Rising stars
“In a largely relationship-driven industry, it’s imperative for young professionals to understand the value of earning the trust of clients and colleagues.”
Name:
Beckett Hollenbach
Company: JLT Re Job:
Partner North American Reinsurance, A&H & Caribbean
Timeline: 2014: Partner, North American R/I, A&H & Caribbean, JLT Re
2008: Assistant director, North American reinsurance treaty broker, Towers Watson
2005: Broker, North America reinsurance treaty, Towers Perrin
2003: Graduate trainee, Towers Perrin
Describe your career so far and current role. I started at Towers Perrin in December 2003 on the graduate trainee programme and joined the North American reinsurance treaty broking team in 2005. Towers Perrin merged with Watson Wyatt in 2008 to create Towers Watson. Finally in 2014 towers Watson sold off their reinsurance broking arm to JLT thus creating JLT Re. My primary lines of business are North American reinsurance
treaty risks with particular focus on medical malpractice along with all other casualty lines (AL/GL/WC). Additionally, I work on property per risk and catastrophe treaties along with a few binding authorities.
Why did you choose the re/insurance industry? I moved to the UK from the US 13 years ago to pursue a career as a professional football player but unfortunately fell into the world of semi-professional football which required a full-time job to make ends meet. I had a degree in finance from the University of Maryland so I had a desire to work in the City of London. My uncle, Mike Hollenbach, worked as a reinsurance broker
for Towers Perrin in Philadelphia and in 2002 they purchased the independent Lloyd’s broker, Denis M Clayton. Mike had contacts at DMC and offered to put me in touch with the then chairman, John Goldsmith. So essentially, as most in the world of reinsurance, I fell into the industry through a combination of circumstance and personal connections.
Do you think the industry is attractive to young
professionals? Yes, it’s a very attractive industry for aspirational graduates. Most of the underwriting and broking firms provide graduate training programmes which provide a six-month to two-year training scheme to provide a comprehensive base of knowledge for reinsurance to set you up for the future in the industry. Although the reinsurance industry is generally not as lucrative as the banking sector of the City, a young professional can carve out a very rewarding career that provides more of a work/life balance.
Do you think the re/insurance industry offers good opportunities and career development to young professionals? Of course. The industry rewards young professionals who are patient in learning from their senior colleagues and gradually developing relationships with clients over a number of years. In a largely relationship-driven industry, it’s imperative for young professionals to understand the value of earning the trust of clients and colleagues. Ultimately these young professionals will be rewarded financially and achieve greater responsibility.
What are your aspirations for the future? A large part of my development has focused around earning the trust of my clients and underwriters and making myself indispensable in the placing of a risk. Now that I’m established in that respect, the focus is on business production and becoming an expert in the lines of business I work in.
If you had chosen a different profession/career path, what would it have been? A footballer if I’d been a little bit taller or a little bit faster!
May 2015 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | 29
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