Africa Specialty Risks (ASR) has hired Kieran Wilson as a senior energy underwriter. The Lloyd's-backed group is pushing to expand its oil and gas book across Africa and the Middle East.
Wilson brings more than 17 years of energy underwriting experience across Lloyd's, company, and MGA markets. He will report to Suzan Pardesi, head of energy and deputy active underwriter for Syndicate 2454.
ASR launched Syndicate 2454 at Lloyd's in April 2024, the first Africa-focused syndicate to write business at Lloyd's. Managed by Apollo, the syndicate added the Baobab Consortium in January 2025. Baobab provides up to US$26 million in Lloyd's capacity for African and developing market risks.
ASR expects to write approximately $500 million in gross written premiums in 2026. That scale makes the energy line increasingly material to the group's overall performance.
In June 2026, Vitruvian Partners agreed to acquire a controlling stake in ASR from founding investor Helios Investment Partners, subject to regulatory approvals. The deal targets expansion across East and West Africa, India, South-East Asia, and Latin America.
Wilson's remit covers underwriting oil and gas and wider energy business across Africa and other developing markets. His background centres on downstream energy, with additional exposure spanning upstream, midstream and power. That range aligns with the variety of energy projects ASR underwrites across Africa.
Before joining ASR, Wilson spent just over a year as head of energy at Helyx Group, a specialist MGA. There he led the development of a new energy class from the ground up.
Earlier senior energy underwriter roles included Barents Re and Chubb, alongside five-and-a-half years at MAPFRE Global Risks. He started his career at Broadgate Syndicate 1301 in 2008 and also held underwriting roles at ArgoGlobal and StarStone Insurance.
Africa's total reinsurance market has grown to over US$6 billion, per a February 2026 analysis. Lloyd's-backed capacity has become increasingly active on the continent, with ASR's Syndicate 2454 among the primary vehicles for that activity.
ASR received accreditation from the National Bank of Rwanda in August 2025 to provide reinsurance capacity to Rwanda's insurance market. The accreditation enabled ASR and Syndicate 2454 to offer AA-rated reinsurance to domestic insurers there.
The energy market context adds complexity to ASR's growth plans. WTW reported in November 2025 that downstream energy insurance losses reached roughly US$3.5 billion for the year. The total matched market premium for the sector, and underwriting margins are under pressure as a result.
Pardesi said Wilson's background in complex oil and gas projects would support ASR's plans across the region. "As we continue to grow our energy portfolio across Africa and the Middle East, his experience supporting complex oil and gas projects will be instrumental in delivering solutions for our clients and partners," she said.
