Chip Gillis, one of the founders and chief executive officer of Bermudian-based Athene Life Re Ltd, is to give the closing keynote address at the seventh annual ILS Bermuda Convergence 2019 conference.

Presented by ILS Bermuda, the conference takes place from October 9 to 11 at Hamilton Princess & Beach Club.

Bermuda Convergence presents networking and education sessions for the alternative reinsurance, convergence and insurance-linked securities marketplace. Bermuda is the world’s market-leading jurisdiction in that space, boasting some 84 per cent of global ILS market share.

Mr Gillis is to speak on market growth in the United States and United Kingdom, and will also provide his views regarding opportunities for innovation within the market.

He was a founding board member of the Bermuda International Long Term Insurers and Reinsurers and is a board member of the Association of Bermuda International Companies. Prior to Athene, Mr Gillis was a senior managing director of Bear Stearns Companies Inc, and head of the Bear Stearns insurance solutions group that provided advice and solutions to life and annuity companies.

The conference proper begins on October 10, with three sessions confirmed.

Speaking on the topic of “Climate: Perspectives from Science” will be Kishor Mehta, director of the WHIP Center at Texas Tech University; Gabriel Vecchi, a professor at Princeton University; Timothy Hall, a senior research scientist at Goddard Institute for Space Studies at Nasa; and James Kossin, an atmospheric research scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Lined up to speak at the “Investing in ILS” session are Michael Hamer, partner and senior analyst at Albourne Partners; Thomas Deinet, executive director of the Standards Board for Alternative Investments; Matt Ball, senior director, ILS consulting practice, Willis Towers Watson; and Nathalie Rushe, principal, Rushe Capital Advisors.

Speaking on the subject “State of the Market” will be Andre Perez, founder and chief executive officer of Horseshoe Group; Peter DiFiore, managing director of Neuberger Burman; and Nina Peiseler, senior underwriter at Hanover Re.

On October 11, Maryam Abdullah and Des Potter will be among the speakers for the session “Emerging Opportunities”. Ms Abdullah is financial markets consultant, outbreaks and epidemics insurance programme, at Africa Risk Capacity, while Mr Potter is managing director of GC Securities.

Kevin O’Donnell, president and CEO of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd, is also scheduled to speak at the conference.

• Registration for the conference is open now at www.ilsbermuda.com