Bermudian-based re/insurer Ascot has appointed Matthew Lillegard as group chief actuary.

The company said Mr Lillegard will be responsible for leading the overall Ascot Group actuarial functions and will work in close collaboration with colleagues across Ascot’s underwriting, risk, ERM, IT, and data strategy teams “to create a comprehensive framework for analytical excellence”.

In the newly created position, he will report directly to Jonathan Zaffino, group president and will be based in New York.

Mr Lillegard joins Ascot from CNA Insurance where over 20 years the company said he held a number of growing leadership responsibilities including senior vice president, P&C reserving and then senior vice president, specialty pricing, responsible for all their specialty lines pricing activities.

He is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society and member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Mr Zaffino said: “We are thrilled to welcome someone of Matthew’s calibre to the Ascot Group. Under his leadership, we are confident we will continue to advance our robust actuarial functions across the entirety of our various re/insurance businesses.”

He added: “Matthew is an experienced risk professional with first-hand knowledge of the intricate nature of actuarial work in a diverse specialty re/insurance business at both the pricing and reserving levels.

“Matthew’s leading skills, coupled with his creative, tech-centric view of this critical function will be greeted warmly by Ascot colleagues across the globe as we continue on the journey to build the modern era re/insurance company.”

Mr Lillegard said: “There’s an inspiring energy around Ascot and its current growth development, with tremendous activity around new products, infrastructure enhancements and leading industry talent joining the company.

“I look forward to working closely with Jon and the many other talented Ascot colleagues across our ecosystem as we dynamically respond to market opportunities and deliver consistent long-term risk adjusted returns with a single, unified, One Ascot mantra at the heart of our actuarial and reserving strategy.”