Bermuda reinsurer, Platinum Underwriters Bermuda Ltd, has launched a search among local graduates for an insurance leader of the future.

Platinum is a recent start-up which completed a successful IPO in October 2002 and split off from founders The St. Paul. Respected reinsurance leader, Renaissance Re, is a major investor.

The Bermuda operating company presently has four local employees. Chief operating officer Bart Hedges says that he hopes that number will grow to 20 in the next couple of years.

Mr. Hedges said that while considering how to staff the Bermuda team, he recalled how a former colleague at Scandinavian Re, Steven Young, had been recruited as a recent graduate and trained up. Mr. Young is now an underwriter at Endurance Specialty.

"I realised we should get someone started off at the ground floor and get a 'Steven Young' type person," says Mr. Hedges.

He says he wants to tap into the pool of ambitious, young Bermudians who realise that if they want to stay in Bermuda and be part of the international business scene, insurance is the industry to get into.

And judging from the number of high calibre applicants, a lot young Bermudians do have their sights set on the insurance business.

"We've been impressed by the reaction we've had in the market," says Marcia Pringle, recruitment consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers who are assisting with the search.

PwC have received 40 applications so far and a lot of the applicants have already demonstrated a commitment to the insurance field by studying for insurance qualifications.

Prior experience in insurance is not a prerequisite, however. The most important quality will be the ability to pick things up quickly, absorbing knowledge "like a sponge".

The successful candidate will be rotated throughout the business, gaining exposure to both the underwriting aspects and the financial aspects of the reinsurance business.

"They will be sitting in on meetings with brokers, analysts and chief executive officers of major companies, " adds Mr. Hedges.

"I'm indifferent as to whether the person finishes up as an underwriter, or in an accounting or an actuarial position."

"We want smart, analytical people who like to be in a team. They've also got to be people that you like to be around for 10 -12 hours a day." he laughs.

Alistair S. McNeish, Senior Manager at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, says that the Platinum project is a sign of the maturing of the Bermuda insurance market.

"We're definitely moving towards a milk-round approach." He says, referring to the practice in major centres such as London and New York for investment banks to recruit the cream of recent graduates from top universities.

Gone are the days of glass ceilings when companies sought to "Bermudianise" themselves by filling admin roles. International businesses are now looking to invest in young Bermudians so that they can fill executive roles in the future.

Mr. Hedges says that for the right candidate, the sky's the limit, "Anything they want to be within Platinum, is theirs for the taking." he says.