AJ Gallagher

Tom Wakefield will formally become CEO of Gallagher’s reinsurance broking unit on 1 June, reporting to EMEA CEO Simon Matson.

Mega-round funding accounted for the smallest percentage of total funding since Q1 2020, according to Gallagher Re’s latest Global InsurTech Report.

The funding triples Novidea’s value in less than two years and will be used to develop its insurance platform and drive international growth.

Nick Williams-Walker, COO of Gallagher’s Specialty division, will chair the group as it looks to advance the market’s adoption of foundational elements of the Lloyd’s Blueprint Two programme.

The CEO also said Gallagher Re posted a 12% organic revenue growth in Q1 amid the current hardening of the reinsurance market.

Gallagher’s operating earnings per share soared 9.8% to $3.03 – beating analyst consensus of $2.99 earnings per share – in Q1.

The appointment comes as rates continue to decline in the D&O market.

Sources said the executive had a minority ownership interest believed to be around 20%-30% of the operation.

GC’s Steve Housse and AJG’s James Elliott have resigned to join the challenger reinsurance broker.

Takuya Aibe and Tetsuro Nakazawa have joined the broker from Marsh to lead the business, based in Tokyo.

In the first quarter of the year, the total global economic loss for all natural hazards was estimated at $77bn.

The two have been at Gallagher since 2019, when the firm clinched the acquisition of JLT Aerospace.