TigerRisk Partners LLC, the risk/capital management and strategic advisory firm, today announced that it has appointed Philipp Kusche as Partner and Global Head of Insurance-Linked Securities (ILS) and Capital Solutions. In his new position, Mr. Kusche will develop next-generation ILS and other insurance risk-to-capital solutions. He will report to Tony Ursano, President of TigerRisk."Philipp Kusche is a highly experienced reinsurance capital markets expert with a keen perspective on the innovation, disruption, and evolution occurring in our industry," said Mr. Ursano. "At TigerRisk, Philipp will have the clear remit to continue to architect new structures and products which more closely and efficiently link risk with capital for the benefit of our clients"
Mr. Kusche comes to TigerRisk from Swiss Re Capital Markets in New York where he was the Head of ILS Structuring and Origination, responsible for creating and executing billions of dollars worth of CAT bonds, sidecars, contingent capital structures, and other alternative capital products. In addition to such sell-side activities, he structured, priced, and executed a large number of CAT derivatives.
"At TigerRisk, I hope to achieve two goals," said Mr. Kusche. "First I look forward to being a truly independent and objective advisor, able to provide clients truly holistic solutions using the entire spectrum of capital independent of its source, whether from traditional reinsurance or the capital markets.
"My second goal is to develop a range of new, more efficient risk-transfer solutions using instruments designed to attract highly sophisticated insurance risk specialists at hedge funds, large pension funds, institutional investors, etc., who have the requisite knowledge to assess the risks, as well as products allowing broader access from non-specialist institutional investors."
Mr. Kusche earned a BS in Civil Engineering from Bauhaus University in Germany and a Masters in Civil Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute in Zurich. His Masters Thesis, supported by Credit Suisse, was on public-private partnerships and their potential in Switzerland.
He joined Swiss Re in 2002 as a management trainee, quickly advanced into the Energy Practice as a property underwriter and then was transferred to New York in 2006 to join Swiss Re's ILS Practice. Since then he has evolved into one of the most experienced and creative developers of new capital markets insurance risk products.
Rod Fox, founder and CEO of TigerRisk, added: "I am delighted to welcome Philipp to TigerRisk. His addition to our team is a continuation of our build-out of a world-class capital markets and advisory capability. In addition, Philipp's combined reinsurance and capital markets background is a perfect fit for our holistic and embedded approach to the business."
Mr. Kusche is married and has two children. He resides in Fairfield County, CT. He will be headquartered at TigerRisk's New York offices.