Pat Ryan Profile


FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES So far, this formula seems to be working well. But as the portfolio grows


and Ryan is less able to remain hands-on with each acquisition, it will probably be tested more and more. It will also be interesting to see how Ryan shapes the business’s newly acquired Lloyd’s operation, with all the possibilities that brings.


In September 2011, RSG became the first broker to be allowed to own a


Lloyd’s underwriter in 30 years when it acquired Jubilee Group Holdings, which operates two active syndicates at Lloyd’s, a managing agency and specialist underwriting services. A ban on brokers owning syndicates imposed in 1982 was lifted in 2008.


Ryan sees this as offering enormous opportunities and growth potential.


He anticipates third party capital providers getting involved in the new platform, RSG combining its expertise with the global reach of Lloyd’s to take advantage of opportunities in many specialty niche areas, in terms of both risk and geography. Ryan also feels some personal pride in the milestone the acquisition represents.


“It certainly feels good to be the first broker in 30 years to be allowed


back in,” he says. “We are very excited by the opportunities offered by the global reach, with its 200 licences and strong financial strength rating. We plan to be a modest risk-bearer ourselves but we plan to grow Jubilee and add third party capital consistent with our strategy.”


The expansion of the rest of the business also grows apace. Most recently,


RSG bought Global Special Risks, a specialty underwriting manager from Willis North America, which specialises in providing solutions for energy, marine and specialty product offerings with the London and North American markets. The deal represents its ninth start-up or acquisition in two years.


“Now is a good time to buy, especially if you are buying quality companies at the right price,” Ryan says. “We think that is what we have done so far. We have managed to find good businesses with owners who want to be part of a larger platform but stay with their business. It was very much a model we used at Aon—many of the people who came on board in that way are still there.”


He characterises the global insurance markets as being in an


unusual place at the moment—despite very big catastrophic losses, there remains a glut of capital in the industry. Companies are torn between attempting to secure better rates while also being forced to put their capital to use by chasing market share.


“The market is somewhat schizophrenic right


now and they are trying to work through this,” he says. “There have been big losses yet the large amount of capital means they are still under-pricing products. But the risks are getting bigger and more complex. You only


have to look at some of the business interruption claims coming out as a result of the Japanese earthquake to see that. The world is interconnected now, with new risks. But for a broker that also means opportunities.”


SO FAR SO GOOD It is so far so good for Ryan as, approaching his mid-70s, he attempts to


build a global insurance broker for the second time. He has experience and expertise on his side and also, it seems, a lot of goodwill from the global industry which is so familiar with his achievements.


He says RSG is ahead of where he expected it to be at this stage when


he did the business plan, yet he has a long way to go before he could count RSG as a second career success. But he is also philosophical. He is doing what he is doing not because he seeks any more plaudits but because he enjoys that day-to-day challenge. In addition, a recent experience in another sector has put the relative success or failure in business into perspective for him.


When the Chicago bid to host the 2016 Olympics was unsuccessful, it


was a rare failure for Ryan, the bid’s chief executive. He says he found the experience frustrating compared with business but it also helped him better understand that business is rarely as black and white, and that success is relative.


“In business, you try and control things as much as you can. With


something like the Olympics bid, there are so many elements you cannot control and that is frustrating. Perhaps you would like to have had the opportunity to do things you could not in a bid like that. But the unique thing with that is that no matter how fantastic the other bids might be, there can only be one winner. In contrast, you can be very successful in business and still not be number one, although there can be many winners in many different ways in business, depending on how you measure success.”


After achieving so much, Ryan has perhaps earned the right to be philosophical about the nature of success. He says his career high is, naturally, his success at building Aon; his low point was the 176 staff Aon lost in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in 2001. “That was certainly a low point and a very difficult year,” he says.


But the bottom line for Ryan is that he gets up in the morning and wants to go to work building an insurance broker. He is well on his way to doing it a second time and it would be a brave man who would bet against him remaining motivated and energised to do just that, right into his 80s.


14 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | Spring 2012


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