Management Team
Jeff Burt
Prior to joining Somerset, Jeff was President of Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America and a member of the company’s Strategic Council. He joined the company in 2003 and led the company’s Financial Solutions business. Under his leadership, Hannover Re became an industry leader in the provision of...
Continue readingJeff Burt
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Prior to joining Somerset, Jeff was President of Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America and a member of the company’s Strategic Council. He joined the company in 2003 and led the company’s Financial Solutions business. Under his leadership, Hannover Re became an industry leader in the provision of structured reinsurance solutions, having closed over 100 transactions. Jeff guided the ongoing expansion of Hannover Re, with the founding in 2014 of Hannover Life Reassurance Company of America (Bermuda) Ltd., and in 2018 of its structured reinsurance affiliate Kubera Insurance (SAC) Ltd. He served as President and CEO of both companies. Prior to Hannover, Jeff held a number of actuarial roles at Penn Mutual Life.
Jeff earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Actuarial Science from Lebanon Valley College. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.
Brian Holland
Prior to co-founding Somerset Re, Brian was Senior Vice President of the Life Solutions Group at Willis Re, a team responsible for building Willis Re’s entry into the life and annuity reinsurance marketplace. As Principal in the advisory firm Mann Conroy Eisenberg & Associates, Brian created risk management and sec...
Continue readingBrian Holland
Chief Marketing Officer
Prior to co-founding Somerset Re, Brian was Senior Vice President of the Life Solutions Group at Willis Re, a team responsible for building Willis Re’s entry into the life and annuity reinsurance marketplace.
As Principal in the advisory firm Mann Conroy Eisenberg & Associates, Brian created risk management and securitization solutions for insurers, reinsurers, banks and large benefit plans.
Brian served as Executive Vice President and member of the Board of Directors at Annuity & Life Re America, developing the new U.S. life reinsurance operations.
Brian was Vice President, Domestic and International Risk Management at ING Re. Serving as Global Chief Marketing Officer, he also developed ING Re’s entry into the Bermuda and Japan markets.
Brian also held senior marketing and underwriting positions at Transamerica Re and General Re. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management /Marketing from Providence College.
Christopher Smith
Prior to joining Somerset, Chris was Global Head of Financial Solutions at SCOR Global Life Reinsurance in London, and prior to that Head of Group Corporate Finance (M&A) and Treasury at SCOR SE in Paris. Chris brings over 20 years of client-focused structured reinsurance in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe ...
Continue readingChristopher Smith
Head of Structured Reinsurance
Prior to joining Somerset, Chris was Global Head of Financial Solutions at SCOR Global Life Reinsurance in London, and prior to that Head of Group Corporate Finance (M&A) and Treasury at SCOR SE in Paris. Chris brings over 20 years of client-focused structured reinsurance in the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, focusing on client capital, liquidity, ratings and solvency optimization. Prior to reinsurance, Chris was a co-founding partner of Wafra Partners LLC, a private equity fund in New York City with an emphasis on financial institutions and technology, as well as an investment banker and non-executive board member.
Chris earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Accounting from Florida State University.
Clark Jeffries
Clark joined Somerset Re from Bank of America where he was a Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group within the Investment Banking Division. Clark was responsible for leading a variety of the firm’s relationships in the insurance and insurance services sectors and advised clients on many industry..
Continue readingClark Jeffries
Chief Investment Officer
Clark joined Somerset Re from Bank of America where he was a Managing Director in the Financial Institutions Group within the Investment Banking Division. Clark was responsible for leading a variety of the firm’s relationships in the insurance and insurance services sectors and advised clients on many industry defining merger & acquisition and financing transactions.
Prior to joining Bank of America Clark was a Vice President in the Financial Institutions Group of Citi.
Clark majored in Finance at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration with Honors.
Scott Selkirk
Scott was previously the Head of Pricing at Standard Life of Canada’s Bermuda Branch where he led the evaluation of all new reinsurance opportunities and was responsible for client relationship management.
As Vice President at ACE Tempest Life Re, Scott was involved in...
Scott Selkirk
Chief Underwriting Officer
Scott was previously the Head of Pricing at Standard Life of Canada’s Bermuda Branch where he led the evaluation of all new reinsurance opportunities and was responsible for client relationship management.
As Vice President at ACE Tempest Life Re, Scott was involved in all aspects of new business including pricing, client relations and treaty negotiation, covering both variable annuity guarantee and traditional life reinsurance solutions.
Prior to relocating to Bermuda in 2007, Scott worked for New York Life, ING, and MetLife where he held various actuarial roles, mainly focused on product development, where he worked closely with distribution teams to bring innovative and sophisticated life insurance solutions to market.
Scott is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Scott graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Statistics from Boston University.
Steve Robb
Stephen was previously EVP and Chief Financial Officer for AXA XL, the P&C and specialty risk division of AXA. In this role, he was responsible for all financial and actuarial matters, as well as the investment function of the company, and led a team of over 1,000 employees. In addition, he managed all Tax activities and...
Continue readingSteve Robb
Chief Financial Officer
Stephen was previously EVP and Chief Financial Officer for AXA XL, the P&C and specialty risk division of AXA. In this role, he was responsible for all financial and actuarial matters, as well as the investment function of the company, and led a team of over 1,000 employees. In addition, he managed all Tax activities and Global Treasury functions to include capital, cash, FX, collateral, and liquidity management.
Steve joined XL as VP SEC Reporting in 2004 and progressively moved into positions of increasing responsibilities to include SVP Accounting Policy, Chief Accounting Officer and Group Controller, before being named CFO in March 2017. Prior, he was with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Bermuda as Senior Manager and Insurance Industry Group Leader, where he specialized in financial services, particularly insurance and reinsurance companies, with major clients to include ACE, Montpelier Re, Everest Re and White Mountains. Prior he was Manager and then Supervisor in their Insurance Group, and began his career with then Pricewaterhouse in Montreal 1994 as Senior Accountant.
Stephen graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Neuroscience from McGill University.