Willis Towers Watson appoints Alex Shepherd as Head of Global Facultative

Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, announced that it has appointed Alex Shepherd as Head of Global Facultative.

Alex Shepherd joins Willis Towers Watson from ERS Syndicate 1856, where he served as Active Underwriter driving performance and growth across all classes. Alex will report into Garret Gaughan, Head of Global Markets P&C Hub and Facultative as the broker seeks to replicate the success of a Hub approach in its Facultative business.

“Alex Shepherd brings almost 25 years of experience in the Direct and Facultative market across a number of Lines of Business. He has the experience and vision we need to move our Facultative business forward, leveraging the experience we have gained through creating and operating a truly connected and aligned global facultative business.” said Adam Garrard, Global Head of Corporate Risk and Broking. “He will also be harnessing our unrivalled in-house analytics capabilities to provide cedants with strategic consultancy combined with transactional broking. I am excited by the possibilities presented by bringing these skills together in a way that no other broking house has managed and the significant value we can create for our cedants. We really are creating something special.”

Commenting on his appointment Alex said ‘I am excited to be joining WTW to lead the global facultative team and build out the facultative team of the future. I am confident that we will re-define facultative broking, using the data and analytics capability available within WTW. We will be breaking down the traditional barriers that our competitors can’t see past to deliver truly unique products that will benefit our cedants.’

In addition to his time at ERS, Alex Shepherd has held various roles at RenaissanceRe, Canopius, ACE Global Markets and Marsh, he also holds a B.A. and M.A. from the University of London.

Willis Tower Watson’s head of corporate risk and broking (CRB) for GB Alastair Swift said ‘In talking with our Cedant Customers they are looking for greater value from their Facultative brokers. At WTW we have invested heavily in our in-house analytics, which means we are uniquely placed to provide the advisory services that will enable our customers to buy their Facultative covers far more strategically than they have in the past. Alex’s appointment is a key step for us in redefining the role of the Facultative broker.”