McCrorie takes over from Leonard as RSUI CEO

Phillip McCrorie has taken the reins at RSUI as CEO, with Dave Leonard set to retire from the Alleghany E&S carrier platform.

The CEO transition came into place at the start of last week, with Leonard staying in the executive chairman role until he retires from active employment on 31 March this year.

McCrorie will become chairman of the RSUI board of directors when Leonard retires at the end of March. Leonard will remain on the board of directors.

Leonard had been chairman and CEO of RSUI since April 2012 and prior to that served as president for four years after being promoted from executive vice president and chief strategic officer.

He had been in that position since Alleghany – which is also the parent of TransRe – acquired RSUI in 2003.

McCrorie has been with RSUI since that time, first as the firm’s CFO, then as executive vice president until being appointed president in July 2019.

Other leadership changes as part of the transition include the appointment of Andrew Whittington as president and CUO, and Lee Sjostrom as COO in addition to his executive vice president and CFO titles.

Whittington has been with RSUI since 2004 and most recently was executive vice president and property department manager since July 2019. All product line managers and the carrier’s analytics/communications department will report to Whittington.

Sjostrom is also a long-term employee, joining RSUI in 2003. He has been CFO since 2012 and executive vice president since July 2019.

Whittington and Sjostrom also join the RSUI board.

Commenting on the changes, newly appointed Alleghany CEO Joe Brandon said: “Alleghany has been the proud owner of RSUI since July of 2003 and has seen exceptional profitability through multiple market cycles under the leadership of Dave Leonard.

“Dave has positioned RSUI superbly for success in the years to come under the leadership of Phillip and his talented executive team of Andrew Whittington and Lee Sjostrom. We thank Dave for everything he has done for RSUI and Alleghany and wish him all the best in his retirement.”

McCrorie added: “RSUI is the premier franchise in the specialty insurance market serving wholesale brokers across the country. Our underwriting, claims and support department expertise is second to none and I am very proud to lead this talented and dedicated team and to continue to build on our success.”

RSUI’s carrier subsidiaries include RSUI Indemnity Company, Landmark American Insurance Company and Covington Specialty Insurance Company.

The carrier, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia, wrote $1.4bn of gross premiums in 2020 and as at the end of that year had generated $1.8bn of cumulative underwriting profit since it was acquired in 2003.

In the first nine months of 2021, the carrier wrote $1.9bn of gross premium, up 20.4 percent on the same period of 2020. It generated $90.7mn of underwriting profit, with a combined ratio of 89.8 percent.

The Insurer comment

RSUI is widely viewed as being among the top performers in the E&S market with a well-executed cycle management strategy that has seen it grow rapidly in attractive conditions and ease back in soft markets.

Its management changes to address the retirement of CEO Dave Leonard speak to continuity and consistency in its approach going forward, given the tenure of its new CEO and the lieutenants that have been promoted beneath him.