Hashtag: #RossWebberColumns
Column: The New Normal & The Newer Normal
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] 1] You must survive now to be opportunistic and strategic later. 2] Know Your Customer. If you aren’t practising CRM – you’d best get cracking. 3] Communicate – and be human when you do it. We are already in the New Normal. And that New Normal will be an even Newer Normal in three weeks’, six weeks’... Read more of this article
Column: 21 Billion In Merger & Acquisition Deals
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] Twenty-one billion. That’s the dollar value of merger-and-acquisition deals announced so far this year in Bermuda’s re/insurance market. The shopping spree on our island by major global entities should come as no surprise. Continued soft-market conditions, coupled with the pursuit of capital efficiencies,... Read more of this article
Column: Getting ‘On Board’ With Diversity
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] A new year is an opportune time to re-calibrate—to take a fresh look at working environments and ditch preconceptions. A recent panel organised by Bermuda’s Women in Reinsurance [WiRe] deftly tackled this topic from a corporate governance point of view. Its focus was how to encourage more diversity on boards... Read more of this article
Column: The ’50 Shades Of Grey List’
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] People often ask me what I find most enjoyable about my job. It’s one of those open-ended questions that demands a quick mental inventory of experiences, mixed with a dose of soul-searching. My eventual answer might sound vague, because the truth is, there’s a list of feel-good factors: the dedicated BDA... Read more of this article
Column: Paradise Papers, The Rest Of The Story
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] Amid the hype of this month’s “Paradise Papers,” some key ingredients have gone missing—the rest of the story. The insidious campaign, waged by the International Consortium of Journalists [ICIJ] using data from an illegal hack of Appleby, is well-choreographed and evidently well-funded. Proponents of... Read more of this article
Column: ‘Scope And Speed Of ILS Development’
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] I was privileged to join a group of venerable industry leaders this month on a panel about the power of disruption. It was a discussion hosted by the Bermuda Under 40s Reinsurance Group about the innovative influence of the Bermuda market to transform this industry in 2017, the way it has for decades. In a globalised... Read more of this article
Column: Storms & Bermuda-Based Re/Insurers
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] Thirty years ago, Hurricane Emily hit Bermuda. She was a Cat 1 storm—and the first major tempest of its kind that many islanders can remember. The previous hurricane that strong was back in 1948. Emily made landfall on September 25, 1987, packing 90-mile-per-hour winds, gusts up to 112, and even a few tornadoes. Emily’s... Read more of this article
Column: Jurisdictional Advocacy Beyond Politics
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] The politics of reputation can pose thorny challenges. As Warren Buffett famously noted, “it takes 20 years to build a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it.” Especially if you’re a small, highly successful jurisdiction that finds itself in the bulls-eye of global grandstanding. Bermuda’s long-established... Read more of this article
Column: Season Of Superyachts
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] Remember the opening sequence of The Living Daylights when Timothy Dalton parachutes from a careening Land Rover on to a superyacht off the Rock of Gibraltar? It’s ripe with the symbolism of plenty, from the exotic Mediterranean setting to the glass of champagne proffered on deck by actress Kell Tyler in a... Read more of this article
Column: Bermuda Shines At Bloomberg
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] When it comes to business endorsement, you can’t do much better than having Mike Bloomberg big you up before a live global audience of investors and corporate influencers. That’s exactly what happened when we co-hosted a top-level business forum at his glass-towered Lexington Avenue headquarters. Bloomberg... Read more of this article
Column: Insurance Innovators & Inspiration
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] Spring is about fresh starts, and at the BDA offices, the spirit of inspiration is feeling decidedly millennial. In the past month, we’ve welcomed Under-40s members of the American Association of General Managing Agents [AAMGA] and the US Reinsurance Under 40s Group, Inc [Re Under 40s] Annual Tour. We also... Read more of this article
Column: Business CEOs, In Their Own Words
[Opinion column written by Ross Webber] I am expected to fly Bermuda’s reputational flag. As CEO of the country’s business development agency, it’s a given. As the Geico ad goes, “it’s what you do.” I’m a staunch defender and pro-active advocate for the jurisdiction. I genuinely believe in Bermuda’s undeniable value as a blue-chip international... Read more of this article
