The Ardonagh Group, insurance brokerage company lands in Italy

• Carlo Faina, Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, will assume the position of Managing Director of a new Italian trading company created to drive forward Ardonagh’s growth strategy within Italy.

Ardonagh Europe, based in Dublin and part of The Ardonagh Group, one of the world's leading independent brokerage groups, with £10 billion in gross insurance premiums, 150 locations globally and over 9,000 people, lands in Italy with the aim of expanding its business in our country, while expanding its presence in Europe, where it already boasts a leadership in the UK and Irish market.

Leading the new company in Italy, which will be established to develop the business and accelerate the growth of Ardonagh, will be Carlo Faina, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group for the Italian operations since 2011, who will join Ardonagh in November 2022.

Carlo Faina has a deep knowledge of the insurance and insurance brokerage market thanks to the experience gained in the sector. In 1988 he co-founded RIB, a company where he remained until his assignment in Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group, which has become over the years the largest Italian independent reinsurance intermediary, managing activities also in the United States, and becoming the first Lloyd's broker in Italy, Switzerland, Portugal, and Turkey.

His entry will be instrumental in strengthening and consolidating Ardonagh's position in European markets, offering advisory services to clients and strengthening its partnership with The Ardonagh Group.

Ardonagh's European arm is led by CEO Conor Brennan and was founded in 2021 with the aim of investing in the best companies and management teams in Europe to support the Group's growth.

"The uniqueness of Ardonagh's European offering," said Conor Brennan, CEO of Ardonagh Europe, "has helped attract a high-profile professional like Carlo. We are delighted to welcome him to our leadership team, as we accelerate our mission to expand Ardonagh’s footprint in key European markets. Our goal is to build a portfolio of brands and insurance broker companies that are leaders in their target markets."

Italy - continues Brennan - "plays a key role in our European strategy, given the size of the insurance market and its level of sophistication. We believe it is a high-potential market in which to invest. We look forward to working with the rich talent pool of the Italian insurance industry, which will certainly benefit from the size and opportunities we offer in The Ardonagh Group."

I am thrilled – comments Carlo Faina - to join The Ardonagh Group and support their ambitious plan to add Italy and the opportunities that the Italian insurance and reinsurance sector offers to their new European businesses.  Ardonagh's phenomenal rise over the past five years, currently among the top 20 global brokers, is a testament to the strength, foresight and talent of their management team and the quality of the many companies within the group that share Ardonagh's vision.  I am proud to start working in such an innovative company to develop its important brokerage activity in Italy".

In December 2021, The Ardonagh Group announced the acquisition of MDS Group, an insurance broker and risk management advisor, a leader in the Portuguese-speaking world and Europe.

A significant new investment in the Group's shareholding, led by current long-term partners Madison Dearborn Partners and HPS Investment Partners, announced in December 2021, that it would value Ardonagh at $7.5 billion.

Notes to Editors

THE ARDONAGH GROUP

The Ardonagh Group is one of the world's leading independent insurance distribution platforms. The Group has the best entrepreneurial and specialised brands with a network of over 150 locations with over 9,000 people. The portfolio offers a highly diversified choice of insurance products and services along the entire insurance value chain in the UK, Ireland, and wider international markets. From complex multinationals to people buying personal insurance policies, understanding the communities it serves, along with the reach and breadth, allows the Group to work with insurance partners to provide a wide range of products and customised solutions that meet customer needs.

Ardonagh's international platform represents a reality of growth of the Group in Europe and in the rest of the world. It includes Arachas, the Republic of Ireland's largest commercial insurance broker that provides exclusive insurance solutions through a multi-channel distribution strategy; Resilium, Australia's largest network of independent intermediaries; AccuRisk Solutions, a US-based MGA focused on medical stop loss products, and HWF Partners, a fast-growing mergers and acquisitions insurance broker operating in the UK and Germany.