Mosaic eyes major expansion in UK and US with raft of senior hires

Global specialty insurer  Mosaic has launched a transactional liability team in the UK and expanded its mergers and acquisition (M&A) unit in the US with a raft of senior hires as it looks to significantly grow its business at a time when the economic conditions are driving heavy deal volume and value.

The company has hired Sam Whiteman (pictured left) and Andrew Gofton-Salmond (pictured right) in London to establish its international transactional liability platform, with plans for further growth in the coming months.

Whiteman joins the company as SVP, head of international transactional liability. Previously head of London and emerging markets at Liberty Mutual, he will manage Mosaic’s transactional liability underwriting outside of North America with initial focus on the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

Gofton-Salmond joins Mosaic as VP, manager, transactional liability. With over a decade of experience advising on and underwriting M&A transactions, he joins from AIG, where he was a senior underwriter with a focus on providing insurance for M&A deals across the UK, Europe and emerging markets.

The UK launch follows a rapid buildout of the business line since the specialty start-up hired William Monat as global head of transactional liability in April, followed by Stavan Desai in May as North American team leader and Katherine Spenner as chief legal officer.

Mosaic began underwriting M&A coverage in July, including representations and warranties insurance (RWI) and other transactional risk products. Since then, its US-based M&A team has expanded to a total of 16 specialists, including JT Hutchens as global head of tax, most based in New York.

“This is an important juncture in Mosaic’s development as we approach the end of our first calendar year,” said co-chief executive officer Mark Wheeler. “Transactional liability is a core focus of our model and growth strategy, and a product line we expect to grow exponentially, in North America and beyond. The fast-paced development of our M&A platform, first in the US and now ramping up in London, serves the rising needs of clients in an unprecedented environment.”

Monat added: “We’re thrilled to welcome Sam and Andrew to join the incredibly talented group of experts we’ve been building over recent months, and the timing couldn’t be better. Economic conditions are driving heavy deal volume and value, and insurance coverage has become vital to help buyers and sellers achieve timely closures. To meet that robust demand with specialized underwriting, we plan to add another dozen specialists by the end of next year.”

Whiteman commented: “I’m delighted to join Mosaic’s team and enter the market at a time where our offering and experience is needed more than ever. “We’re creating a market-leading underwriting team in London and EMEA, with huge opportunity further afield, working with key partners to meet client needs.”

Other recent additions to Mosaic’s M&A team in New York include Hannah Burnham - underwriting complex and multi-faceted transactional liability risks (formerly of Atlantic Global Risk), Edward Newton - underwriting transactional liability risks (formerly vice president at Berkley Transactional), Robert Bowne and Brian Howton - specialists in complex M&A risks, Casey Olden and Shannon Westerlind - underwriting M&A risks, and Matteo Maroun (formerly senior analyst at AIG) - underwrites and develops the unit’s operational infrastructure and team of analysts.  Mosaic’s transactional liability team in New York also include legal analyst Tamar Katamadze and analysts Griffin Genet, Yuqi Lin, Justin Wong, and Vivian Ye.

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