PartnerRe has made three concurrent appointments within its global catastrophe business unit. The reshuffle covers senior leadership across underwriting, retrocession, and risk modelling.
Erik Rüttener takes on the role of interim head of retro and international. The role carries an interim designation, the only appointment of the three described as temporary. Rüttener joined PartnerRe in 2008 as head of catastrophe research and was elevated to chief underwriting officer and deputy head of catastrophe in 2011.
Olivia Bishop assumes the combined role of global cat, CUO, and head of North America. The dual mandate gives her oversight of both global cat underwriting and PartnerRe's North American business. Bishop joined the company 16 years ago from Sirius International and has held roles as VP - senior underwriter and head of specialty catastrophe.
Carlo Casty moves from a regional to a global remit as head of cat modeling. Casty joined PartnerRe in 2008 as an exposure specialist and most recently served as head of catastrophe risk modeling for EMEA and APAC. The appointment consolidates cat modelling oversight across all regions under a single function.
The appointments arrive as retrocession pricing undergoes a sharp repricing. Howden Re put the risk-adjusted global property-catastrophe reinsurance rate-on-line decline at 14.7% for the January 2026 renewals, the steepest annual fall since 2014. Property retrocession pricing softened by a similar or greater margin in a market estimated at roughly US$20 billion, as capacity comfortably exceeded demand.
The softening has deepened through 2026. The Guy Carpenter global property catastrophe rate-on-line index fell 16% at the July 2026 renewals, down from a 12% decline recorded at January 1. Record capital shifted pricing power towards cedents, with cat bond limit outstanding exceeding US$61 billion through the first half of 2026.
The appointments follow a separate leadership restructuring in PartnerRe's Asia-Pacific business announced in April 2026 in which three executives took on expanded roles. PartnerRe reported group turnover of US$9.2 billion in full-year 2025, with net profit rising 46% to US$2.1 billion. The reinsurer has been privately owned by French mutual insurer Covéa since July 2022.
"Together, they bring outstanding leadership and experience across our global catastrophe team," Greg Haft, CEO of Global Catastrophe at PartnerRe, said of the three appointees. Haft did not comment further on the timing of the appointments or the interim designation of the retrocession role.
