Kathleen Faries is the new chairwoman of ILS Bermuda, having filled the deputy role since 2015.

She succeeds Greg Wojciechowski, who served as chairman during the past four years. The new deputy chairman is Tim Tetlow.

Ms Faries and Mr Tetlow will work closely on the launch of the seventh Bermuda Convergence event, scheduled to be held at the Hamilton Princess and Beach Club in October.

“It has been a privilege to contribute to the success of ILS Bermuda and our annual ILS Convergence event since our inception in 2013,” said Ms Faries, who is head of the Bermuda branch of Tokio Millenium Re.

“Over these past seven years, we have witnessed the impactful growth of this ‘alternative’ now referred to as ‘partner’ capital coming into the reinsurance market. With the market now at $90 billion, these capital providers have continued to increase and broaden their knowledge of the market and we like to think that our ILS Convergence event, and certainly Bermuda as a world-class reinsurance and ILS jurisdiction, has facilitated this growth and sophistication.”

She thanked Mr Wojciechowski for his commitment and leadership of the organisation, and said she looked forward to continuing to work with him as part of the leadership team.

Meanwhile, Mr Tetlow said: “Having directly participated in the expansion of ILS outside of property catastrophe, it is a delight to serve as deputy chair of ILS Bermuda as ILS shifts to ‘partner’ capital from an alternative.”

Mr Wojciechowski, chief executive officer of the Bermuda Stock Exchange, will remain an active member of the ILS Bermuda committee. He said: “It is an honour and privilege to have worked with the talented members of the ILS Bermuda committee over the years and I look forward to continuing our commitment to provide a solid commercial platform supported by world-class infrastructure and a well-respected regulatory framework, which contributes directly to Bermuda’s position as a centre of excellence for the creation, support and listing of ILS vehicles”.

The Bermuda Stock Exchange accounted for about 80 per cent of the global market capitalisation of ILS at the end of 2018 with approximately $30 billion of outstanding volume.

At the end of 2018, Bermuda had 28 new Special Purpose Insurers registered in Bermuda, an increase of over 14 per cent on the 2017 total.