Kathleen Faries has been appointed CEO of Horseshoe, an Artex company, succeeding Andre Perez, the founder and current CEO of Horseshoe, effective 15 April 2021. In October 2019, Artex Risk Solutions reached an agreement to acquire Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings in a bid to strengthen its insurance-linked securities (ILS) operations. She will be based in Bermuda and will work closely with Perez. Following a short transition period, Perez will assume the new role of executive chairman, acting as an advisor to the business, with a focus on strategic business opportunities as well as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and Faries will assume full responsibilities as CEO of Horseshoe. Faries has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, across property and casualty broking, captives, underwriting and insurance management. Most recently, she served as head of Tokio Millennium Re (TMR), Bermuda. She also served as CEO of Tokio Solution Management (TSM), where she led the expansion of TMR’s capital markets strategy and helped to build the firm’s reputation as a leading ILS facilitator and connector of risk to capital. Prior to joining TMR, she held executive roles with Marsh and Crump International in Bermuda. Commenting on her new role, Faries says: “I believe the ILS industry has the ability, now more than ever, to make a significant impact on our society’s growing and expanding risk landscape. I am thrilled to be joining the leading global ILS service provider at such an exciting time in the industry." She adds: "Having worked alongside Andre Perez in the ILS industry for many years, it is a privilege to be in a position to take the baton from him and lead such a high-performing and dynamic organisation into the future." Perez notes: “I am delighted to have Kathleen Faries join Horseshoe and lead our global team of talented and dedicated ILS professionals. Her tremendous depth and breadth of industry experience, along with her authentic leadership style, will be critical strengths as we continuously strive to add value to our clients and help them succeed in this ever-changing environment." "Horseshoe is well positioned to realise the next stage of growth and I am confident Faries will contribute significantly to it," he adds. Peter Mullen, CEO of Artex, states: "Positioning the company for the future, and ensuring a robust succession plan, is a core objective at Artex. Perez has done a great job combining the Horseshoe and Artex ILS businesses and I’m excited about this next phase in our evolution as Faries transitions into the CEO role and takes us to the next level."
