AXIS Re hires Argo’s Katie Partington Howarth as CUO

AXIS Re, the global reinsurance business of specialty re/insurer AXIS Capital, has appointed Katie Partington Howarth, who was formerly at Argo, as the new Chief Underwriting Officer for all of its reinsurance activities.

As Chief Underwriting Officer and Head of the Reinsurance Products Division at AXIS Re, Partington Howarth will have responsibility for the global underwriting approach and portfolio management across all lines of reinsurance business.

She is based in Bermuda, will become a member of the Reinsurance Leadership Team and will report directly to AXIS Re CEO Steve Arora.

“Katie is a highly accomplished and widely respected reinsurance leader. She brings unique versatility – combining technical underwriting skills, analytical and portfolio management acumen, and a commercial perspective,” explained Arora.

“With a proven track record of success in underwriting and managing portfolios across multiple global markets, Katie will play an important role as we continue on our path to be a profitability leader in the reinsurance industry. We are excited by her energy and caliber.”

Partington Howarth brings 20 years of experience in the insurance and reinsurance industry to AXIS.

She was most recently the Group Head of Ceded Reinsurance at Argo, with responsibility for strategy and implementation of reinsurance and retrocessional purchases worldwide.

Before joining Argo, Partington Howarth was Head of Underwriting Risk for Ariel Re, having worked her way up through the company since its formation in 2005.

Before Ariel Re, she worked at reinsurance brokerage Benfield Ltd. as a catastrophe risk analyst and broker, but began her reinsurance career at E.W. Blanch in London.