Capsicum Re unveils ExCo leadership to drive next phase of growth

Reinsurance broker Capsicum Re, a unit of Arthur J. Gallagher  & Co., has announced a new Executive Committee (ExCo) leadership as the company seeks to deliver on further growth.

Among those added to the new Capsicum Re ExCo are Managing Partners and divisional heads, including well-known property reinsurance and retrocession broker with insurance-linked securities (ILS) market expertise Matt FitzGerald, as well as Marine & Energy broking specialist Alastair Lockhart-Smith.

Raja Balasuriya, a co-founder of Capsicum Re and its first ever Managing Partner from 2014 has been named as Chairman, succeeding fellow Capsicum Re founder Grahame Chilton in the role.

Chilton has moved on to a role in the wider Gallagher business, working alongside Tom Gallagher, CEO of Gallagher’s global property & casualty broking business, as chairman since the acquisition of 100% of Capsicum Re by the firm earlier this year.

The full membership of Capsicum Re’s new ExCo consists of:

• Rupert Swallow (CEO);
• Raja Balasuriya (chairman);
• Matt FitzGerald (managing partner, Property & Specialty);
• Alistair Lockhart-Smith (managing partner, Marine & Energy);
• Abbhi Bala, (finance director);
• Simon Behagg (chief operating officer).

CEO Swallow commented “By anyone’s estimation, Raja is one of the top reinsurance market producers. Together with his team and clients, he represents a significant share of the total book of motor reinsurance purchased here in the UK. More than that, Raja has always shared our vision and belief in being able to build – from the ground up – a fresh, new, entrepreneurial reinsurance broker with transactional expertise, innovation and client advocacy at its core.

“We’re absolutely delighted to have him as our chairman as we embark on the next major development phase for the business. His knowledge, insight and pioneering qualities will be incredibly valuable as we look to realise our strategic growth ambitions internationally. And, as the specialist reinsurance arm of one of the world’s largest insurance brokers, those ambitions are big, bold and almost boundless.”

On the membership of the new Capsicum Re ExCo, Swallow added, “Alistair and Matt have, along with Raja, developed portfolios of substance in an incredibly short period of time. The challenge of succeeding in this way can be understood only by those who have put themselves to the ultimate test of production – creating a start-up and building from the ground up. Along with all the other Managing Partners of Capsicum Re, Alistair and Matt have excelled in meeting this challenge.

“The scale of our ambition and untapped nature of many of the opportunities that lie ahead demand a close-knit but diverse core leadership team. Combining our top financial and operational talent in Abbhi and Simon with the client-centred, risk transfer expertise and leadership experience of Alistair and Matt, as two of our divisional heads, will give us a razor-sharp focus on realising this business’ potential.”