Acrisure Re, the (re)insurance division of global fintech leader, Acrisure, is pleased to announce the appointment of Sandro Kriesch and Patrick Witteveen as Managing Directors of Catastrophe Bond Solutions to Acrisure Re’s Corporate Advisory and Solutions (ARCAS) division, effective immediately. Both will be based in Zurich and report to Ben Canagaretna, Global Managing Director of ARCAS.
Kriesch and Witteveen will be responsible for leading the launch and development of ARCAS’ full-service cat bond offering. Having expanded into North America last year with the appointment of Alex Orloff, the division operates globally and covers ratings advisory, capital raising, legacy transactions and asset management. With the addition of cat bond solutions to its portfolio, the hires mark a crucial step in the team’s ambition to offer an all-inclusive service from one connected team.
Canagaretna said: “I am thrilled with the growth this team has experienced in the last year. It shows ARCAS’ commitment to filling our team with best-in-class talent who have the leadership skills and networks to expand into new areas. The cat bond market is an evolving area with strong fundamentals and increasing opportunity. Sandro and Patrick are the ideal candidates to lead the charge and we very much look forward to working with them both. This is another great example of Acrisure Re doing its homework and having conviction at the right moment.”
Kriesch joins ARCAS after having been active for several mandates as a consultant for his own firm Kriesch Advisors. During this time, he provided advisory services on cat bonds, the ILW market, and for start-ups targeting the reinsurance market in general. Prior, he spent 1.5 years as the COO for IQUW’s ILS division developing the institutional platform for ILS fund management. Before this, he co-founded Twelve Capital where he was Managing Partner for nine years and a member of the board of directors for three. With time also spent as an ILS Portfolio Manager at Horizon 21 and as an earthquake underwriter and solvency II expert at Swiss Re, Kriesch brings a wealth of specialised knowledge of cat bonds, ILS, and their role in the industry.
Witteveen joins ARCAS with more than 20 years’ experience in business development, raising third-party capital assets and institutional sales, most recently at specialist insurer and reinsurer AXIS Capital, where he was Global Head of Business Development for its third-party reinsurance capital management focused unit, AXIS ILS. Prior to this, he spent seven years at ILS manager Securis Investment Partners as a Partner and the Head of Investor Relations & Business Development Europe, where he helped to raise a significant part of the companies’ assets from its Swiss based operation.
Craig Darling, Acrisure Re Executive Vice President said: “The additional product offering of a catastrophe bond, further complements and expands our structuring and placement capabilities. The Capital market strategy further diversifies our global market reach in solving market capacity concerns for our North American catastrophe exposed clientele. This expansive capability has been part of our strategy and represents a continued collaborative effort with the Centre of Excellence for Critical Cat and ARCAS. We are committed to expanding our reach with global investors that will directly benefit the growth aspirations of our existing carriers, MGA clients and prospects in North America.”