Catalina reveals major restructuring, C-suite changes following review

Bermuda-based legacy specialist  Catalina Holdings has overhauled its operating model with a host of leadership changes following an “in-depth review of its operations, capabilities and market position” after the  departure of its founding CEO Chris Fagan earlier this year.

Under the leadership of Bruce Hemphill (pictured), who was appointed CEO of Catalina in February 2021 after serving as chair of the Catalina board, the company has made several changes to its operating model. The changes were designed to clarify accountability and bring greater focus to critical aspects of the company’s business.

As part of the restructuring, the group has separated underwriting, origination, reserving and liability management responsibilities, and created two new roles of group chief underwriting office (CUO) and group chief commercial office (CCO).

Dean Dwonczyk, co-founder of Catalina, has been appointed to the role of CUO, focussing on the assessment of liability portfolios as part of the origination process in close cooperation with Catalina’s head of M&A, Mayur Patel. Dwonczyk will also take responsibility for the group’s underwriting framework and the strategic aspects of liability selection and portfolio construction.

Steve Ryland, former UK CEO, has been promoted to take on the new role of Group CCO. Ryland will lead the operational aspects of liability management working closely with Dwonczyk and Patel on transactions. He will also lead the operational management of the subsidiaries.

Ryland has over 30 years of insurance and reinsurance experience, joining Catalina in January 2020 from Armour where he was a member of the Executive Management Committee and instrumental in the development of Armour’s business from inception. He has a proven track record of business origination, and significant operational and management experience.

Catalina’s actuarial function has been strengthened with the internal promotion of John McGlynn as group chief actuary, subject to BMA and immigration approval. McGlynn previously held the role of chief risk officer for Catalina General in Bermuda since August 2020. McGlynn will be instrumental in advancing Catalina’s efforts to build a “highly effective and business-orientated” actuarial function, which will help position Catalina for sustained growth.

Additionally, in order to build out its data and analytics capabilities, the company has appointed Tim Brown as the new group head of technology. Brown will be responsible for establishing and maintaining IT infrastructure, and supporting the operations and growth of the business. He has more than 30 years of information technology experience and related services experience in IT executive roles in the insurance and wealth management market. Prior to joining Catalina, Brown was managing director of an in-house technology provider for a wealth management company, while simultaneously holding the technical migration director role leading the technical migration of the company platform.

Furthermore, following Ryland’s promotion, Graeme McAndrew will assume the role of UK CEO. McAndrew previously held the role of chief financial officer for the UK since May 2017. McAndrew will oversee Catalina’s UK operations, helping to drive all aspects of its strategy, and identifying potential transactions which leverage Catalina’s global platform. McAndrew is an experienced senior financial manager with over 30 years of insurance and reinsurance market experience.

Catalina has strengthened its UK subsidiary with the appointment of Guy Lether as UK claims director, replacing Steve Richardson who retired in August 2021. The appointment of Lether, as well as several structural changes will see the group claims expertise pooled to ensure more collaboration across multi lines and several jurisdictions. The company said these changes are intended to drive better claims outcomes, in particular with respect to the resolution of complex claims. Lether joins from Starstone where he was head of claims, and brings significant claims expertise across multi lines, including Lloyd’s specialty lines.

Lastly, Tom Alcock has been appointed as head of property claims, complex claims in the UK and joins from Armour Risk Management where he most recently held the role of head of legal, compliance and regulatory and was a director of the board. Alcock has significant multi class claims experience and expertise in acquisitions and sales of legacy entities. He will focus on UK property claims and coordination of claims due diligence, strengthening Catalina’s process and claims management.

Hemphill, Catalina's group CEO, said: “The board and I are pleased to have completed this initial set of restructuring steps. We have a highly experienced team in place which is operating as a cohesive unit, and are intensely focussed on delivering future run-off transactions and driving positive outcomes for our clients and shareholders.”

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