John Berger is to step down from the Chief Executive Officer role at Bermuda based hedge fund backed reinsurance firm Third Point Re from March, with Robert Bredahl the current President and Chief Operating Officer set to succeed him.
Third Point Re launched in early 2012 with $750 million of capital and backed by Daniel Loeb’s Third Point LLC hedge fund, managing the reinsurers assets. John Berger was with the reinsurer from the start.
Berger’s stepping down from the CEO role does not mean he is leaving the reinsurance firm, he is set to continue an active role in Third Point Re, continuing as Chairman of the Board and also as Chairman of the reinsurers Underwriting Committee.
The transition will come into effect on the 1st March 2017, with Bredahl taking on the CEO role from then.
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Berger said; “While I will be stepping down as CEO, I look forward to maintaining a very active role in the company as well as supporting Rob in his new position. Rob and I have worked closely together over the last five years forming and developing Third Point Re, and I see much opportunity ahead to further grow our business. I am looking forward to continuing my partnership with Rob, capitalizing upon the many opportunities that lay ahead.”
Bredahl added; “I am excited about the opportunity to lead Third Point Re and build upon the success that we have achieved thus far. John and I have enjoyed a strong relationship since forming Third Point Re in 2011, and I am looking forward to continuing that partnership as we work together to further grow the Company.”
The transition comes as the hedge fund backed reinsurer announces its fourth-quarter and full-year 2016 results, which saw the company report a net loss of $46.7 million for Q4, but a net income of $27.6 million for the year.
The fourth-quarter of the year saw Third Point Re suffering some losses, with the investment portfolio again not performing but also due to catastrophe events such as hurricane Matthew.
For the full-year the investment return was positive and this helped the company to a positive result for 2016.
“During the fourth quarter, we generated gross premiums written of $80.8 million, bringing our full year gross premiums written to $617.4 million, which represented a decrease of 12.1% compared to the prior full year. In this challenging market, we believe that maintaining underwriting discipline is more important than premium growth. Our combined ratio for the quarter was 105.0%, which was in line with expectations given current market conditions and the lines of business on which we focus,” Berger explained.
“Our investment return for the quarter was (1.7)% and we finished the year with a positive investment return of 4.2%. We are encouraged by a strong start to 2017 and remain confident in Third Point LLC’s ability to generate attractive returns even in volatile markets.”
