Guy Carpenter alleges poaching scheme began in Bermuda
An amended complaint filed in the British High Court and published by OffshoreAlert claims that Willis Re’s global reinsurance relaunch this year relied on a co-ordinated recruitment push that began in Bermuda, leading to the same-day resignation of five senior Guy Carpenter Bermuda staff.
The filing lists Guy Carpenter Bermuda Ltd as a claimant and Willis Re (Bermuda) Ltd as a defendant alongside four Willis Towers Watson legal entities and three executives.
Last week, Guy Carpenter said it reached a settlement in its case against the two WTW British entities, Willis Ltd and Willis Group Ltd, but would continue the case against the other defendants, including Willis Re.
According to the complaint, Willis executives chose to start the recruitment effort in Bermuda before moving to London and then the United States, citing different notice-period rules and the belief that Bermuda would be a quieter place to begin without drawing attention.
On June 10, five Bermudian-based Guy Carpenter employees — including John Fletcher, the chief executive — resigned at the same time to join Willis Re. The move followed a wave of London resignations the day before. Guy Carpenter says the departures immediately disrupted its Bermuda operations, which handle high-value speciality lines.
The filing states that Lucy Clarke, Willis’s president of risk and broking, travelled to Bermuda on May 29 to meet Guy Carpenter employees at the Hamilton Princess & Beach Club. There, she allegedly outlined plans for a large hiring effort and indicated a target of 100 recruits, including 80 from Guy Carpenter.
Ms Clarke is also alleged to have described a recruitment sequence beginning in Bermuda, then London, then the US.
The complaint says she encouraged a potential hire to bring additional staff.
Ms Clarke also reportedly took steps to avoid being seen at Heathrow Airport and stressed the need to keep the plan from “leaking”.
The complaint further alleges that in April, Mr Fletcher shared confidential staff compensation information with Ms Clarke during a meeting at the Hamilton Princess and that she took handwritten notes used to shape Willis’s employment offers.
In total, according to the filing, seven Guy Carpenter Bermuda employees resigned — five on June 10 and two more several days later. The staff members worked across non-marine specialities and property treaty.
At the time of the filing, 22 employees had resigned worldwide to join Willis Re.
The complaint says the loss of senior figures gave Willis Re a springboard advantage. Guy Carpenter argues that the departures were co-ordinated and involved the sharing of internal information.
The filing states: “The defendants knew that their conduct was dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people. They [wrongly] calculated that the value of the business opportunities that they would thereby divert and the financial benefits that they would derive from their conduct would outweigh the damages that they would be ordered to pay by the court.”
Guy Carpenter is seeking injunctions to prevent Willis Re and its Bermuda entity from further recruitment or client solicitation. It also seeks damages or an account of profits tied to the disruption of its business, along with orders requiring the deletion and return of confidential material.
Willis Re did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Royal Gazette.
• For the complete amended complaint, see Related Media
