Speare-Cole heads to Qatar Re

Alastair Speare-Cole, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of JLT Re, has joined Qatar Re as chief underwriting officer.

He replaces Willi Schürch who retires from his current role as chief underwriting officer.

Speaking to Intelligent Insurer at Monte-Carlo Rendez-Vous , Speare-Cole revealed that he could be tempted by a move into the underwriting side of the industry.

“Once the handover is complete, I will find a new challenge,” Speare-Cole said. “It will probably not be in broking as I wouldn’t want to compete with these guys but I have always had a yen for the underwriting side,” he said.

Gunther Saacke, chief executive officer (CEO), Qatar Re, said:  “I am delighted by Alastair’s decision to join Qatar Re.  It is a great privilege to have such a high calibre and widely respected reinsurance executive on board.

“Alastair’s vast experience across all traditional reinsurance lines as well as alternative solutions will further boost the expansion of Qatar Re’s franchise and lend an additional impetus to our aspiration of becoming a leading global reinsurer. In particular, his proven expertise in building and shaping powerful organisations will benefit our rapidly growing company.”

Speare-Cole added: “Since Qatar Re has embarked on its global growth strategy two years ago, the progress made by Gunther and his team has been remarkable. They have built a strong organisation with skilled and experienced reinsurance professionals.

“In addition, Qatar Re has already established a robust foundation in terms of its internal risk management combined with strong client and broker focus. I am excited to become part of this team and contribute my experience to help realise the long- term aspiration of the company.”