We begin our countdown of the 50 most influential people in the market today by revealing numbers 50-31 on the list.
The 2023 Power 50 has landed, Captive Review’s Who’s Who guide to the must-know people in the world of captive insurance.
Over 7,800 captive professionals responded to our call for nominations this year, proving that inclusion in our prestigious list is just as important today as when we first launched the first Power 50 11 years ago.
Having already revealed to you our new Hall of Fame inductees on Monday, and the Ones to Watch yesterday, we will be revealing every name to make it onto our Power 50 for the rest of this week, starting with numbers 50-31 today.
So, without further ado, have a read below of the first 20 names that make our list this year, which includes eight new names featuring for the first time:
- Fenhua Liu, chief captive regulator, Connecticut Department of Insurance NEW
Fenhua Liu makes the Power 50 for the first time after leading Connecticut through a fantastic couple of years of captive growth. While still a minor domicile in terms of captive numbers, Connecticut has been the fastest growing state in our last two World Domicile Updates and won the captive domicile of the year – less than $5bn in premium award at our recent US Awards. Liu is said to be a significant reason behind this success.
- Joe McDonald, director of captives, South Carolina Department of Insurance NEW
One of the most popular captive regulators around, Joe McDonald goes from one of our ones to watch last year to making the Power 50 this year. McDonald returned to the insurance department of South Carolina in February 2022 to lead the group’s captives division, having previously spent over three years there as a licensing coordinator and consumer liaison. His ascent to the top job just a couple of years later is testament to how highly regarded he is both in South Carolina and across the US.
- Rob Collins, captive segment leader, Guy Carpenter NEW
As the hard market bites hard and coverage becomes more difficult to obtain, it takes quality reinsurance brokers to ensure captives are not taking on more exposure than they can handle. Rob Collins has worked at Guy Carpenter for nearly 30 years and has been doing an excellent job connecting captives to the capacity they need. His job leading Guy Carpenter’s captive team was recognised at both the Captive Review US and EU Awards, where Guy Carpenter won awards for captive broking services.
- Paul Shimomoto, partner, Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel NEW
Paul Shimomoto has been a leading expert in the Hawaii captive market for nearly 30 years. He was a director of his own Hawaii-based law firm for 24 years, helping captives to form and he has been a partner at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel since October 2018. In January 2022, Shimomoto became president and director of the Hawaii Captive Insurance Council and he frequently shares his knowledge and opinions on the general captive market.
- Brian Quinn, chief executive officer, Granite
Brian Quinn stepped down from the role of chief underwriting officer last year to focus solely on leading the captive management firm he founded in April 2010 as CEO. Quinn is regarded as one of the leading employee benefits experts, having previously built up the General Motors captive international employee benefits programme to the largest in the world in terms of premium, employees covered, geographic spread and savings to the customer. With Granite, he manages employee benefits programmes for some of the largest multinationals in the world.
- Nick Frost, president, Davies Captive Management
Nick Frost is a very well-known figure in the Bermuda captive market, having led Davies Captive Management for 12 years now. In that time, the business has grown its reach and captive capabilities and today the business manages over 150 captive and rent-a-captive programmes. Alert to all the latest industry trends in Bermuda, Frost is happy to share his experience with the captive community and helps shape the market by being a member of the executive board of directors for the Bermuda Insurance Managers Association.
- Julie Robertson, partner, Honigman
Julie Robertson has over 20 years’ experience in representing businesses across the US in the formation and operation of captive insurance companies, including risk retention groups and cell companies, and other self-insurance arrangements. One of the most trusted experts in captive law, Robertson chairs the group’s insurance department and leads the captive insurance practice group.
- Adele Gale, director and group head of ILS, Robus Group
Adele Gale is a leading figure on the island of Guernsey and a highly respected voice that people listen to, especially on the subject of ESG. Seen as an innovator and forward thinker by her peers, she co-authored the world’s first ESG framework for insurers and has supported a number of Guernsey insurers to develop their own ESG policies within the sustainable finance industry. She is also the chair of the Guernsey International Insurance Association.
- Prabal Lakhanpal, senior vice-president, Spring Consulting Group NEW
Frequently touted as one to watch in the industry, Prabal Lakhanpal has taken on more and more of a leadership role since Alera Group acquired Spring Consulting and he was promoted to senior vice-president this past January. Lakhanpal leads many of the firm’s most advanced client projects, with a focus on employee benefits, captive insurance and alternative risk funding. He is also a board member of CICA and chair of its NextGen committee.
- Steve Kinion, captive director, Oklahoma Insurance Department
While he was a captive director at the Delaware Department of Insurance, Steve Kinion proved his skills and ability as a captive regulator to give captive owners what they want. In the 13 years he was there he transformed the state into a major captive domicile, deploying innovative new ideas along the way. He may have left that position last year and moved to the significantly smaller domicile of Oklahoma to lead their captive division, but Kinion is still highly rated across the industry and a regular attendee at captive events, where he is popular with many captive professionals.
- Mikhail Raybshteyn, partner, global insurance tax, insurtech and captive insurance services practice, EY
Mikhail Raybshteyn is a popular figure in the industry and regular speaker at captive events. As co-leader of EY’s Americas captive insurance services, he has responsibility for a practice of over 40 professionals in the Americas across tax, advisory, risk and actuarial service lines. Highly knowledgeable and always willing to share his thoughts on captive matters, Raybshteyn is now recognised as a core component of the EY captive operation.
- Michael Serricchio, managing director, Marsh Captive Solutions
Mike Serricchio is the Americas sales and advisory leader for the US, Canada and Latin America, assisting clients with the feasibility and organisation of single parent captives, as well as risk retention groups and rent-a-captives. He speaks at various industry seminars and conferences and conducts training classes within the Marsh Captive Solutions Group. Serricchio is also very influential in preparing the Marsh Captive Solutions Captive Benchmarking publication, which is well known as an industry respected publication.
- Paul Eaton, chief executive officer, international, Artex Risk Solutions NEW
Paul Eaton makes the Power 50 for the first time after being promoted to CEO of Artex International in January. Already a popular figure in Guernsey and known for his knowledge and skills, Eaton will serve on the Artex executive leadership team in his new role, driving strategy around talent, organic growth, mergers and acquisitions and operational efficiency for Artex’s international operations, including Guernsey, Gibraltar, Malta, London and Singapore.
- Robert Gagliardi, head of captive management, AIG
As head of captive management for AIG since 2002, Robert Gagliardi is one of the most long-established and connected figures in the US captive market. Responsible for captive formations, feasibility studies and the development of AIG’s sponsored captives, he serves on the board of over 20 captives and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Gagliardi is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has obtained the Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) designation from the Insurance Institute of America. This is the fourth time in a row that he has featured in this prestigious list.
- Lesley Thompson, managing director, WTW
Lesley Thompson is a Cayman-based captive professional with over 25 years’ experience in accounting, insurance and structured finance. As part of WTW’s Cayman operation since March 2020, Thompson is highly respected and trusted, with extensive knowledge of forming all kinds of captive. She also gives back to the industry and was last year chair of the International Managers Association of Cayman, and helped to put on the first in-person Cayman Captive Forum in three years. She has also been a virtual lecturer for ICCIE for nine years.
- Adriana Scherzinger, head of captives and alternative risk solutions, sales and execution, Zurich North America
Adriana Scherzinger had not just one but two promotions in 2022, as she moved from heading up Zurich’s Latam international programmes in Brazil to joining Zurich North America in Chicago and leading its captive unit. Her role in September then expanded to encompass leading Zurich’s alternative risk solutions business. Highly thought of and connected across the Americas, Scherzinger has demonstrated skill and ability in leading the captive division that will likely see her keep climbing this list.
- Amy Evans, executive vice-president, Intercare Holdings
After being appointed executive vice-president of the liability division at Intercare in 2019, Amy Evans’ reputation in the captive industry has only grown stronger. Intercare provides custom-tailored claims, risk and managed care services with regard to all areas of liability for self-insured organisations, captives and risk retention groups. Before Intercare, she spent nearly 20 years at Western Litigation, first as an insurance defence attorney representing national carriers and later focusing nationally on management of claims and litigation.
- Erin Brosnihan, president, Kensington Management Group
Erin Brosnihan has established herself as a key figure in the Cayman market since being made president of Kensington Management Group in 2020. Formed in 1999 as the sister company to Captive Resources, the business has built itself up over that time to be one of the largest insurance management agencies in Cayman, claiming to represent over 10% of all premium written. Having been with Kensington since 2001, Brosnihan is regarded as being a key ingredient in that success. Brosnihan has previously served as the chairperson of the Insurance Managers Association of Cayman and has also been chair of IMAC’s Cayman Captive Forum Committee.
- Grainne Richmond, executive vice-president – head of captives, Aon NEW
Grainne Richmond has quickly become a key player in the Bermuda market. President of the Bermuda Insurance Managers Association since 2019, Richmond took a big step up in her career when she joined SRS’ Bermuda office in 2020 as a vice president. After doing an excellent job on the island her talents were noticed by Aon, who hired her as executive vice president – head of captives in September last year. A regular at Bermuda events, Richmond has become an extremely well-connected person and her influence is only likely to grow in the coming years.
- Matthew Takamine, executive managing director – captive practice leader, Brown & Brown NEW
Matthew Takamine is the new Hawaii-based leader of Brown & Brown’s captive practice, having stepped up to take the job in July last year. Takamine is an expert in the Hawaii captive market, having worked out of the company’s Honolulu office for the past 16 years, and he has been on the board of directors for the Hawaii Captive Insurance Council for all that time as well. He has also previously been on the board of directors at ICCIE.
