Q-Re hires talent to match its global ambitions

Q-Re, a subsidiary of Qatar Insurance Company (QIC), has hired eight experienced reinsurance professionals who, the company says, will spearhead its global expansion plans going forward.

Q-Re, which is regulated by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority and rated ‘A’ by Standard & Poor’s, was formed in 2009 to handle some of the reinsurance business that QIC was already writing, while also looking to grow the business in terms of both products and markets covered.

It had previously recruited half a dozen experienced underwriters but this latest recruitment drive signals the start of a serious move to globalise the business and target new markets. Specifically, it has expressed interest in writing business in North America and Asia.

“As far as our strategic objectives are concerned Q-Re aims to develop into a global franchise with the Americas and Asia-Pacific accounting for about two thirds of the targeted medium-term portfolio split. So, it is neither a Middle Eastern player nor a venture with a purely (Continental) European brief,” a spokesman for Q-Re said.

The eight new recruits, who are expected to be on board by March 2013, include a number of senior executives from Novae Re, including its co-founders Gunther Saacke, the reinsurer’s first CEO, and Willi Schuerch.

The other executives starting comprise: Alain Chiolero, formerly of Swiss Re, PartnerRe and Converium; Manfred Dennler, formerly of Helvetia Insurance Company and Novae Re; Peter Frei, formerly of Winterthur Re and PartnerRe and PERILS AG; Johannes Goebel, formerly of Allianz Global Risks and Novae Re; Stefano Lorenzini, formerly of Swiss Re; and Karl J. Schneider, whose career includes a long stint at Munich Re.