Bart Hedges leaving Greenlight Re, to step down as CEO & from board

Bart Hedges is leaving hedge fund backed reinsurance firm Greenlight Re, stepping down from his Chief Executive Officer position as of March 31st 2017 and also from his Board position at the reinsurer.

Greenlight Re, which is backed by hedge fund manager David Einhorn and his Greenlight Capital hedge fund, is to replace Hedges with former CEO Leonard Goldberg, who will step in as an interim CEO from the end of March. Goldberg is also on the Greenlight Re Board.

“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Mr. Hedges for his contributions to GLRE over the last 11 years,” explained David Einhorn, Chairman of the Board.  “We would like to thank him for his efforts in implementing GLRE’s strategy and developing a talented, experienced team.  We wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

“I am proud of our accomplishments during my tenure with GLRE’s management team and as a member of the Board.  I wish the Company and my long-time colleagues continued success,” commented Hedges.

Goldberg added; “We are confident that we have a strong platform to continue building upon.  As we actively conduct the search for a new CEO, the team and I will continue our pursuit of a differentiated insurance and investment strategy designed to maximize returns over the long term.”

Greenlight Re said that it will take its time performing a search for a successor, including both internal and external candidates, in order to find a new CEO that is the right fit for the hedge fund strategy reinsurance firm.

Greenlight Re is one of the leading proponents of a strategy that sees a high-profile hedge fund manager teaming with underwriters in order to attempt to outperform on the asset side of the business. Given the volatility experienced by some of these strategies over the last two years it has not been an easy time for hedge fund reinsurers, but still others are seeking to emulate the model through total return vehicles and other strategies that can add return on the asset side to assist in the lower priced reinsurance environment.

Rating agency A.M. Best quickly commented that Greenlight Re and its subsidiaries ratings would be unaffected and would remain stable, after the announcement of the planned transition to a new CEO.

A.M. Best also said that, at the current rating level, it is comfortable with regard to the transitional CEO and management’s ongoing view that the recent novation of construction defect contracts addresses earnings volatility associated with the underwriting side of the Greenlight Re business.

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