Former US Army soldier Brian Duperreault is back in the trenches after retiring — twice.

Mr Duperreault is CEO of new reinsurer Hamilton Re, after he and a group of investors, including New York hedge fund firm Two Sigma, bought out the former SAC Re.

He took over the reins at the Hamilton-based firm after retiring as CEO of Marsh and McLennan at the end of 2012.

But Mr Duperreault — an insurance giant on the Island for 20 years — said his last retirement did not last long because he was drafted in to head up the SAGE Commission on Government spending.

Mr Duperreault added: “It wasn’t much of a break. And I was open to ideas — I had basically pushed aside any thoughts of doing anything until SAGE was far along.”

He added: “I felt I had a little more gas in the tank. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do and the opportunity came to me. It was a very interesting opportunity — that’s why I did it.

“Sometime last summer, when I started to see the end of the SAGE work, I was talking about getting back into the business. I got introduced to the Two Sigma people and I was impressed — they wanted to get into the business and they had the same ideas as me.”

And — although he declined to be specific about plans for Hamilton Re — he signalled that the firm would look to expand in the future.

Mr Duperreault said: “Companies want to grow — you have to consider acquisitions as a way of growing. It’s kind of natural, particularly when you’re smaller, like we are.

“It’s quite compelling to try and put another organisation together and get the critical mass. Whether we do that or not remains to be seen — but we have to consider that.”

Bermuda-born Mr Duperreault, 66, who was brought up in the US and graduated with a maths degree, served in the US Army in the 1970s as a conscript and later re-enlisted before joining the insurance industry.

The married father-of-three, who lives in Paget, returned to the Island around 20 years ago to become CEO of Ace, where he spent 14 years, also becoming executive chairman and a director.

He said: “I retired twice — not because I didn’t want to work. It just seemed the right time to leave the situation I was in. I had the right people, the companies were in good shape, there was good succession. It was time for someone else to take things to the next level.”

Mr Duperreault added that when he used to visit university recruitment fairs to look for new talent “students’ eyes rolled back” when he mentioned the insurance industry.

But he said: “When I explained we’re really sort of like professional gamblers, they sat up straight and listened. We take risks every day — you assess the rewards and whether the potential rewards are worth the odds. It’s tough sometimes, because you don’t know the odds.”

And he added — although the Island is still suffering from an economic hangover following the global recession — he had no qualms about getting back into business.

Mr Duperreault said: “Bermuda is certainly in recession and the insurance business is always competitive. But I think if you wait for good times, you may never get started. By the time they do come, they go as quickly and you’ve missed the opportunity.”

And he added: “I want to develop a company that has balance and provides a product and service — that’s what the world needs.

“We will be working on this — whether we do it or not is another story, but that’s the idea.”

He said: “Everything you do in life is a associated with some kind of risk — you’re always making a decision. The insurance business, in essence, is always taking calculated risks.”

Mr Duperreault added: “As a business person, you have to plan. It’s important to have ideas about what you want to do, how you’re going to do it and who you’re going to do it with, but you better be open to opportunities that come across your desk.

“If these opportunities fit, then that planful approach really helps you to grasp the opportunity.”

Mr Duperreault said that, although technology and the growth of global business had changed the landscape of the industry, some things had never changed.

He said: “It’s still a business of people and still a business where there is great competition and cycles. Despite all the science and technology, we still have cycles. That hasn’t changed.

“And with all that information and technology, we’re still trying to figure out what’s going to happen tomorrow and that’s not that easy.”