Howden Re appoints Gruen head of cyber threat intel

Cyber risk specialist Harriet Gruen has been appointed as Howden Re’s new head of cyber threat intelligence, a new role at the reinsurance broker.

Based in London, the broker said her appointment marks the expansion of its cyber reinsurance capabilities in threat intelligence and education amid a heightened macro cyber environment.

Gruen (pictured) joins Howden Re with eight years of cyber industry experience, the four most recent of which were at global insurers.

As a senior cyber risk advisor at Axis Capital in London she helped list the first 144A cyber catastrophe bond and led investor education on cyber risk.

Previously, she was a cyber risk specialist at Tokio Marine, designing cyber scenarios and delivering technical training.

Gruen also worked at HSBC and Digital Shadows in London in the strategic security threat and cyber threat teams, respectively, and in the Department of the Australian Prime Minister.

“It is Howden Re’s opinion that cyber carriers will take an increasingly cat-focused approach to reinsurance and retro buying, which is one of the fields in which the cyber team has considerable expertise and experience,” the broker said.

Howden Re said its cyber team had undergone a period of rapid growth as demand for cyber reinsurance services continues to increase in an enhanced risk landscape.

The firm said it advocates for the recalibration of cyber risk appetite, informed by better data, improved interpretation of that data, and a more refined approach to modelling.

The new threat intelligence function is fundamental to that approach, Howden Re said, including developing scenarios bespoke to clients, and keeping carriers informed as cyber cat events unfold.

Ultimately, the broker said this enables clients to take a more nuanced approach to purchasing the most efficient reinsurance in line with risk tolerance and their own distinct cyber portfolios.

“With estimates of the Cyber insurance market growing to in excess of $40bn by 2030, there is significant recalibration needed to realise the market’s potential,” said Luke Foord-Kelcey, global head of cyber, Howden Re.

“Howden Re is at the forefront of this rapidly evolving market, notably through our approach to helping carriers better understand their own exposure and tolerance for this risk, and the members of the team pioneering the Cyber event market over the last eight years,” he said.

“We’re delighted to welcome Harriet to the team, having closely followed her formidable work with major cyber portfolios. Harriet’s expertise will further our commitment to guiding clients through an increasingly complex cyber threat landscape to help them realise the massive growth potential in this class,” Foord-Kelcey said.

Gruen added: “I am excited to be joining the experienced, market leading Cyber team at Howden Re. It is an incredible opportunity to build threat intelligence products to support our clients’ view of cyber risk, particularly around systemic exposure.

“Howden Re’s focus on innovation will provide the foundation for developing threat and research insights to guide bespoke cyber scenarios and analyse systemic dependencies. The recent global IT outage provides an example of these interdependencies, with many lessons learned around response and recovery which can inform cyber modelling assumptions.”

Recent senior appointments to Howden Re’s cyber reinsurance practice:

• · Luke Foord-Kelcey joined Howden Re in October 2023 to build out the practice as global head of cyber. He joined after seven years at Aon Reinsurance where was global head of cyber, and has nearly 20 years’ experience in various roles in the cyber market.
• · Matthew Webb joined in May 2023 as head of cyber clients and strategy. He spent the majority of his career at Hiscox, including as group head of cyber and leading their Lloyd’s syndicate cyber portfolio as line underwriter.
• · Mark Lynch joined in October 2023 as head of cyber data and analytics from Aon Reinsurance, which he left as the head of cyber innovation and capital.
• · Toby Lampier joined in July 2023 as head of cyber broking and markets, having previously been at Aon for nearly 10 years, including six years in cyber reinsurance.
• · Jack Sandford joined in October 2023 as a director in cyber reinsurance, and previously had held roles at Aon and Canopius in cyber reinsurance and catastrophe risk, respectively.
• · Cecilia Assmundson joined in July 2023 as an associate director, following roles at Aon Reinsurance and Chaucer in cyber analytics and exposure management.

Other related recent hires include:

• · Wolfram Schultz joined as head of casualty treaty reinsurance for Continental Europe in January 2024, following nearly four years as head of underwriting and group protections for liability and specialty at Axa Global Re, including group protections for cyber portfolios.
• · Paddy Bousfield joined Howden Re in April 2024 as managing director in Bermuda, following leadership roles in the cyber reinsurance teams at Capsicum, part of Gallagher Re, and Lockton Re.
• · Anke Salm joined in June 2023 as head of Germany, Austria and chief broking officer after 19 years at Guy Carpenter, including cyber retro market experience.