Mosaic Insurance Launches London M&A Team
Mosaic Insurance has launched a transactional liability team in the United Kingdom and expanded its M&A unit in the United States to respond to the global market’s record pace and volume of deal activity.
The company announced the hiring of Sam Whiteman and Andrew Gofton-Salmond in London to establish its international transactional liability platform, with plans for further growth in coming months.
“This is an important juncture in Mosaic’s development as we approach the end of our first calendar year,” said Co-CEO Mark Wheeler.
“Transactional liability is a core focus of our model and growth strategy, and a product line we expect to grow exponentially, in North America and beyond. The fast-paced development of our M&A platform, first in the US and now ramping up in London, serves the rising needs of clients in an unprecedented environment.”
Mosaic’s new London-based transactional liability team, Sam Whiteman and Andrew Gofton-Salmond
“The UK launch follows a rapid buildout of the business line since the specialty startup hired William Monat as Global Head of Transactional Liability in April, followed by Stavan Desai in May as North American team leader and Katherine Spenner as Chief Legal Officer,” the company noted.
“Mosaic began underwriting M&A coverage in July, including representations and warranties insurance [RWI] and other transactional risk products. Since then, its US-based M&A team has expanded to a total of 16 specialists, including JT Hutchens as Global Head of Tax, most based in New York.
“Whiteman joins the company as SVP, Head of International Transactional Liability, reporting to Monat. Previously head of London and emerging markets at Liberty Mutual, he will manage Mosaic’s transactional liability underwriting outside of North America with initial focus on the UK, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa [EMEA].
“Gofton-Salmond joins Mosaic as VP, Manager, Transactional Liability. With over a decade of experience advising on and underwriting M&A transactions, he joins from AIG, where he was a senior underwriter with a focus on providing insurance for M&A deals across the UK, Europe and emerging markets.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome Sam and Andrew to join the incredibly talented group of experts we’ve been building over recent months, and the timing couldn’t be better,” said Monat. “Economic conditions are driving heavy deal volume and value, and insurance coverage has become vital to help buyers and sellers achieve timely closures. To meet that robust demand with specialized underwriting, we plan to add another dozen specialists by the end of next year.”
New additions to Mosaic’s US transactional liability team: Hannah Burnham, Edward Newton, Robert Bowne, Brian Howton, Casey Olden, Shannon Westerlind, Matteo Maroun
“I’m delighted to join Mosaic’s team and enter the market at a time where our offering and experience is needed more than ever,” said Whiteman. “We’re creating a market-leading underwriting team in London and EMEA, with huge opportunity further afield, working with key partners to meet client needs.”
“Recent additions to Mosaic’s M&A team in New York include:
- Hannah Burnham, SVP, who underwrites complex and multi-faceted transactional liability risks. Previously, she was a senior vice president at leading specialty M&A insurance broker Atlantic Global Risk in New York, with prior experience as a corporate attorney at Ropes & Gray, focusing on private equity and healthcare M&A.
- Edward Newton, SVP, who underwrites transactional liability risks. Previously, he was vice president at Berkley Transactional, responsible for negotiating and marketing representations and warranties and related transactional insurance policies, and prior, was an M&A and corporate attorney at Schulte Roth & Zabel and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
- Robert Bowne, VP, who brings experience underwriting a variety of complex M&A risks. Previously, he was a forensic accountant at KPMG, responsible for transactional-related disputes, including breaches of representation and warranty claims, net working capital and earnout disputes.
- Brian Howton, VP, who specializes in complex M&A risks. He worked previously as an associate in the New York office of law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, where he represented private-equity sponsors in a variety of domestic and cross-border M&A transactions.
- Casey Olden, VP, who underwrites M&A risks, after previously practicing corporate law as an associate attorney at Golenbock Eiseman Assor Bell & Peskoe in New York, and Chipman Mazzucco Emerson in Danbury, CT.
- Shannon Westerlind, VP, underwrites M&A risks after previously working at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, in New York, where she focused on capital markets and mergers and acquisitions.
- Matteo Maroun, AVP, underwrites and develops the unit’s operational infrastructure and team of analysts. Previously, he was a senior analyst at AIG in its M&A insurance group.
“Other important additions to Mosaic’s transactional liability team in New York include Legal Analyst Tamar Katamadze and Analysts Griffin Genet, Yuqi Lin, Justin Wong, and Vivian Ye.
“Transactional liability is among the company’s suite of six product lines, each selected for relevance to current and projected global market conditions. Other units include cyber, political risk, political violence, financial institutions, and professional liability.”
