Swiss Re appoints ReAssure CEO pre-IPO

Swiss Re has appointed Mark Hodges as new CEO of ReAssure as part of the preparation towards a potential initial public offering (IPO) of the business.

Hodges is currently CEO of Centrica Consumer division and will take up the new role from March 1, 2019.

Swiss Re announced in August 2018 that it is exploring a potential initial public offering (IPO) of its UK closed life book business ReAssure in 2019.

In October 2017 Swiss Re had reached an agreement with Japanese insurance group MS&AD for an investment into ReAssure of up to £800 million.

Given the size of potential opportunities that are expected to arise in the market in the mid-term, it is important for ReAssure to have access to substantial new capital to acquire additional closed books, according to a corporate statement.

The new CEO will steer the ReAssure business through the anticipated IPO in 2019 and will lead its next phase of expansion as an independent listed closed book consolidator, the company said.

At Centrica, Hodges drove significant changes focused on improving service to customers and reducing cost. Prior to joining Centrica, Hodges was the Group CEO at specialist insurance broker Towergate Partnership.

Swiss Re Life Capital CEO Thierry Léger, said: "We are very pleased to have Mark Hodges as the new CEO for ReAssure. He combines strong leadership skills with deep industry knowledge. I am confident that he is the right person to lead ReAssure through the next stage of its development into an even more successful future."

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