ASTA CAPITAL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Head of Underwriting Performance
After graduating with a degree in Economics, Carl joined the Commercial Union graduate scheme, then trained as a Liability Underwriter. He left to take the role of UKGI Casualty Manager for Zurich.
In between a couple of new start up MGA ventures Carl spent 7 years with Willis as Underwriting Director - responsible for their facilities and the supported the creation of Willis 360. Prior to joining Asta in May 2021, Carl was a Syndicate Performance Manager at Lloyd's for 3 years.
Carl oversees the Asta syndicate's underwriting performance and planning process and is the principle contact for Lloyd's when interacting with all the syndicates.
Clare Barley - Chief Risk Officer, COO
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Chief Risk Officer
Joining Asta's risk team in 2014, Clare was appointed Chief Risk Officer in February 2016 with responsibility for the risk management framework across Asta and managed clients, including the annual ORSA process and Internal Model validation. Clare moved into the Chief Operating Officer role in January 2021 and is now responsible for the continued development and enhancement of Asta's operating model.
Clare is a qualified actuary and immediately prior to Asta she worked as a consultant at Lane, Clark and Peacock, working with London Market clients across reserving, pricing and capital projects. She has been an active participant in various market forums, most recently as part of the LMA's Sustainability Committee.
Daniel joined Asta in January 2020 from Direct Line Group (DLG), where he was an Audit Partner responsible for Commercial lines, Finance and Risk Management. Prior to DLG Daniel has held Head of Audit positions at ERS (a Lloyd's motor only, broker only syndicate) and Generali S.p.A. (UK Branch) writing Life and Commercial insurance and reinsurance.
Daniel brings a wealth of insurance sector knowledge and experience in auditing, as well as leading transformational projects as the Product Owner for Risk and Control on the Finance Transformation programme at DLG.
He has built a strong team, with a collaborative approach aimed at providing value-add assurance as well as consultancy to Asta and their clients.
Job Titles:
- Chief Underwriting Officer
After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Mathematics, David began a thirty-year career in the Lloyd's market, joining Cuthbert Heath Underwriting Agency in 1987 before moving on to RF Bailey in 1992.
Just over ten years later David joined Asta, progressing to be Underwriting Operations Manager before being appointed Head of Underwriting Management in January 2014. David was appointed Chief Underwriting Officer in August 2022.
David is responsible for the maintenance of Asta's Underwriting Management Framework and oversight of the underwriting activities of Asta's managed syndicates.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Chief Risk Officer
John Coe is Deputy Chief Risk Officer at Asta, supporting the CRO and providing leadership and oversight of the Risk Management Team. He advises and challenges new and existing clients as well as senior Asta Management on risk matters.
John has worked in the London Market & Lloyd's since 2006 and is a qualified Actuary and member of the Institute of Risk Management.
He began his training with a broad consultancy grounding at EMB, working with several large London Market Insurers and Lloyd's Managing Agencies on many projects including regular Capital and Reserving processes. John then stepped into market roles at Argenta and Tokio Marine Kiln, moving from directly applying his Actuarial experience in Capital Modelling to using this to provide the effective challenge required within a Risk Management Function.
Prior to joining Asta in 2022, John was Associate Risk Director at the legacy portfolio acquirer RiverStone International, heading the Risk Management Team and working as a key member of the Project Team who evaluated potential acquisition opportunities.
He has in-depth experience of Internal Model Validation having acted as Independent Validator for several Lloyd's Syndicates during his career.
Julian Tighe is a Group Director at Asta.
In an insurance career spanning 30 years, Julian held senior finance positions in the London Market before joining Asta in 2007.
In a number of senior roles at Asta including COO, CFO and Strategic Acquisitions Director, Julian has gained extensive experience of advising clients on business strategy, planning and helping them launch their insurance businesses.
Julian was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2014 before handing over the reins to Lorraine Harfitt in August 2022. Julian is also a member of the board of Asta Capital Ltd.
As a Group Director Julian focuses on the strategic development of Asta and the wider Davies Insurance Services business.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Head of Regulatory Affairs
Julian Walby is Head of Regulatory Affairs at Asta with responsibility for the Compliance Function as well as supporting Asta's CEO with governance matters. Julian is the Lloyd's Compliance Officer, the Money Laundering Reporting Officer and the Data Protection Manager for Asta.
Julian is also a director of Asta's subsidiaries in Singapore and Belgium.
Julian joined Asta in 2017, prior to which he worked in Lloyd's managing agent compliance roles at W.R. Berkley, QBE and Talbot.
Julian holds a law degree, is ACII qualified and a Chartered Insurer and completed the Lloyd's Leadership course at Henley Business School in 2022.
Julian is a member of the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) Regulatory Committee.
Job Titles:
- Head of Client Management
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director
- Member of the Non - Executives Team
- Chairman of RiverStone Managing Agency Limited
- Fellow of the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries
- Independent Non - Executive Director & SIAB Board Chair
Kalpana joined the board of Asta Managing Agency Ltd as an Independent Non-Executive Director in October 2016.
Following an early career on the trading floor working in business development for the London Commodity Exchange, Kalpana started her insurance career as deputy to the director of underwriting at Groupama Gan. She was longstanding Group Chief Actuary and Partner at Hiscox until 2016. She has Chaired and contributed to working parties for the Bank of England, Lloyd's of London and the Bermuda Monetary Authority.
Kalpana is a Fellow of the Institute & Faculty of Actuaries and Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Insurers, she is currently a member of Non-Executive Director committees for both these organisations. She is also a member of the 30% club.
Kalpana is Chairman of RiverStone Managing Agency Limited and Non-Executive Director of RiverStone Insurance (UK) Limited. She is also a Trustee of Barnet Youth Zones (a charity for children in London).
Job Titles:
- Member of the Non - Executives Team
- Independent Non - Executive Director & Risk Committee Chair
- Non - Executive Director at Admiral Insurance Group PLC
Karen Green joined the board of Asta Managing Agency Ltd as an Independent Non-Executive Director and Risk Committee Chair in February 2020.
She was previously Deputy Chair of Aspen Managing Agency Ltd (AMAL) and prior to that Chief Executive Officer of Aspen UK, which comprised the principal UK insurance companies' of Aspen Insurance Holdings, and was a member of the Aspen Group Executive Committee for 12 years. She also held a number of other senior positions including as Group Head of Corporate Development and Strategy, and Office of the Group CEO.
Prior to that, she held various senior private equity and corporate finance roles from 1997 to 2005 at GE Capital and then MMC Capital (now StonePoint Capital), having started her career as an investment banker at Baring Brothers and then Schroders.
Ms Green is also a Non-Executive Director at Admiral Insurance Group PLC, Phoenix Group Holdings PLC, she is a Non-Executive Director at Great Portland Estates plc and was a Council Member of Lloyd's of London. She is also a Vice President of the Insurance Institute of London. She is a member (and former chair) of the Development Council for the Almeida Theatre Company.
Job Titles:
- Business Development Director
Keith Nevett is the Business Development Director at Asta.
Over a twenty six year career with Asta, Keith has been responsible for the Integration and Migration timetable of Asta's client base and the management of current and prospective client relationships.
Keith has been key to the successful launch of twenty one new Lloyd's start-ups and eleven syndicate migrations in the last thirteen years and securing their approval from the PRA, FCA and Lloyd's.
Prior to working in the business development team he worked in a number of operational and project management roles within Asta. In 2006 Keith completed an MBA in project management from Henley Management College.
Joining Asta in 2018 as Deputy Chief Actuary, Laura was promoted to Chief Actuary in May 2020, and became a Director in 2022.
Prior to joining Asta, Laura was a partner at actuarial consultancy Lane Clark and Peacock. During her time there she supported Lloyd's and London market insurers as well as personal lines and international clients on reviews of reserve adequacy, pricing and capital modelling.
Laura is also chair of the LMA Committee of Actuaries in the London Market.
Job Titles:
- Head of Business Change
- Operations, Risk, and Governance Specialist
Leslie is an operations, risk, and governance specialist with over 25 years of experience in the Lloyd's and company insurance markets.
Leslie joined Asta in 2021 as Head of Business Change to oversee Asta's Change Framework and lead strategic initiatives to support Asta's growth.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Certified Accountant
- Member of the Non - Executives Team
- Independent Non - Executive Director & Chair of Audit Committee
Liz joined Asta in January 2023 as an Independent Non-Executive Director (INED) and incoming Audit Chair.
Liz has over 20 years of executive board level experience, gained primarily in the insurance, outsourcing and property sectors. Her career started in insurance with a subsidiary of GE Capital where she worked for almost 17 years and she was then CFO of Swiss Re Life and Health.
Liz has 10 years non-executive board experience and is currently INED and Audit Chair at Investec Wealth and Investment where she has been on the board for 7 years ; INED, Senior Independent Director and Audit Chair of GBG plc, a global technology data identity business and Independent Chairman of tp bennett, a leading U.K. architectural and design practice. Liz has served on both boards for five years. Liz‘s previously held several non-executive appointments including British Gas Insurance and British Gas Services where she also chaired the audit committee.
Liz is a chartered certified accountant and holds an MBA from Cranfield University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Director
Lorraine Harfitt is Chief Executive Officer at Asta.
Joining Asta as Head of Risk Assurance in 2013, Lorraine was appointed as Chief Operating Officer in April 2014 with responsibility for the continued development and enhancement of Asta's successful operating model. Lorraine then moved into the role of Managing Director in early 2021 and was appointed Chief Executive Officer in August 2022.
Lorraine has over 30 years' Lloyd's market experience working in a number of client management, regulatory and operational roles. Immediately prior to joining Asta, she worked at Lloyd's itself where she held a number of senior positions and was responsible for leading the implementation of Solvency II across the Lloyd's market.
Lorraine is ACII qualified and completed the Lloyd's leadership course at London Business School in 2010. In May 2021 she was appointed to the board of the Lloyd's Market Association (LMA) and is an active participant in wider market forums and initiatives.
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Member of the LMA Systems Group and Operations Committee
After graduating with a BSc in Physics from Bath in 1998, Matt launched his career as an IT consultant, working on numerous insurance system implementation projects across North America & South East Asia. Matt completed his MBA in Rotterdam in 2005 and subsequently held London Market positions with ACE Europe & Tokio Marine Europe in IT & Programme Management.
He entered the Lloyd's Market in 2011 working as Solvency II programme delivery manager at the Corporation of Lloyd's, before joining Asta as Head of Business Intelligence in 2014 an and leading the implementation of Solvency II's Pillar 3 reporting regime.
Matt is a member of the LMA Systems Group and Operations Committee.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Non - Executives Team
- Independent Non - Executive Chairman
Paul Jardine is a qualified actuary and has worked in the insurance industry for 38 years.
Before joining Asta as Non-Executive Chairman he spent 17 years in a variety of leadership roles at XL Catlin including CEO of Syndicate 2003 and COO of the Catlin Group. During this time, he chaired the LMA for 3 years and was a member of the Council of Lloyd's and one of the Deputy Chairmen.
His early career was spent at Prudential Assurance where he qualified as an actuary and then he joined Coopers & Lybrand ("C&L") where he spent 9 years as a partner advising clients predominantly in the Lloyd's and London Market. Paul left C&L to become the Chief Actuary at Equitas where he also served as Commutations Director.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Certified Accountant
- Client Finance Director
Peter Brightman is Client Finance Director at Asta.
Peter Brightman, a qualified Chartered Certified Accountant, has worked in the Lloyd's market since 2000. Prior to joining Asta in January 2009 he was finance manager at Arch Insurance and third party syndicate finance manager at Chaucer where he was responsible for the finances of Chaucer's third party capital provider syndicates. He was made Head of Syndicate Finance at Asta in 2016 and appointed Client Finance Director in March 2023.
In 2012, Peter completed the coveted Lloyd's Leadership course at the London Business School.
Having always been in the Lloyd's market, Peter has extensive experience of all aspects of Lloyd's reporting and the financial management of Syndicates. He is a member of various Lloyd's committee's and sub working groups including the Chief Investment Officers and Core Market Return groups.
Job Titles:
- European Oversight Specialist
A qualified actuary, Richard started his insurance career in 2003 with KPMG before moving to Aspen Re in 2007.
Initially joining the Actuarial team at Asta in 2011, Richard has held a number of senior positions, including Chief Actuary and Finance Director, before being promoted to Chief Financial Officer in 2022. He has also been a member of Asta's Managing Agency Board since 2018.
Throughout his time at Asta, Richard has been responsible for the development and integration of all Syndicate Reserving processes and Capital Models. As Chief Financial Officer, he has responsibility for the Client Finance team and Corporate Finance Team.
Seema Bradbury is Chief Risk Officer at Asta.
Seema has over 20 years Lloyd's market experience and started her insurance career at Littlejohn Frazer, where she trained as a Chartered Accountant. Seema moved to the Risk Management Team at the Corporation of Lloyd's in 2004 and has since held a variety of risk roles in the Lloyd's and London market including at Beazley, Argo Group and Miller. Her most recent role was CRO of AXIS Managing Agency.
Seema was appointed as CRO at Asta in May 2023 and is a member of Asta's Managing Agency Board and Executive Leadership team.
Seema is accountable for the leadership and development of the Risk Management Team at Asta, as well as being responsible for advising Asta's clients on implementing and maintaining effective risk management functions, aligned to their business model and strategy.
Job Titles:
- Chief Underwriting Officer
- Director
- Group Director
Simon Norton is a Group Director at Asta.
Simon has worked in the London Market for over 30 years working in a number of senior underwriting and management positions, including Lloyd's.
Throughout his career, Simon has gained extensive experience of managing underwriting portfolios, advising on clients' strategy and helping them deliver their objectives.
Simon was appointed Chief Underwriting Officer in 2014 before handing over the reins to David Jones in 2022. Simon is also a member of the board of Asta Capital Ltd.
As a Group Director Simon focuses on the strategic development of Asta and the wider Davies Insurance Services business.
Job Titles:
- Independent Non - Executive Director
- Member of the Non - Executives Team
Stephen Redmond joined the board of Asta Managing Agency Ltd in April 2021.
Stephen was previously Managing Director of Antares Managing Agency Ltd, and Active Underwriter of Antares Syndicate 1274. Prior to his career at Lloyd's Stephen held numerous leadership positions in the London Market at General Accident, Eagle Star, and Württembergische a leading insurer from Germany, where he was Managing Director.
Stephen is FCII qualified, and has held the roles of Chairman of The Institute of London Underwriters, and of the Joint Hull Committee. During his career Stephen has also been a member of numerous London Market Committees.
Job Titles:
- Strategic Development Director
Working with the Executive team Susan is responsible for the implementation of Asta's strategy, including oversight of initiatives and measuring performance against targets.
A professionally accredited and experienced Programme and Project Manager with an established track record of successfully delivering a range of business change initiatives in financial services, Susan started her career at KPMG Consulting in New Zealand.
In 2003 she moved to the UK where she began working as a project manager for a number of insurance companies including Aon, AIG and Beazley Furlong. Susan then moved to Mitsui Sumitomo and held three key positions including Head of Business Intelligence, Solvency II Programme Manager and Head of Business Change, before joining Asta in 2013.
Prior to her current role, Susan held the position of Manager, CEO Office for Asta.