Victoria Cunningham has been appointed as executive director of the Bermuda Foundation for Insurance Studies.

The organisation, which was founded in 1996 to attract Bermudian talent to the industry, said Ms Cunningham comes to the role with years of industry experience, and a demonstrated commitment of supporting young Bermudians interested in entering the field.

“We are thrilled to welcome Victoria to the BFIS executive team,” said BFIS chairman Stephen Jones. “Her industry experience, leadership and commitment to developing exceptional insurance talent makes her the ideal choice to help lead our organisation as we continue to execute our strategic vision and deliver value to our students and stakeholders.

“In her role, she will work closely with the BFIS board of trustees to ensure we continue to meet our goals and set new standards for excellence.”

Ms Cunningham began her career at BF&M Ltd, later working at Tokio Millenium Re as vice-president, Underwriting. Most recently she worked at Allied World as a vice-president, Specialty Underwriting.

She said: “I am delighted to be moving into the executive director position at BFIS. Having been involved with the organisation since 2008, I am proud of the hundreds of relationships I have built with our young Bermudian students and professionals through our mentoring and networking committees.

“To be in a position where I can now strategically manage the future of the charity and continue supporting students is humbling, and I look forward to utilising the experiences I have learnt within the local and international [insurance and reinsurance] industry over the last two decades to the betterment of our student and business community.

“Ultimately, I believe that the future of international business in Bermuda is reliant on a continued pipeline of talent. I believe the future is strong and I look forward to following the journeys of our students as they join us along the way.”

Educated in Britain, Ms Cunningham returned to Bermuda in 2003 with a degree in physical geography from Liverpool University.

She has been chairwoman of the Bermuda chapter of the Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters and the Bermuda Under-40s [Insurance and Reinsurance] Group. In 2015, she won the Young Industry Leader award from the Bermuda Insurance Institute.

Ms Cunningham has served as a board member, mentor networking committee chairwoman, and high school outreach committee member, at BFIS.

This autumn, Ms Cunningham will be teaching an insurance course, “Managing Evolving Risk,” at Bermuda College.