An insurance linked securities investment firm has promoted accountant Jo Anne Stanton to senior vice-president and chief financial officer.

AlphaCat Managers, part of the Validus group of companies, announced the new appointment yesterday.

CEO Lixin Zeng said: “Jo has been an asset to AlphaCat since its inception and has been instrumental in the business’s growth and success.

“I am pleased that she has accepted this leadership position and I am confident that we will continue to benefit from her expertise as she oversees the financial reporting and operations of AlphaCat.”

Ms Stanton, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales, joined the firm in 2009, a year after it was founded.

She previously held senior accounting and financial controller posts at a variety of firms, including major reinsurers and fund administrators and was a manager with professional services firm PwC.

AlphaCat focuses on investment advice in the property catastrophe reinsurance sector and manages assets through a variety of methods, including funds, sidecars and rated reinsurers.