“As a keen and successful sailor, having competed at Olympic standard, I suppose this passion could have led me towards sailing as a full-time profession.”


When I arrived home from my travels I was contacted by a Name: Peta White


Company: Markel Re Job:


Managing director, head of North America property reinsurance


Timeline: 2015—Co-head of global reinsurance operations, Markel 2013—Managing director, head of North America property reinsurance, Markel Re 2012—Managing Director, head of international property cat, Alterra Bermuda 2006—SVP, international property cat, Max Re/Alterra Bermuda 1998—Vice president, underwriter, international department, ACE Tempest Re


In April 2015, Peta White became co-head of global reinsurance operations and will work alongside Andrew Barnard. Following the merger of Markel and Alterra in 2013, White became managing director, head of US property catastrophe reinsurance at Markel Global Reinsurance. Previously, she served as managing director, head of international property catastrophe reinsurance for Alterra Bermuda, having joined the company in 2006. From 1998 to 2005, White was with ACE Tempest Re, where she


served as vice president, underwriter, international department. She received her BSc in Mechanical Engineering in 1993 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA, US. White is an Olympic sailor, having represented Bermuda in the Yngling Class at the 2004 Olympic Games.


Why did you choose to work in this industry initially? As many people in the industry will no doubt also say, a career in reinsurance is something that I fell into. This said, it’s still quite an interesting story of how it all came together and a matter of timing. I graduated from MIT in 1993 and set off on a post-study trip


around the world, and at the same time the impact of Hurricane Andrew was taking its toll and Bermuda was seeing an influx of reinsurance companies.


www.intelligentinsurer.com


reinsurer, CAT Limited, who was looking specifically for MIT Bermudian alumni to join the company. At the time I had very little understanding of reinsurance and my original plan had been to move to Europe and pursue a career with my mechanical engineering degree. I was, however, convinced to give it a go in the CAT modelling team, if just for the summer, and the rest is history. My brother and sister, who were also MIT graduates, were also taken on by the reinsurer CAT Limited, which was then acquired to become ACE Tempest, so the three of us worked together there for a while.


What has been the highlight of your career so far? My biggest achievement and highlight of my career to date happened in April this year, when I was made co-head of global reinsurance operations for the Bermuda office, alongside Andrew Barnard. It’s going to be a challenging and demanding role but I’m excited about leading a great team of people as we continue to compete as a key player in today’s global reinsurance market.


What has been the biggest challenge you have


encountered? When Markel acquired Alterra in 2013 and a colleague of mine left the company to pursue another job opportunity, I was given the opportunity by Jed Rhoads, president and CUO of Markel Global Reinsurance, to take on the role of head of US property catastrophe reinsurance. I knew this would be a challenge and that I would have to very quickly get to grips with the US book, as I had previously been the head of the international property cat book. Although it was a tough first year, getting myself to the point


at which I was adding value to the team, it was an amazing opportunity and certainly a defining moment in my career.


If you had chosen a different profession/career path, what would it have been? As a keen and successful sailor, having competed at Olympic standard, I suppose this passion could have led me towards sailing as a full-time profession. Or perhaps I could have chosen a path more closely linked to my mechanical engineering degree. But in all honesty, even if it happened through good timing and chance, from the point my career in reinsurance began, I’ve never looked back.


2015 | INTELLIGENT INSURER | 105


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