The new CFO at Bermuda-based specialty reinsurer LaSalle Re has quit after just a few weeks in the job due to friction with other management, it was claimed yesterday.

The unexpected resignation of Robert Cuthbert who was appointed last month sparked a new and urgent head-hunt by the company yesterday.

LaSalle Re Holdings Limited issued a statement that Mr. Cuthbert would leave the company on Saturday and vice president of finance Clare Moran would step into his shoes until a permanent replacement was found.

The statement said the out-going CFO was leaving the company to "pursue other interests''.

But some reports quoted a spokeswoman from the reinsurer saying that Mr.

Cuthbert's sudden departure was because of cultural and philosophical differences between himself and the current management. "We're a very small company. We have 30 people. And with a small company, management styles have to be very compatible,'' spokeswoman Diane Newman was quoted as saying. And she noted that the differences between LaSalle Re management and Mr. Cuthbert had nothing to do with the company's finances. Mr. Cuthbert was named CFO and senior vice president in March.