Aditya Dutt departs RenRe. O’Donnell assumes Ventures responsibility

The leader of RenaissanceRe’s third-party reinsurance capital and joint-venture focused Ventures business Aditya Dutt is set to leave the firm for a new opportunity, with CEO Kevin O’Donnell to assume control of the unit.

RenaissanceRe (RenRe), the Bermuda-headquartered reinsurance company and third-party capital manager with over $10 billion of committed capital under its management at this time, has seen the Ventures business rise in importance over recent years, as its capital from third-party investors rose rapidly over the last few years.

Dutt had been with RenRe for twelve years, most recently holding the position of Senior Vice President, Ventures.

In his time at the reinsurer, Dutt has led the structuring and management of RenRe’s joint ventures, including third-party capitalised DaVinci Re, State Farm linked joint-venture Top Layer Re, the retrocessional reinsurance focused Upsilon funds and the catastrophe bond and collateralised reinsurance focused Medici ILS Fund, among others.

Dutt also directed RenaissanceRe’s portfolio of strategic investments and its own investments in and offerings of insurance-linked securities (ILS) in the role.

He also held the position of Treasurer for a time, with responsibility for Investor Relations and Corporate Development.

Under his watch RenRe has grown its third-party reinsurance capital significantly to become one of the largest managers of ILS related assets and the company has added new vehicles including the Vermeer Re joint-venture with pension investment giant PGGM and the Langhorne Re joint-venture with life reinsurer RGA in recent years.

Reflecting the key importance of the Venture business, RenRe CEO Kevin O’Donnell will now assume responsibility for the Ventures business on an interim basis, as Dutt departs for an unspecified new opportunity.

O’Donnell commented, “I am excited to be leading the Ventures business at a time when I see many opportunities to profitably deploy partner capital. Our Ventures team combines deep bench strength with a track record of innovation. For more than 20 years, we have helped our clients reduce their volatility through our unique capability to match attractive risk with both owned and partner capital. Given these market opportunities and the strength of our team, systems and partner relationships, I look forward to furthering our legacy as an industry-leading manager of partner capital.

“We appreciate Aditya’s many contributions to our success during his time with RenaissanceRe. He has done an outstanding job managing our Ventures business. We will miss him personally and professionally and wish him well in his future endeavor.”

Dutt has an excellent track-record and reputation in the reinsurance and insurance-linked securities (ILS) sectors, so it will be interesting to see where he lands in this new opportunity.