New specialty MGA lands industry veteran from Sompo for European build out

Industry veteran who headed up European specialty underwriting at  Sompo International has moved to join a newly launched MGA to build out its European business focused on small-to-medium sized M&A deals on the continent.

Nirvana, a media, tech and cyber managing general agent (MGA), that recently launched in London following management buyout from Castel Underwriting Agencies has appointed Thomas Mannsdorfer to its leadership team to build out a European underwriting business.

Mannsdorfer has more than 20 years’ experience as a mergers and acquisitions (M&A) underwriter across European markets. He will lead a pan-European team of underwriters to develop a warranty and indemnity (W&I) portfolio focused on small-to-medium sized deals on the continent – “an under-penetrated” niche of the global W&I market. He will also take responsibility for the European business, an important growth area for Nirvana.

The team will be based in Barcelona, and it will focus on local products in local languages as well as English, and will be built upon relationships with regional and global brokers.

Prior to joining Nirvana, Mannsdorfer, headed up European Specialty underwriting at Sompo International. He also led Sompo’s Barcelona branch and underwriting hub. He previously served as director of M&A insurance and chief underwriting officer, international, with ANV in Barcelona.

Rob Jones, who has 25 years of underwriting expertise in the London and global markets, formed Nirvana Risk Partners in 2017 as a division of the Castel Underwriting Agencies MGA formation platform. In March 2023, he and Kabir Chanrai - an insurance-focussed private equity entrepreneur – purchased Nirvana from Castel in a management buyout and launched the platform.

“Thomas is one of the most experienced M&A underwriters in Europe, and we are delighted that he has joined the founding team at Nirvana,” said founding director Chanrai. “We have ambitious plans to grow our European team, and Thomas’s successful track record of building out teams will play an important role in helping us to achieve this.”

Mannsdorfer said: “Nirvana’s ‘underwriting first’ mindset was a major attraction for me, and I am thrilled to be joining Rob and Kabir to help them grow the European W&I business. With Rob’s deep underwriting experience and Kabir’s financial expertise, Nirvana is well positioned to grow a profitable book of business providing protection for entrepreneurs involved in European M&A deals.”

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