Liberty Specialty Markets appoints first chief cyber officer

New hire’s credentials include the Royal Air Force, where he focused on cyber, intelligence, IT, and engineering

Liberty Specialty Markets appoints first chief cyber officer

Cyber

By Terry Gangcuangco

Liberty Specialty Markets (LSM) now has a chief cyber officer in the form of Jon Rigby (pictured).

Effective immediately, the appointment sees Rigby bring his extensive cyber experience to the newly created role in London.

Prior to coming onboard, the LSM chief cyber officer co-led the cybersecurity team at consulting firm AlixPartners. Rigby’s credentials also include 33 years in the Royal Air Force where he served in cyber, intelligence, IT, and engineering roles.

“Information is a key business enabler and very often the most valuable asset of a business,” noted the former Air Vice-Marshal whose previous remit involved leadership of Defence’s cyber operations and programmes. “Even a cursory read of the news shows that the cybersecurity threat to the profitability and value of businesses and the reputation of executives, is an unavoidable aspect of doing business today.

“Cybersecurity insurance is still immature, and in my experience risk transfer is often overlooked as an effective component of a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. Liberty is at the cutting edge of recognising this opportunity, and I’m delighted to join the team and to help our customers to prosper.”

Commenting on the key arrival, LSM executive underwriting officer Peter Smith said the appointment supports the company’s vision to be a leading global specialty (re)insurer for cyber risk in terms of governance, thought leadership, and client value solutions across all product lines.

“Jon has joined LSM to further develop our strategy to review, define, and deliver what best practice for underwriting cybersecurity should look like,” stated Smith. “He is a subject matter expert and brings a wealth of experience and learnings from outside the insurance industry.”

Meanwhile the firm has established a cyber centre of excellence, which is designed to interface with LSM’s insurance and reinsurance underwriting functions led by cyber insurance head Matthew Hogg and cyber reinsurance head Ivonne Staisch. The centre of excellence will be driven by the chief cyber officer.

 

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