Our People

TigerRisk Partners…Diverse & Extensive Experience

• Rod Fox, CEO

  Rod Fox, an insurance industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience, is the CEO of TigerRisk Partners. Prior to founding TigerRisk, Rod served as the Chief Executive Officer of Praetorian Financial Group where he led the re-structuring, re-branding, and successful sale of the $2B specialty property and casualty insurer to QBE the Americas in June 2007.

  Prior to PFG, Rod was the Chief Executive Officer of Benfield Group’s US reinsurance platform where he oversaw the profitable growth of the business from $14M to $250M of revenue from 2000 to 2005, while delivering industry leading trading margins. He was a member of the Board of Benfield and was instrumental in their initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange in 2003. He was also involved in numerous industry transactions, including the growth of Benfield’s capital markets advisory business, the first Florida JUA depopulation, a restructuring of Allstate Group’s catastrophe exposure, and the formation of Montpelier Re.

  Rod started his career in 1985 at E.W. Blanch Co., a privately held reinsurance intermediary. He was involved in EWB’s initial public offering in 1993 and enjoyed various positions within EWB, ultimately becoming President and Chief Operating Officer in 1997.

  In conjunction with Jim Stanard, the former CEO of RenaissanceRe, Rod formed F&S Ventures, a privately-held insurance investment firm.

  Rod holds the CPCU designation and is a graduate of Middlebury College and the Executive Risk Management Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

• James Stanard, Chairman

  James Stanard was founder, Chairman and CEO of RenaissanceRe, growing its market value from $141M in 1993 to over $3B when he left in 2005. As a worldwide leader in property catastrophe reinsurance, RenaissanceRe achieved the highest ROE in the insurance industry each of ten consecutive years. From 1990 to 1993 Jim was Executive Vice President of USF&G. As a member of a successful turn-around team, he was responsible for underwriting and claims. From 1983 to 1990 he was co-founder and Executive Vice President of F&G Re, one of the most successful reinsurers in the world during that period. During his 35 years in the insurance industry he has also held underwriting and actuarial positions at Prudential, Chubb, and INA.

  Jim is currently Chairman and/or director of several privately held companies, including F&S Ventures LLC.

  Jim has a BA in Mathematics from Lehigh University, a PhD in Finance from New York University, is a fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, and has authored award-winning actuarial papers.

  Jim is a trustee of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences and Chairman of Habitat For Humanity of Bermuda.

• Stephen Breen, Partner

  Stephen Breen has over 30 years of experience in the reinsurance business. He started his career as a claims broker for Alexander Howden Insurance Brokers and then moved to underwriting with Syndicate BPD Kellett & Ors (synd 994) where he eventually managed the aviation, satellite, and personal accident accounts. After 10 years at Syndicate 994, Stephen joined John Weedon (Syndicate 1143) as deputy underwriter responsible for the aviation, satellite, and personal accident accounts.

  In April 1993 Stephen joined GL Hodgson (now Willis Re) as Vice President to manage the aviation reinsurance business in the US and eventually managed the retro, aviation, international treaty businesses, and structured products as an Executive Vice President. In 2005 Stephen joined Carvill America and established a New York office as President and managed the worldwide retro business for the company. Stephen and his team were instrumental in developing capacity from the capital markets for reinsurance clients and he helped develop the exchange traded products for Carvill.

  Stephen joined Tradition, a large inter-dealer broker, in December 2008, where he formed a reinsurance intermediary which was licensed in New York, Connecticut, and Bermuda. This accomplishment was a first by an inter-dealer broker.

• Geraldine Del Prete, Partner

  Geraldine Del Prete has over 25 years of experience in the reinsurance industry. She began her career at the investment banking firm, J. Henry Schroeder. Her reinsurance career began at Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC, where she held various positions over a period of 12 years. She later joined Aon Re where she began her broking career and became Senior Vice President of the Catastrophe Management Group. After 6 years with Aon, she joined American Re and led national accounts. Geraldine then joined Willis Re to assist in developing Willis Re's New York team/business unit and became one of Willis Group's leading producers. Geraldine was Executive Vice President and a member of the Willis Partners Council, co-leading the Global Account Initiative.

  Before joining TigerRisk Partners in 2008, Geraldine was Senior Executive Vice President for Gallagher Re and was responsible for leading the U.S. Property and Casualty Treaty Group, developing business and successfully assisting with the sale of Gallagher Re to Aon Corp.

  Geraldine attended North Carolina State University where she received an undergraduate degree in finance and economics and received an MBA from C. W. Post.

• Chris Dittman, Partner

  Chris Dittman began his reinsurance career at E.W. Blanch Co. (now Aon Benfield) in 1996 as a treaty accountant and quickly established himself as a dedicated leader, becoming an Assistant Vice President and supervisor of treaty accounting in 1998. In 2001 Chris joined the finance department of Benfield as Director of Internal Controls where his responsibilities included establishing operational controls around the accounting and claims processing systems, corporate management and financial reporting, integration of the US and UK systems, and revenue recognition. In 2005, Chris joined the Benfield broking team as Vice President charged with the placement of property catastrophe reinsurance specializing in the Florida marketplace.

  Since joining TigerRisk Partners LLC in 2008 Chris has played a key role in production efforts in the property catastrophe arena, product development and the placement of property catastrophe reinsurance programs.

  Chris earned a BS in Economics from the University of Minnesota and holds the CPCU and ARe designations.

• Patrick Gonnelli, Partner

  Patrick Gonnelli has a wealth of experience in the financial and reinsurance industries. Pat began his reinsurance career with Towers Perrin as a consultant responsible for the production, trading and development of all ILW business, as well as marketing and placing traditional reinsurance programs. Prior to entering the reinsurance arena, Pat was heavily involved in the investment world. He began his career in Boston, holding multiple positions within John Hancock organization and eventually ING in New York, where he traded equities on all Latin America Exchanges and was responsible for the trading activity of all London clients.

  Prior to joining TigerRisk Partners in 2010, Pat served as an Executive Vice President for Tradition Re in Bermuda where he was responsible for the production and development of the Worldwide Property ILW and Property Retrocessional business. Before joining Tradition Re, Pat handled revenue production and development for Carvill's ILW and Property Retro books and was responsible for increasing awareness, revenue production, and trading of the Carvill Hurricane Index (CHI) on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Prior to Carvill, he worked for Willis Re in New York where he was responsible for developing their ILW business and was responsible for maintaining and growing their market relationships with new and established hedge funds and investment banks.

  Pat is a graduate of the Boston University School of Management and currently holds the FINRA Series 7, 24 and 3.

• Wade Gulbransen, Partner

  Wade Gulbransen has many years of experience in the property and casualty reinsurance industry. Wade started his career in 1995 at E.W. Blanch Co. (now Aon Benfield) and participated in its industry-leading reinsurance training program. During his tenure at EWB, he worked with a variety of different companies ranging from specialty-niche companies to global national companies, for whom he designed, placed, and serviced complex casualty reinsurance treaties.

  Prior to joining TigerRisk Partners in 2009, Wade served as Executive Vice President and led Benfield's Casualty Specialty Group, a dedicated group of reinsurance experts providing holistic risk management advice specific to casualty lines of business. Wade has extensive experience applying analytical tools, dynamic financial models and catastrophe models to help customers evaluate and select the optimal strategy.

  Wade received a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from St. Cloud State University and also holds the ARe designation.

• Marc Havens, Partner

  Marc Havens began his reinsurance career in 1998 with E.W. Blanch Co. (now Aon Benfield). From 1998 to 2002, Marc held various reinsurance accounting positions at EWB, including that of reinsurance accounting supervisor. In 2002, Marc transitioned from accounting to broking and worked primarily on large, Florida-specific property accounts. Prior to joining TigerRisk Partners in February of 2008, Marc held the title of Vice President at Benfield Inc.

  At TigerRisk, Marc continues to focus primarily on property accounts. He is responsible for maintaining/developing current client relationships, is part of the TigerRisk future client team, and is team lead on several large reinsurance placements.

  Marc earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Northwestern College and holds the CPCU and ARe designations.

• Linda Johnson, Partner

  Linda Johnson is a recognized leader in the reinsurance industry. She began her career in the management training program of E.W. Blanch Co. (now Aon Benfield) in 1987 where she held positions in their accounting, claims, actuarial, and contract writing departments. She became a reinsurance broker in 1990 and progressed to Executive Vice President in 2000. In 2001, E.W. Blanch was acquired by Benfield Group and Linda became a member of the U.S. Executive Committee which was responsible for the leadership of Benfield Group's US Reinsurance Platform. Linda joined TigerRisk Partners as a Partner in 2008.

  During her reinsurance career, Linda designed and placed numerous specialty reinsurance contracts for a broad range of customers and product types. Her customers have included St. Paul Travelers, Zurich, and XL, and she worked with the entire spectrum of global reinsurers, including Swiss Re Underwriters, Transatlantic, Lloyds, and Partner Re.

  Linda was recognized as one of Business Insurance "Women to Watch" in 2006. She has an MBA from the University of Minnesota, and holds the CPCU and ARe designations.

• Jayant Khadilkar, Partner

  Prior to joining TigerRisk Partners in early 2009, Jayant Khadilkar was President of RenRe Investment Managers, Ltd., which Jayant helped establish as a wholly-owned subsidiary of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. The company manages capital by providing financial risk management solutions to companies with exposure to weather, along with investing/trading in weather derivatives, weather-contingent energy, and agricultural commodities.

  Jayant was the CEO/President of Weather Predict Inc., a company he co-founded in early 2000. In 2006, that company became wholly owned subsidiary of RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. Weather Predict has a patented technology used for improving the quality and skill of weather forecasts. Weather Predict provides a significant competitive edge to various financial companies.

  Jayant was Vice President at Renaissance Reinsurance Ltd in Bermuda. He was responsible companywide analytics, IT along with leading the development of REMS©, a proprietary reinsurance exposure/risk management and pricing system. Before joining Renaissance, Jayant was Vice President at Applied Insurance Research in Boston, a software/consulting firm specializing in insurance and reinsurance catastrophe risk management.

  Jayant and his wife are one of the founding families of Follow the Child Montessori School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Jayant served on the board of this school and was the Chairman for almost two years. Jayant is also an affiliate entrepreneur with Duke Fuqua School of Business, Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

  Jayant earned a BE in Mechanical Engineering from the College of Engineering, Pune University, India, and a master's degree in operations research from the University of Kentucky.

• Larry LaMere, Partner

  Larry LaMere joined Rod Fox in June 2000 for the creation of Benfield, LLC and led the formation of its operations and customer technical services. Following the merger with E.W. Blanch Co., he was responsible for all of the US operations of Benfield Group. These responsibilities covered all aspects of intermediary operations, including contract writing, fiduciary accounting, customer technical services, and information technology.

  Larry has over 30 years of reinsurance industry experience. Prior to joining Benfield, he worked at Aon Re were he was involved with their e-commerce initiatives, operations workflow analysis and broker technical support. Prior to Aon Re, Larry spent 18 years with E.W. Blanch Co. (including 1 year at Swire Blanch—Europe, Copenhagen). His responsibilities ranged from 8 years as CFO to various operational management functions. He formed one of the industry’s first formalized fiduciary accounting structures for an intermediary.

  Larry has an eclectic educational history primarily focused on finance, business administration, and accounting, as well as French, marketing, and statistics at the University of Minnesota.

  Larry serves on the Special Education Advisory Committee for the City of Bloomington schools and served as Chairman in 2006–2007.

• Marc Lauricella, Partner

  Marc Lauricella is a senior executive with many years of experience in the insurance and risk management industry. He has extensive experience in the reinsurance and insurance markets, working as a business development executive and reinsurance broker.

  Prior to joining TigerRisk Partners in 2008, Marc was the Chief Marketing Officer of Praetorian Financial Group, a specialty insurance company where he was instrumental in rebranding the business, redeveloping the production relationships with MGAs and wholesalers, and coordinating/placing corporate reinsurance programs. The sale of the $2B insurance premium company to QBE the Americas was completed in June of 2007.

  Before Praetorian, Marc served as a senior manager and executive for several successful reinsurance intermediaries, including E. W. Blanch Co. and Benfield, where he managed several significant reinsurance clients and was the US Team Leader of the MGA/GA business units which focused on the origination of MGA/GA opportunities and relationships, including client insurance carrier relationships and reinsurance placements.

  During his reinsurance broker career, Marc directed the reinsurance placements of several large corporate multi-line reinsurance programs and a significant number of large catastrophe reinsurance programs for Florida companies, including the coordination of several Florida property portfolio transfers and the restructuring of the catastrophe reinsurance programs to cover these portfolios.

  Marc received a Bachelor of Science degree from Tulane University and an MBA from Tulane University's AB Freeman School of Business. Marc holds the ARe designation.

• D. Robert Marsden, Jr., Partner

  Robert Marsden is a 30 year veteran of the reinsurance intermediary business. Prior to joining TigerRisk, he was an Executive Vice President with Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC and a member of Carpenter's Executive Sales Group. He also spent 20+ years with Carvill America, Inc. where he served as President. Robert began his career with Willis Faber & Dumas in London.

  Mr. Marsden is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

• Rick Pagnani, Partner

  Rick Pagnani has over 25 years of experience in the P&C and Life reinsurance industry. Prior to joining TigerRisk Partners in 2008, Rick served as the CEO of Ascendant Reinsurance Ltd, a Class 3 Bermuda-based reinsurance company focusing on catastrophe derivatives. Prior to Ascendant, Rick served as the President of Quanta Reinsurance US where he and his team were able to generate positive returns for the US reinsurance division over the two years that Rick served as President.

  Prior to Ascendant, Rick was a Managing Director at Swiss Re New Markets serving as the Global Head of Structured Life Reinsurance where he was able to consistently produce returns on risk-adjusted capital in excess of 25% with his group focusing on closed block surplus relief transactions and structured finance reinsurance.

  In 1994 Rick joined Zurich Reinsurance Centre as one of the founding employees. He became a Senior Vice President and the head of the Professional Liability Treaty Division where he drove the underwriting strategy and business development. The book ultimately yielded returns in excess of 15%. Prior to ZRC Rick worked at General Reinsurance as a facultative underwriter. Rick has also held a position as a primary underwriter with the Hermitage Insurance Company and spent time as a claims adjuster during summers at college.

  Rick received a BA in History from Hobart College and an MBA from Fordham University.

• Milan Radonich, Partner

  Milan Radonich is a senior financial executive with over 30 years of experience in the insurance industry and is currently the Chief Financial Officer of F&S Ventures LLC and its subsidiaries, including TigerRisk Partners.

  Prior to joining F&S, Milan was the CFO of Praetorian Financial Group, a $1.8B premium property/casualty insurance company subsidiary of Hannover Re, and together with Rod Fox played a key role in its sale to QBE. Prior to joining PFG, Milan was the CFO of Benfield Group's US operations and was responsible for transitioning and restructuring its finance function from Dallas, Texas to Westport, Connecticut and was a key participant in the Group's successful initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. Prior to Benfield, Milan was the CFO of Allied North America, one of the country's largest independently-owned specialty insurance brokerage firms, and was responsible for redesigning and strengthening its financial operations, as well as other portions of its business, which led to overall improved financial performance and results.

  Milan spent much of his career at Ernst & Young as a senior partner, advising public and private insurance clients on merger and acquisition and other business strategies, including successful initial public offerings and other capital-raising initiatives, aggregating over $1B. Milan also assisted his clients in identifying hidden business risks and control deficiencies and in developing risk aversion strategies and improved financial controls leading to more accurate accounting and greater transparency. Milan also assisted insurance regulators with several of their largest insurance company rehabilitation and liquidation proceedings and with the education of their insurance financial examiners.

  Milan received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and finance from Northern Illinois University. Milan is a licensed Certified Public Accountant, a Fellow in the Life Management Institute, and Chairman of the Society of Insurance Financial Management's Reinsurance committee and a member of its Executive Committee. Milan is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State CPA Society.

• Mike Schnur, Partner

  Mike Schnur is a senior reinsurance leader with over 30 years in the industry. Before joining TigerRisk Partners in 2009, Mike was an Executive Vice President with Benfield. He was co-leader of their Client Development practice and a member of their U.S. Executive Committee.

  Prior to Benfield, Mike spent 11 years with Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC as an Executive Vice President with various responsibilities. He opened and ran their Chicago office, was head of their Mid-America Region, as well as becoming Global Head of their Business Development efforts. Mike was a member of Guy Carpenter's Executive Committee. Mike spent 10 years with Aon Re and was a member of their Executive Committee. He began his career as a reinsurance underwriter, first with General Re, and then with F&G Re.

  Mike is a graduate of Drake University, with a BSBA in Accounting, and is a CPA.

• Nathan Schwartz, FCAS, MAAA, CFA, Partner

  Nathan Schwartz was formerly Executive Vice President at Benfield Inc., in charge of the Financial Modeling department. His expertise touches on the areas of economic capital modeling, reinsurance structure analysis, risk modeling and measurement, risk and capital allocation, and structuring and pricing reinsurance products, including securitized reinsurance.

  Nathan joined E.W. Blanch Co. (now Aon Benfield) in 1999 and became the head of the financial modeling department in 2001. Over the last ten years Nathan helped design, analyze, and optimize reinsurance structures for many of the insurance industry's largest companies. He was involved in the development and creation of many risk modeling, risk measurement, and reinsurance optimization tools and techniques with a special focus in catastrophe risk management and optimization. For the investment banking unit, Nathan performed the financial and risk modeling in support of the raising of nearly $1B of capital for reinsurance "sidecars." As a value-added service, Nathan designed economic capital policies and procedures, built economic capital models for clients, and helped clients allocate capital to risk groups and measure return on capital.

  Prior to entering reinsurance, Nathan worked at The St. Paul Companies (now Travelers), first in the Medical Malpractice division and later in the reserving department where he was responsible for specialty commercial business, such as Ocean Marine, Public Entities, and Financial Institutions.

  Nathan has a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics and computer science from Carleton College and a Master of Science degree in mathematics from Northwestern University. Nathan is a Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society, a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries, and has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Nathan has published and presented before the Casualty Actuarial Society and at other conferences on reinsurance, reinsurance securitization, risk modeling and risk management topics.