The ACE Group of companies will remain committed to Bermuda, according to Brian Duperreault, chairman and chief executive officer of the insurance giant.

Mr. Duperreault told The Royal Gazette that the company's new building was solid evidence of its commitment to the Island.

As the company celebrates its fifteenth anniversary of operation, Mr.

Duperreault attributed the success of the company -- which has gone from a handful of employees to nearly 8,000 world-wide -- to its staff in Bermuda and to the favourable working environment on the Island.

"The success of ACE has a lot to do with its Bermuda roots, its Bermuda staff -- this is our home. '' he said.

"The (new) ACE building is the tangible commitment this company has to the Island.'' "It has helped the company tremendously being located in Bermuda, in one of the great insurance centres of the world after New York and London. In some ways it is better being in Bermuda, it is more innovative and it is certainly efficient.'' ACE began its life in Bermuda in a room at the Hamilton Princess Hotel, and has grown beyond all recognition in the past two years.

From its humble beginnings it has grown into one of the world's largest providers of property and casualty insurance and reinsurance.

It was originally established by major international corporations to provide excess liability coverage.

It then started to branch out and offer other insurance products and then began a wave of take-overs two years ago.

Today it provides products and services in 50 countries around the world and is still expanding.

"Bermuda is a great place to have a holding company,'' Mr. Duperreault said.

"We knew we could do great things here. There is a good work force of a very high quality and it has good regulatory bodies. But it is a real insurance market here.'' Mr. Duperreault, who was born in Bermuda in 1947 and holds duel nationality with the US, joined the company as its third chairman in October 1994 with the mandate to establish the company as a premier global insurance organisation.

Since he joined, the company has acquired Tempest Re, Lloyds managing agency Methuen and Ockham, Westchester Specialty Group, CAT Ltd and Tarquin Plc and just last year CIGNA property and casualty and Capital Re Corporation.

Before joining ACE Mr. Duperreault was the executive vice president of foreign general insurance at American International Group (AIG), which he joined in 1973.

He is a maths major from Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.

"I left Bermuda when I was a few months old, and only came back when I was 47, but it felt like home, and it is home,'' he said.

"My first job was at AIG and all of a sudden I was back in Bermuda.'' He became employee number 57 in the company, and began the expansion. The next move will be to oversee the mammoth move of all the departments from all the different locations in Hamilton to the new Pitts Bay Road location.

In Tuesday's paper look out for a profile of the 15 years of ACE in Bermuda.