Former Hiscox CEO Bronek Masojada was a new Sheriff in town, representing the City of London, at RVS 2024 in Monte Carlo, where he caught up with GR’s David Benyon.
Bronek Masojada is no stranger to Monte Carlo, having led insurer Hiscox as its CEO for more than 20 years, regularly attending the annual Rendez-vous de Septembre as a leading buyer and seller of reinsurance.
However, since retiring from Hiscox in 2021, his role at the rendezvous has changed, this time attending as a Sheriff representing the City of London – more of an ambassadorial position.
“I’ve had a great career, but eventually you ask yourself ‘what am I going to do when I stop being a chief executive?’” Masojada said.
He explained his Sheriff role, which goes beyond ceremony, as a promoter of the City of London – the ancient heart of London and one of the world’s leading financial centres.
“The ceremonial aspect to the role has value in itself, but the other part of the role, for the Lord Mayor and the Sheriffs, is to promote the City of London, and the UK, to financial services and professional services business.”
He makes a crucial contribution in this ambassadorial presence – to represent the London market for re/insurance business – which has been under-represented within the ranks of the City of London Corporation for many years, something Masojada is keen to reverse.
“For many years, the reality was that the City of London Corporation was about banking, more banking, then lawyers and accountants. I’m here to change that perception,” Masojada said.
The banking heavy, insurance-light perception has led to some frustrations, he admitted, but these have also led to a realisation that there was a need to build awareness.
In order to change the perception that “there’s also insurance…you have to get involved to change things,” he stressed.
To that end, five years ago, Masojada was elected as an ‘Alderman’ for Billingsgate ward.
Some other senior insurance market figures, such as Dominic Christian of Aon, and Henry Colthurst of R&Q, have taken up positions within the ranks of the City’s ancient organisation in the past decade.
Sue Langley, chair of Gallagher UK, will be the next Lady Mayor of London for 2025-2026, only the third time a woman has held the role in more than 800 years.
“More and more people from the insurance sector have got involved, perceptions change, and now there’s a realisation of what we should be promoting as part of the UK offering,” he said.
A little further down the line, in 2027-2028, election to the Lord Mayor role is a realistic prospect for Masojada, a couple of years after that, he revealed.
The City of London Corporation will host a Global Risk Summit in May 2025, linking the re/insurance market with its customers and government, Masojada said.
Streams for the event will focus on topics such as artificial intelligence, cyber risk, geopolitical instability, supply chain risks and natural catastrophe risks.
Masojada cherishes his bespoke badge of office as Sheriff, which includes a stack of personal references, including a South African springbok, British, Polish and Scottish nods to family, as well as the logos of Lloyd’s, a fish for Billingsgate, and of course the Fleur-de-Lys of Hiscox.
He also conceded he had heard quite a few Sheriff jokes during the course of several days of meetings and dinners while at the reinsurance rendezvous.
“Quite a few people ask me whether I’m here to arrest them,” he added.
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