Ascot Group hires James Lee as President of Leadline Capital Partners

Ascot Group, the specialist global re/insurance underwriter, has hired former Aspen Capital Markets executive James Lee as President of its dedicated third-party reinsurance capital management division Leadline Capital Partners.

Lee will be based in Ascot’s Stamford, CT office and will report to Marc Amen, CEO, North America in the role.

As President of Leadline Capital Partners, Lee will be tasked with overseeing the strategic direction and market development of its third-party capital strategies, while also leading on Ascot’s insurance-linked securities (ILS) initiatives, global capital raising and investor engagement work.

Leadline Capital Partners was launched by Ascot in 2024.

Lee has over 20 years of experience working in capital markets and ILS, covering the origination, structuring and placement of risk transfer and financing solutions for P&C insurers and reinsurers.

His most recent role was at Aspen and Sompo Capital Markets as EVP and Managing Director, where he worked on many of the innovative ILS initiatives that firm implemented, including its specialism in bringing casualty insurance-linked returns to third-party investors.

In his time at Aspen, the Capital Markets saw significant growth in assets under management and became a key driver of additional fee income for the company, with that unit now falling under Sompo after its acquisition of the company.

Prior to his time at Aspen, Lee spent eight years working at Deutsche Bank Securities in the Insurance Solutions Group.

There he worked across the structuring and execution of catastrophe bond and reinsurance sidecar transactions, as well as providing capital and risk management advice to insurance clients.

Marc Amen commented on the news, “James is a proven leader with deep experience across insurance capital markets and insurance-linked securities. His track record in structuring innovative vehicles and scaling platforms makes him the right person to lead Leadline Capital Partners in its next phase of growth.”