Everest Re’s John Doucette departs, Williamson to head reinsurance

Global insurance and reinsurance firm Everest Re announced yesterday evening that long-standing underwriting and reinsurance leader John Doucette is to depart the company, with COO Jim Williamson now set to assume his responsibilities as Head of Reinsurance.

Doucette is leaving Everest Re to pursue other opportunities outside the company, with the change effective immediately.

John Doucette joined Everest Re in 2008 and worked his way up through reinsurance roles, to become Chief Underwriting Officer in 2012 and then President and CEO of Reinsurance in 2016.

Prior to joining Everest, Doucette had spent eight years working at Max Re in Bermuda and three years at Swiss Re, but began his career as an actuary at Tillinghast.

Since its launch, Doucette has also held a board seat at Everest Re’s fully collateralized reinsurance company, Mt. Logan Re.

It’s expected that news will emerge in the coming days on Doucette’s destination, if he is to stay within the industry.

Jim Williamson is an Executive Vice President and the current Chief Operating Officer of Everest Re.

He joined Everest Re in that role in October 2020, coming from his previous employer the global insurer Chubb.

His seven years at Chubb led to Williamson becoming a divisional president for US small business insurance.

Before that he worked at rival insurer The Hartford for eight years, reaching the position of VP for small commercial insurance underwriting and operations.

Juan C. Andrade, Everest President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “I am excited to have Jim take on the leadership of Everest Reinsurance. He is an experienced and talented executive with a wealth of industry knowledge, and a track record of driving results. This change will enable us to enhance our already strong underwriting and operational discipline.

“On behalf of the executive management team, I want to thank John for his dedication and many contributions to the organization. Under his leadership, Everest has strengthened its position as a resilient and innovative reinsurer. I wish him well in his future endeavors.”

Williamson added, “Everest’s Reinsurance business is world class, and I am energized by the opportunity to lead such an accomplished team. We have exceptional talent around the world, deep partnerships with our brokers and cedants, and the financial resources to continue to execute our global growth strategy.”