receive an annual salary of £750,000 ($1 million) and a pension allowance of 10% of salary, which is aligned to the pension allowance for the group’s workforce.

“I am honoured to be taking over the leadership of this dynamic company. I am excited about the long-term potential of our business; we have exceptional talent, a market leading position and a strong balance sheet,” said Hussain.

“I would also like to thank Bronek for getting us here. The group’s strategy of balance and diversification creates opportunities across all our business divisions. In big-ticket lines where rates are hardening, we have market-leading operations with decades of underwriting pedigree, while our long-term investment in digital trading means we are well poised to benefit from the explosive opportunity in retail,” he continued.

Source: Hiscox