Nascent hires Yulanda Francis, Shehan Ranasinghe as it builds-out senior team

Nascent Group, an insurance management and reinsurance transformer company launched by Andre Perez to reimagine the insurance-linked securities (ILS) servicing space, has made two key hires, bringing former Horseshoe and Artex expertise back together, with Yulanda Francis and Shehan Ranasinghe joining the firm.

Perez was the founder of Horseshoe, the prolific ILS market and reinsurance service provider that was later acquired by Artex.

With Nascent, Perez is seeking to build an insurance management, risk transformation and ILS servicing business with a technology-first strategy and a new way of thinking about the offering, but that still requires deep expertise in how the business has always been done.

Enter two new hires, well-known risk transformation specialist, collateralized reinsurance expert and former President of the Horseshoe Re transformer vehicle Yulanda Francis from Bermuda, and Shehan Ranasinghe from Sri Lanka, a key leader in the back-office services and accounting offering of Horseshoe and Artex.

The company said the two hires “underscore Nascent’s commitment to bolstering its servicing capabilities.”

Yulanda Francis has joined Nascent Group as Executive Vice President.

Francis will oversee all insurance management and risk transformation activities at Nascent and will also serve on the Nascent Group Board alongside Andre Perez, Alison Morrison, and Nigel Godfrey.

She was previously the President of one of the most widely used risk transformers in the ILS market, the Horseshoe Re structure and held the role of EVP, Transforming and Client Partner Lead at Artex Capital Solutions.

Francis was a long-standing Horseshoe employee before the sale of the company to Artex and led risk transformation activities at Horseshoe Re for years, so has been intrinsically involved in servicing collateralized reinsurance arrangements for the ILS market for well over a decade.

She has a wealth of experience in streamlining reinsurance transformation services, as well as several years of experience more broadly across insurance management, especially for ILS managers, plus a deep understanding of the captive insurance market.

“I am delighted to join Nascent and have the opportunity to work with former colleagues along with new ones, in a dynamic and innovative environment!” Francis said. “I am thoroughly impressed by the technology platform Nascent has developed which sets it clearly apart from its peers.”

Shehan Ranasinghe, who is based in Sri Lanka, takes on the role of Senior Vice President at Nascent Group.

He first joined Horseshoe back in 2011 and worked on accounting for transformer Horseshoe Re, becoming the Head of Accounting at the company prior to its sale to Artex.

His tenure at Artex includes roles as Managing Director – Shared Services, Vice President and Head of Insurance Accounting.

Ranasinghe will lead Nascent’s oversight and management of collateralized reinsurance transactions for Nascent Re and managed reinsurance transformer vehicles.

Before Horseshoe/Artex, Ranasinghe also worked in the insurance division of WNS, a global outsourcing service provider where he was responsible for the general ledger management of Aviva Insurance UK.

Commenting on the new senior hires, Andre Perez said, ““We are beyond excited to welcome Yulanda and Shehan to the Nascent family.

“Their expertise and impeccable market reputations will be instrumental in advancing our mission to lead with technology to better service the ILS, reinsurance, and captive service sectors.”

The company said the additions are “not just a professional reunion but a strategic move to fortify Nascent’s innovative approach.”

They also join with other former colleagues at Nascent, including Warren DeKlerk, head of cat bond administration, and Phil Jones, head of collateral management and banking.

After announcing its launch in April 2023, Nascent agreed its first acquisition with Bermuda Compliance Consultants Ltd. in September.

More recently, Nascent Group launched a new collateral monitoring feature to facilitate “smoother and more transparent ILS transactions” to the benefit of fund managers and investors in the space.