Apollo Syndicate Management (“Apollo”), the independent specialist insurer and reinsurer, today announced that James Slaughter has been appointed as group chief underwriting officer, subject to regulatory approvals. He will join the business from April 6th and report to David Ibeson, group chief executive officer of Apollo. Nick Burkinshaw, Apollo’s current CUO, has decided to retire after a long and distinguished career.
Slaughter will lead Apollo’s underwriting teams and work with the business to build on Apollo’s market leading innovation capabilities, focussing particularly on the opportunities that data science and digital transformation bring to the Lloyd’s market.
Slaughter joins Apollo with more than 23 years’ experience in the insurance industry and was most recently the CUO of Liberty Mutual’s Global Risks Solutions business unit, overseeing more than $17bn in gross written premium. Prior to that, he held various senior positions across Liberty Mutual and Liberty Syndicate Management. He is a Fellow of the CII and holds an MBA from Imperial College, London.
Ibeson said: “Apollo is now in an excellent place to begin the next phase of our strategic growth. For this, I would like to thank Nick, who has performed an exemplary role in driving our market-beating underwriting improvement over recent years. I wish him all the best in his retirement.
”James is a recognised market leader and we are very pleased he has agreed to join Apollo. As CUO, he will be instrumental in driving our future underwriting capability and innovation efforts as we look to expand existing and develop new capital partnerships to support our ambition. We are building partnerships, expanding our premium income and focusing on delivering exceptional returns, and I would like to welcome James to the team to consolidate these efforts and take our innovation agenda further.”
Slaughter said: “I am very pleased to be joining Apollo and excited to be working closely with David and the team. Apollo is well positioned to grow profitably in the coming years as it capitalises on favourable market conditions. I am therefore looking forward to contributing to Apollo’s innovative and expansive strategy as it enters the next stage of its growth.”