Willis Re has added four senior professionals to its specialty reinsurance business, all joining from Guy Carpenter, as competition for marine and energy talent in the London and Bermuda markets remains active.
The hires come as Guy Carpenter has accused Willis Re of orchestrating a “coordinated poaching” of senior Bermuda-based staff in a legal dispute reported earlier this year, alleging that multiple departures breached contractual and fiduciary obligations.
The broker has hired Jonno Bryan (pictured above, left), who brings more than 15 years’ experience in specialty reinsurance, with a focus on marine, energy and terrorism. His career spans both the London and international markets, including work on complex structures for LMX, Bermuda and US clients.
Bryan spent eight years at Guy Carpenter, including two years in Bermuda, where he worked across global specialty portfolios. He began his broking career with Tysers and Aon, building experience in specialty placement and client management.
Willis Re has also appointed Andrew Hitchings (pictured above, right), who has worked in reinsurance since 1990 and has held leadership roles in London and overseas. He joins from Guy Carpenter, where he spent seven years and most recently served as head of MGAs for Global Specialties.
Before Guy Carpenter, Hitchings held senior positions at Cooper Gay, including CEO of reinsurance. He was also a founding partner of Collard & Partners, a Lloyd’s broker focused on the marine sector in Asia.
Another addition is Graham Devlin, whose reinsurance career began in 1980 in marine treaty business with Zurich Re in London. He later moved into Lloyd’s, becoming deputy underwriter on T M Jones Syndicate 1097 in 1989, concentrating on marine and energy treaty reinsurance.
Devlin went on to lead marine treaty at Kemper Re in London, writing London market and US treaty portfolios, before joining Alliance Re in Cyprus to underwrite a broader geographic book with additional emphasis on MENA and Asia. He returned to London in 2009 to move into broking with Guy Carpenter and was appointed COO of Global Marine & Energy Specialty in 2010.
Willis Re has also hired Nicola McIntosh, who began her insurance career at Guy Carpenter in 2007 in claims. She later moved into a wordings and client support role in 2012, gaining experience in coverage analysis and contract documentation through work with adjusters and surveyors.
Rounding out the appointments is Freddie Vaughan, who has more than 14 years’ experience in the specialty reinsurance market. He began his career at JLT Re in the marine, energy and terrorism team, spending five years there before joining Guy Carpenter’s marine and energy specialty team in 2016.
While there have been no significant developments on the allegations brought up by Guy Carpenter against Willis Re, it is worth noting that the former has recently secured a victory in a court case involving the loss of a major reinsurance client.
Earlier this month, the Singapore High Court sided with Guy Carpenter in a case against two former brokers and rival intermediary LK Re over the loss of Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance (SFMI) business. The court found that senior vice president Celeste Choi Okmi and junior broker Dominic Lee Dong Yeol had begun working for LK interests before their formal start dates, coordinating with LK Re and parent LK Insurance Services to build a facility for SFMI’s domestic warehouse risks and persuade the insurer to shift that business away from Guy Carpenter.
