Partner Re moved into its next decade with a bang - well actually, it was with a healthy splattering of paint.

A gala celebration was staged in the new headquarters of art foundation Masterworks (the old Arrowroot factory) at the Botanical Gardens last week-end, as a way of thanking those who had been there along the way.

CEO of the now global reinsurer Patrick Thiele told guests last Saturday night "you are all here tonight because each one of you has played some part in our success and we would like to thank you."

Wanting to razzle dazzle its guests, the company that expects to write $3.6 billion in business this year alone, brought French performance artist Jean-Francois to the Island.

The artist, who now resides in Las Vegas, turned blank black canvases - and in rapid time - into colourful and abstract, yet recognisable images.

First there was Bob Marley, then the Mona Lisa and finally, Jean-Francois painted a sailboat reminiscent of the one that first brought him across the Atlantic to America 20 years ago (with a pit stop in Bermuda).

To commemorate the anniversary, Mr. Thiele told guests - including many of his peers from Bermuda's insurance and reinsurance industry as well as dignitaries including Governor and Lady Vereker and Community Affairs Minister Dale Butler - it would donate the money for the creation of an economic garden at the Botanical Gardens.

Mr. Thiele said: "We felt it was appropriate - as part of the Island's modern-day commerce - that we assist in the recognition of the Island's historic commerce and will donate the funds for the restorations of the Economic Garden." Mr. Thiele did not say how much the company was donating.

The Garden will be planted with commerce crops from Bermuda's past.

Ten years on, PartnerRe has much to be proud of.

The company today could be said to bear little resemblance to the company it started out as.

From its small beginnings as a Bermuda-based reinsurer set up with only three staff to take advantage of a void in capacity after Hurricane Andrew, the company has grown into a global multi-line reinsurance powerhouse.

Breaking down PartnerRe's decade of growth in the simplest of terms CEO Patrick Thiele said since 1993 the company had grown from three to 850 employees and from no business to estimated business this year of $3.6 billion in gross premiums written.

All of this was something Mr. Thiele said was something we think "worth celebrating".

Of a total of eight reinsurers to set up in Bermuda after Hurricane Andrew, PartnerRe was the first to jump on the IPO bandwagon with its listing on the Nasdaq mere months after it first opened its doors.

The company, which later moved its public listing to the New York Stock Exchange, managed to go public before it really wrote any business but did have noted Swiss Re recruit, Herbert Haag, at its helm and the backing of several key investors.

Mr. Thiele, who assumed leadership of Partner Re in 2000, said regretfully Mr. Haag had not been able to join them for the celebration.