Corvus picks ex-AIG as new CEO; shuffles top ranks to tap growth

Cyber managing general underwriter  Corvus Insurance, a provider of smart commercial insurance products powered by AI-driven risk data, has shuffled its top ranks in a move to accelerate its growth and global expansion, having recently secured multi-year investment from SiriusPoint and R&Q Accredited.

The company has named ex-AIG Madhu Tadikonda (pictured) as its new chief executive officer (CEO) with immediate effect. He will join Corvus' board of directors and will report directly to the board.

The insurtech’s founding CEO Phil Edmundson will assume the new role of executive chair and chair of the board of Corvus. Edmundson will focus his efforts on supporting the growth of the company as it looks to expand its international footprint and double down on its technology and risk capital capabilities.

Since its launch in 2017, Corvus claims to have doubled its premium and revenue each year, more than doubled its headcount since 2020 to 300, and has expanded internationally into both the UK and German markets, with plans for further global expansion in 2023.

Tadikonda, who joined Corvus as president a year ago, has spent the past year collaborating with reinsurers, brokers and policyholders to face and mitigate the rapidly evolving threats and cyber risks to the core digital assets and online operations of today’s businesses. Prior to joining Corvus, he served as global chief underwriting officer at AIG, and earlier led data science efforts for AIG’s commercial insurance. He also co-founded Archipelago, a risk data platform that uses AI to digitize risk for large owners of commercial property.

Corvus recently expanded its strategic partnership with SiriusPoint and R&Q Accredited. The latest multi-year investment from the two companies adds an additional $100 million to the existing programme to allow Corvus to build upon its Smart Cyber Insurance offerings.

“We are entering a new era of Insurtech 2.0, where success is derived from smart risk-taking, combining insurance expertise with advanced data and technology. Corvus, which has scaled rapidly since its founding, is perfectly positioned to accelerate its growth moving forward,” said Tadikonda. “We remain hyper-focused on our most important goal: tackling cyber risk. Our advanced data-driven underwriting and policyholder engagement have generated industry-leading results for our risk capital partners and other stakeholders.”

Edmundson added: “I’m extremely thrilled with Corvus’ achievements and I am excited to continue that growth trajectory. Madhu’s background, with deep experience in both insurance and cutting-edge data science, is a perfect fit for the next phase of Corvus’ scaling. Since Madhu joined Corvus, he has brought an acute eye and passion for demonstrating value for our risk capital partners, brokers and policyholders alike. I’m excited for what’s ahead, and I look forward to continuing to support our company’s next phase and working to bring our Safer World mission to more brokers and policyholders.”

Matt Harris, managing partner of Bain Capital Ventures, and the first investor in Corvus, commented: “I have known Phil and Madhu separately for many years now. Having introduced them five years ago, I could not be more excited at this high level pairing of complementary talents in this incredible market opportunity.”

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