Kathleen Faries has been appointed chief executive officer of Horseshoe, the Bermudian-based leading ILS specialist and fund administrator.

Ms Faries, whose appointment is effective on Thursday, succeeds Horseshoe founder and current CEO Andre Perez, who will assume the new role of executive chairman following a short transition period, the company said.

Horseshoe, an Artex Risk Solutions company, said Mr Perez will act as an adviser to the business, with a focus on strategic business opportunities as well as mergers and acquisitions, while Ms Faries will assume full responsibilities as CEO of Horseshoe.

The company said Ms Faries has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, across property and casualty broking, captives, underwriting and insurance management.

She was most recently the head of Tokio Millennium Re AG, Bermuda. She also served as chief executive officer of Tokio Solution Management Ltd, 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, the company said.

Prior to joining TMR, she held executive roles with Marsh and Crump International in Bermuda.

Ms Faries is a founding director and current chairwoman of WeSpeak Bermuda, a non-profit focused on building female public speaking skills and confidence. She is also a member and chairwoman of ILS Bermuda Ltd, host of the annual ILS Bermuda Convergence event; and serves on the board of the Bermuda Insurance Institute, which in 2015 recognised Ms Faries with its Industry Leader of the Year award.

Ms Faries said: “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.

“Having worked alongside Andre 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.”

Mr Perez said: “I am delighted to have Kathleen 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 Kathleen will contribute significantly to it.”

Peter Mullen, chief executive officer of Artex, said: “Positioning the company for the future, and ensuring a robust succession plan, is a core objective at Artex.

“Andre has done a great job combining the Horseshoe and Artex ILS businesses and I’m excited about this next phase in our evolution as Kathleen transitions into the CEO role and takes us to the next level.”

Horseshoe, the world’s largest ILS service provider, was purchased by Artex in 2019. It specialises in insurance management, risk transformation, fund administration, advisory and corporate services.

Artex is a subsidiary of global brokerage and risk management services provider Gallagher.