Jesse DeCouto

Experience

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  PartnerRe

  Sept 2000 - Jul 2007

  • Property Catastrophe Underwriter and Actuary

    Dec 2004 - Jul 2007

  • Pricing Actuary

    Sept 2000 - Dec 2004
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  Validus Reinsurance, Ltd.

  Jul 2007 - Sept 2024

  Leveraging my extensive professional experience, I direct all aspects of the underwriting activities for Validus Re which involves monitoring and controlling exposures across all lines. My job is to collaborate with the other senior leaders to build a comprehensive business development and marketing strategy. I also closely liaise with Lloyd's and non-Lloyd's brokers to meet client needs. Key Achievements:● Risk Mitigation: Established outwards reinsurance review and improved retrocessional protections where appropriate while also enhancing deployment capabilities via Alpha Cat Managers which mitigated risk.● Capital Modelling: Facilitated better informed decision making regarding underwriting strategies, pricing, and portfolio management while serving as executive sponsor of Capital Allocation and Risk Metrics project.● Employee Engagement: Promoted employee engagement whilst fostering more inclusive workplace culture by sponsoring annual global underwriter’s offsite that galvanised underwriting team during periods of change and ensured global strategy alignment.● Digital Transformation: Optimized capital allocation while serving as underwriting leader for Validus Capital Allocation and Pricing System which involved liaising between development and underwriting teams.● Data-Driven Decision Making: Empowered other members of executive leadership team to make well-informed, insight-driven decisions by ensuring underwriting needs and feedback were considered during establishment of KPIs.● Change Management: Supported and advocated for business during acquisition by current parent company by maintaining strong stakeholder relationships which ensured business continuity. Show less During my time as the Head of Financial & Specialty Lines, EVP, I was responsible for shaping the strategy, managing the underwriting process, and fostering innovation across our Financial & Specialty Lines. I worked closely with cross-functional teams to augment the underwriting process and drive service excellence. I also served as a trusted business partner to the C-suite whilst influencing our strategic roadmap for the broader organisation.Key Achievements:● Revenue Growth: Located and capitalised on emerging market opportunities while also developing bespoke insurance solutions which led to sustained growth of Financial & Specialty Lines portfolio.● Leadership Development: Strengthened succession plan while also positioning Financial & Specialty Lines team for success by coaching staff, mentoring individuals, and developing future leaders.● Risk Management: Spearheaded and completed several enterprise-level projects that improved approaches towards accumulations and pricing for terrorism, cyber, and credit business. Show less In this role, I directed all underwriting activities for our financial lines of insurance that grew to a complimentary pillar of our overall portfolio. I set and enforced underwriting guidelines and coordinated with the actuarial team to develop pricing and accumulation tools. I also enabled the rollout of new financial lines insurance products that were responsive to the market and our clients’ needs. Key Achievements:● Business Operations: Established new Financial Lines business unit from scratch which involved creating new processes, recruiting team, and developing strategic plan that led to producing significant profit.● Business Development: Cultivated and expanded robust book of business by identifying untapped market opportunities, developing tailored financial lines products, and fostering relationships with clients and brokers Show less As the SVP for Specialty & Marine, I created underwriting and risk management strategies, supported client acquisition and retention, and delivered customised risk solutions that were tailored to unique business requirements with our composite line of business. I also coordinated with brokers, clients, and stakeholders to ensure our company's standing as the preferred reinsurance partner.Key Achievements:● Business Solutions: Maintained exceptional client retention rate whilst generating meaningful profit by providing customised risk management solutions that exceeded internal as well as industry benchmarks. Show less Earlier in my career, I developed and continuously improved risk assessment strategies that balanced our risk profile against the market demands on our portfolio. The role involved negotiating major reinsurance contracts to improve our strategic positioning. I shared critical input on product development initiatives, ensuring alignment with evolving industry trends and our customers’ needs. I also built and led a high-performing underwriting team that consistently outperformed our company targets.Key Achievements:● Reinsurance Product Portfolio: Made critical contributions during product development as well as launch of new specialty reinsurance products that significantly expanded portfolio and led to growth.● Global Monitoring: Championed establishment of Global Grid methodology to monitor terrorism accumulations, pricing, and peer-to-peer analyses which improved pricing accuracy while also providing more holistic view of terrorism risk exposure. Show less

  • Global Chief Underwriting Officer

    Jun 2022 - Sept 2024

  • Head of Financial & Specialty Lines, EVP

    Oct 2020 - Jun 2022

  • Head of Financial Lines Underwriting, EVP

    Apr 2018 - Oct 2020

  • Specialty, Marine and Energy Underwriting, SVP

    Apr 2012 - Apr 2018

  • Specialty Lines Underwriting, VP

    Jul 2007 - Apr 2012
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  Canopius Re

  Sept 2024 - now

  Chief Underwriting Officer