Industry veterans to lead new Ariel Re Lloyd’s managing agent

Lloyd’s Council has granted ‘in principle’ approval to Bermuda-based reinsurer  Ariel Re to establish its own Lloyd’s managing agent, which will be led by industry veterans joining the company from Hiscox, Asta Capital, Tysers, Everest and Aviva, among others.

The new company, Ariel Re Managing Agency (ARMA), is expected to manage the business of Syndicate 1910 and SPA 6117 from early 2022 subject to regulatory permissions.

In connection with the establishment of the managing agency, Ariel Re has made the key hires in London. The company said that these additions align with Ariel Re’s vision of being the "premier manager of reinsurance risk".

Anouchka Gokhool will join ARMA as chief financial officer. Most recently, Gokhool was director of Syndicate Finance for Hiscox. Prior to that, she worked at Catlin and Tokio Marine Kiln.

Martin Vincent joins the agency as syndicate controller, having previously worked at Argo Management Services with responsibility for the Ariel Re syndicate 1910 financial returns. Vincent most recently served as head of syndicate reporting for Hiscox, and previously worked for Chubb, Omega and Argo.

Rebecca Knowles joins as chief risk officer of ARMA. Knowles has 15 years’ experience of capital modelling, gained at Catlin and Towers Watson. Most recently, she acted as deputy CRO of Asta Capital.

Jon Poole has been appointed as chief actuary. As an Ariel Re alumnus, Poole brings 19 years of actuarial experience to the role. He has previously worked at Catlin and was the syndicate actuary for Montpelier Re and Ariel Re UK before his most recent role as chief actuary for Blenheim Underwriting Ltd.

Natalie Dick brings 25 years of experience to her role as compliance manager at Ariel Re. She has gained a wealth of experience in compliance for a variety of companies including Amlin, Chubb, Ark, Barbican and Arch Insurance.

The company has also appointed three non-executive directors, including Mark De Saram, Susan Sharrock Yates and Belinda Schofield.

De Saram will be joining in October as chairman of the ARMA board. He served as CEO of Everest Bermuda since 2004 and was part of the Everest senior management team that set up the Everest syndicate. De Saram retired from Everest in 2016 but remained on various company boards until June 2020.

Sharrock Yates will be joining the board as the audit committee chairperson in October 2021. She has held senior corporate treasury positions in a range of companies, including Diageo and Rentokil, and until the end of 2019 was Group Treasurer for Aviva.

Schofield will be joining the board as the risk committee chairperson in October 2021. She is NED, chair of the risk and compliance committee, and member of the audit and treasury committees of Tysers Insurance Brokers. She is also chief executive officer of ALM (the Association of Lloyd’s Members); chair of the Chartered Insurance Institute’s Disciplinary Decision Review Panel; and an external member of Lloyd’s Enforcement Panel. She was previously a NED and member of the risk and audit committee of Ed Broking.

Ryan Mather (pictured), chief executive officer of Ariel Re, said: “We are pleased to announce the establishment of our new Lloyd’s Managing Agent, Ariel Re Managing Agency.  This is an important strategic milestone for Ariel Re and will allow us to achieve operating efficiencies and strengthen relationships with Lloyd’s and the UK Regulators.”

He added: “We are also delighted to welcome such high calibre talent to the ARMA team.  These are all highly experienced executives in the reinsurance industry, and we are excited to see what this team can achieve as they build ARMA into a market-leading Managing Agent in Lloyd’s.”

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