Reask seeks to tap ‘accelerated growth’ path with ex-Willis Re as CEO

Reask, an insurtech company focussed on natural hazard modelling, has hired a re/insurance and capital markets specialist, formerly of  Twelve Capital,  Willis Re, Tokio Millennium Re, and  RMS, as its new chief executive officer (CEO) to drive its accelerated growth strategy.

Jamie Rodney (pictured) will take over the CEO role from Thomas Loridan, who will move to the position of chief scientist and designated executive chairman.

Rodney most recently worked at Twelve Capital, a Swiss independent insurance investment business and one of Reask’s early partners, where he was responsible for product development and portfolio management of the firm’s mixed Private ILS and cat bond investment strategy, as well as leading the analytics and thought-leadership of all ILS-related investments. In addition, he was ILS Investment Committee Chair and sat on the Investment Oversight and Valuation committees.

Prior to that, Rodney held roles at Willis Re, Tokio Millennium Re, and RMS, where he started his career as a catastrophe model developer with responsibility for building hazard models for tropical cyclone risk, including modelling high-resolution storm surge inundation and tropical cyclone induced rainfall.

Reask hopes the leadership changes will help strengthen the company’s scientific focus and strategic oversight to support future growth. It offers real-time, post event, and longer-term probabilistic risk forecasting solutions for global weather-related catastrophes, using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The company gained significant funding from Tencent, a global technology giant headquartered in China, to support this strategic growth and build on its broad portfolio of clients, including Swiss Re, Axa, and Descartes, among others.

Loridan said: “We have known and worked with Jamie for over a decade now, and no one is better placed to understand both the technical and cultural pillars on which Reask was built. He will lead Reask into a new chapter of growth, focused on maximising the market fit of our offering. With Jamie on board, we will equip our industry with the tools it needs to better quantify risk in a changing climate.”

Rodney commented: “ Reask's award-winning approach is leading the way in providing new technologies that quantity risk from the increasing complexity of natural hazards. I have first-hand experience of how Reask provides solutions to the industry’s most challenging climate-related questions, and I am excited to be part of such an innovative, driven, and inspiring team.”

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